As we look towards the new year, I am heading into 2014 with a renewed focus and a stronger motivation to win!
2013 has proven to be a huge year of learning for me. Lessons about knowing your sailing partner, about focus and dedication and about sticking to a plan for success no matter what gets in the way were all paramount in 2013. While these created for some rocky times in my campaign, and gave some less than desirable results at regattas, I think the lessons that I learned were invaluable to my success moving forward and my ability to win Gold in Rio!
To start the New Year without a title sponsor is a bit stressful, but makes it clear to me that my fundraising requirement of $45k per month has to be my focus every morning as I climb out of bed before dawn and on my mind with every phone call I make and every interaction I have with people everywhere! Sure, it would be great to know that I had a company be committed to paying at least 1/2 of my campaign expenses through Rio, but I am not discouraged one bit as the New Year approaches. In fact, it simple motivates me to work harder on demonstrating my value to individual contributors and to talk actively to every company that could possible benefit from a teenage spokesperson or model that is focused, driven, committed and uniquely positioned to move mountains in my quest for Gold!
I am also walking into the new year without a dedicated and committed partner for the campaign. This is bad because the US Sailing Team Trials are now less than a month away, but is positive because there are some highly motivated and successful women in the sport that are interested in the mixed multihull and in testing out the boat with me over the next few days! Women that have a long list of accomplishments in the sport and are ready to dive into a full-time campaign in the new year! So the outlook of having a strong team leading up to the ISAF Sailing World Cup series is looking strong!
Anyone who knows me personally knows that I have struggled with a few distractions this past year. Distractions that are not uncommon for a 16 year old boy, but proved to defocus me to a point of less than positive results and not as productive times training for my success. Girls are an important part of a teenagers life, but my focus and determination on my goal of Olympic Gold is paramount and will not be diverted as I move into the new year. I will just have to learn how to manage and continue to drive towards my goal without distractions or allowing myself to lose focus on what I have dedicated my entire life to achieve! Girls won’t stop being important…I’m only 17 (almost) but my lifelong dream is so much more powerful!
I am walking through the end of the year and into the new year with a demanding schedule of schoolwork, testing out potential new partners for the campaign, a training schedule that includes 7 days a week on the water leading up to the North American Championships and then the Sailing World Cup Regatta both in Miami and following my aggressive fitness program that is both physically and emotionally draining. I know that this requires unbridled focus and dedication that most athletes in this sport may not exhibit most of the time, but I am not most, I am me. I have dedicated 1/4 of my life (so far) to the pursuit of excellence in this sport and it all comes down to what I do each and every day RIGHT NOW and every step I take moves me closer to Gold in Rio!
I know that this year will be even more difficult and demanding than last. I am sure that I will have just as many if not more lessons to learn and I will stand up to each challenge that comes down the road and I will handle it the best I can while keeping my focus on the ultimate goal in Rio2016. My lifelong dream, my entire life, my focus and my future are dependent on my dedication to growth and success. I know that the harder I work, the more I learn, the amount I am open to reality and change and progress are all key elements in my success moving forward and that I will have to make personal sacrifices to be able to achieve my goal. I am ready, I am willing and I am driven to grow and become exactly what it will take to be an Olympic Champion! It is all mine to grab, or to watch pass me by, and I am not going to let anything get in the way of my success!
Come and cheer me on as I work harder, smarter and more diligently than anyone to achieve success as an elite sailor in the sport of sailing in this new year!
If you are able to contribute to my campaign, either personally or as a corporate sponsor you will receive benefits from a strong willed, dedicated and determined teenager that is giving his all to achieve success in a highly competitive world! Please cal me directly at 216-210-3598 and I can explain the ways you can give anywhere from $100 on up to my monthly campaign requirement of $45,000. Every individual and corporate donation moves me closer to victory in Rio2016!