Act as if failure were impossible

Knowing your strengths and expertise is one thing; receiving encouragement and motivation from others is another. Living in your own world without appreciation or feedback cannot feel good for long, whether that feedback comes as a pay rise, praise, constructive criticism or a small gesture.

I am proud of my employees. I know I can rely on them. They are critical thinkers and hard workers. Knowing their different personalities, I recently gave each of them a small present for their home office: a picture with a motivational quotation.

Not again, some readers may think, after seeing endless variations of “Know yourself”. Yet I am convinced that a picture with the right words, placed where you can see it, helps you focus positively.

I found what I wanted at be100. One says “Feel the fear and do it anyway”, another “Act as if failure were impossible”, a third “Only those who know their goal can find the way”. I also had one made for myself with a single word: “Grateful”. When I become frustrated, it reminds me of everything going well in my life: family, business and trails. In the spirit of #worklifetrailbalance, I want to remain grateful.

A personalised be100 picture for every employee’s home office.

It is a small way of expressing gratitude to my employees. I also want to encourage them to stay on their chosen path, motivate themselves and embrace new challenges daily. We work in a sector full of opportunities, but we must seize them. Standing still means falling behind.

Building others up, supporting them and motivating them through gestures large and small is an important part of my work as an entrepreneur. I try to live that mindset on the trails too. Praise and gratitude are appreciated beyond my immediate circle. When I am taking photographs beside the course instead of racing, for instance at GGUT, the Schneeberg Trail or a ski touring race, I make a point of cheering participants on. Then there are the volunteers at aid stations deep in Alpine forests. They deserve a “thank you”, “merci” or “grazie”. They all give their time to serve the runners, including me.

I would love to bring every one of them a be100 picture. But imagine how heavy my running pack would be on a 100-kilometre route!

Motivating others and being motivated are part of life. Putting that into practice is simply smarter.

The week and weekend in pictures:

GRATEFUL!

Go, go, go! Cheering the leaders at the 2019 Schneeberg ski touring race.

Schneeberg ski touring race 2019: minus 10 degrees and wind challenged everyone.

…but it makes for beautiful…

…and unique photographs :-)

Sunday on the Fadensteig: sheet ice.

Sunday, 8 a.m., at Fischerhütte.

The Breite Ries descent leaves no room for failure either!

…you have to act!

Grossglockner Ultra-Trail 2017: how wonderful to experience the joy…

Grossglockner Ultra-Trail 2018: …of the participants as a spectator!