Hello!
I hope you are having a good week wherever you may be reading from. I am sharing this post, as a thought around being passionate about what we do and manifesting success ⤵️
The above photo was taken this week at home in West Wales, UK … 🐎 24 years ago this little pocket rocket joined our family. I was 12 and definitely experienced “Love at first sight” when I met Holly.
We ‘started at the bottom’ in the smallest local classes. Holly quickly jumped her way to the ‘top’, winning time & time again and going on to represent the Welsh team as a 138cm 🏴
Show jumping gave me a deep understanding of:
– dedication
– passion
– honing my competitive edge
– living with a “will to win”
– the importance of countless hours / days / years of learning, training
– failing with grace; if we didn’t win I loved her no matter what (we would go home and keep training with a “try again” frame of mind for the next competition)
– money didn’t grow on trees, ideally I had to win prize money to pay to compete
– health, fitness & diet were crucial, Holly needed the right care to be able to do her thing
– understanding that it’s “tough out there” on the circuit & that ultimately my love for my pony and the sport itself mattered above the ribbons
🔥 Show jumping is fiercely competitive – make or break comes at the hands of mere milliseconds on the clock.
You meet people on the circuit that come to be both your friends and “frenemies” as when it comes to the crunch, of course everyone wants the trophy at the end of the day 🏆
I spent my childhood obsessed with horses, reading as many books as I could get my hands on, writing my own whimsical stories, buying Horse & Hound weekly, watching VHS videos and being glued to the Black Beauty series and any/ all live show jumping, dressage and eventing shows on the TV.
🙏 I used to pray to myself before a class and also talked to Holly, whispering the route we needed to take before we would set off. I always believed she understood me and “knew” what we needed to do.
I also used to (nearly!) lose it all with nerves and have to overcome that sick feeling and turn it into nervous energy that made me perform at my best.
… If we are passionate and love what we do, somehow we always find a way to make it a thing of joy (even when we don’t ‘win’)
I think this kind of mentality is key to have in the workplace.
– Turning nerves into positive, quick sharp thinking and good energy is a skill to master on Zoom & in the boardroom
– Ok, so you didn’t get the results this time but you went back to the drawing board and kept working behind the scenes for your next big break
– You love what you do; the money & success is a bonus
… There are many positive takes that can be applied from a youngsters show jumping life, as noted above, to our working-life today 💯
💓 Remember to love what you do !somehow! and believe in things (& yourself) until your career wishes come to fruition 💫
