In one of the most incredible moments of the Winter Olympics, Lindsey Vonn won the Women's Downhill.   That's where these incredible women skiers blast almost straight down two miles of mountain at speeds approaching the speed of light. It's almost like falling off a cliff.  She is an amazing athlete who has overcome almost every obstacle to achieve her goal.  Just weeks before the race, she suffered a severely bruised shin that kept her from skiing until the event started, and causing great pain when she put pressure on it.  The course was a treacherous ice pack and many of the skiers who went before her fell and were injured.

Lindsey won because she saw only victory.  She imagined every twist and turn in the course and she saw herself skiing the run perfectly.  Lindsey blotted out all the rough bumps of the course.  She paid no attention to fallen competitors.  She could not feel the searing pain in her injured leg.  She was focused on the goal.  The possibility of not winning never entered her mind.

So what can we as mere mortals take away from this example?

First, it's never too late to focus on and achieve big goals.  A friend of mine said, "I always want to make my future look bigger than my past." Try visualizing future victories the way Lindsey Vonn visualized her course.

Second, stop being distracted by all the noise.  Never in history have we had so many negative messages from the media competing for our attention.  It's time to turn off some of these negative voices and replace them with positive messages.  Then act on them and don't let uncertainty paralyze you.

Third, get a coach and be a coach.  Athletes cannot succeed without proper coaching and neither can we.  Whether it's physical, financial, or spiritual, we all need to be able to rely on outside expertise.  And, by the way, think how many younger people out there would love to have someone with your experience come along side of them and coach them through the battles that you have already faced.

Maybe we can only compete in the Olympics in our imaginations, but we can all compete and win in a more important event called life.