Tales from the Diplomatic Corps 2

Hey folks!

Today I'll continue my little series on memories I had with the Young Ambassadors, based on our presentations on the cube. I started out with Elise last week and talked about the secret of becoming a champion. Today I wanted to write about a memory with the next one in line, which happens to be...me! Well, that's tricky. Call me self-absorbed, but I'm still going to write a little about myself since I happen to have some memories involving me as well. Besides, yesterday was my birthday, which for me is always a time of reflection (and of course partying), so that might fit rather well.

When I went to Singapore, I thought I had seen quite a bit in life. I've lived and worked in six countries so far, was a master student and had more than 10 years experience as an athlete (retrospectively comparing this to the other ambassadors, I should have known way better, but bear with me!). Don't get me wrong: I knew that Singapore would be another great experience, however, I far underestimated its impact on me. I don't really know how to describe it, so I'll quote by memory from a novel I really like (The Hottest State by Ethan Hawke - that's right, THAT Ethan Hawke!):

"I can't describe it. It's just that I feel that I must have done something right in life, since it has led me to this very moment."

On the last day in Singapore, I was chosen to say a few words of thank you to some people. I was really nervous before, being given the fact that I had to give a speech for some hundred people in two languages I'm not a native in. Shortly before it was time, I talked to Gan Su-Lin, who gave an excellent presentation on cultural differences (check out Erin's latest blog on that!!). We were talking and she gave me some encouragement. Before I left to deliver my speech, I thanked her and said: "You know, I'm just a little insecure, because I'm still in development." She just smiled at me and replied: "We all are!"

I know I'm using this phrase quite a bit, but yeah: This is what it's all about! We are all in a constant state of flux (if you know from which song this quote comes, I owe you an ice kachang :)). However, since we are all in the same boat, there will always be somebody to assist us in our development. And just as I had the great help of Gan Su-Lin, I'll try to help the young athletes in Singapore with their development as well. So if you are an athlete going to Singapore, just look for the nice Austrian with the funny poses ;)

Tales from the Diplomatic Corps 1

Hey folks!

Seems like my birthday came several days early, since not only the Cube went live, but also starting today, the 30 outstanding Young Ambassadors will be presented individually. I'd like to take those individual presentations to write about some of the countless memories I had with the Young Ambassadors in Singapore. Some of them contain valuable life lessons, others are just too funny to be left out and there will be also stuff that might not be too interesting for the general public, but that is definitely important to me.

The first one to be presented is Elise Rechichi, the ambassador of Australia and one of the three Olympic medalists on the team. I first met Elise at the Island Adventure during lunch, shortly after my near-death experience with a durian. We talked a bit about sport and also that she knew two sailors from Austria (that I only knew from the news) and that she had been competing in Austria as well.

I don't really recall if it was during this initial conversation or maybe later, but there was this one sentence I will always remember from her. First, you might need to know that Olympic champions - actually champions in general - always had a tremendous fascination to me. I just wanted to know what you need to do in life to become that successful -and hence apply it to be as successful as them. Since Elise is one of the few Olympic gold medalists I came at close enough range to ask, I of course took my chance. What she said was as simple as it was astonishing:

"Probably the most important thing is that you have to know how to win."

That might sound confusing at first, but let me explain: If you thought that it's hard work, dedication, will power and so on and so forth that makes for a champion, you are of course right as well. However, what Elise pointed out back then was that if you want to be a winner, you have to know how to win, that is to know that you are capable of winning.

Social psychology has it that we usually compare ourselves to others. One the one hand, this is very important, because you thus get some guidelines. However, on the other hand, it can also lead to the point that you lose a feeling for your own capabilities. An example: You are a weight lifter and every other competitor so far has failed at 100kg. If you want to be a true champion, you have to know that it doesn't matter what the others did or did not. The only thing that matters is that you know that you can do it and hence go out there to win.

I also struggled with that problem for quite some time. Although I always got good grades in school and college as well, I was completely nervous before all the exams. It was a long, long learning process that took me to the point where I could just say: I studied for this, I know that I am well prepared, I will know the answer and thus succeed with this test. And that's what it comes down to: No matter if you are an athlete, a student, an artist or anything else: All you need to do is to know that you can win. Elise's ambition for example is to enroll medicine in Australia. She has shown that she knows how to win in sports - and I am thus fully convinced that she will also succeed with her career ambition.

So that was my favorite moment with Elise. Since she is not only a champion in her sport, but also when it comes to partying, there are plenty of other great moments. However, I believe that there are more appropriate places to share those than this blog ;).

The Cube

Hey folks!

This time, I'll only drop you a quick note, because in 20 minutes I am off to give a handball practice at a local elementary school. For all of you out there: There is nothing more satisfying than being a coach of the sport you love. It's probably the most rewarding experience out there!

What I wanted to share with you is that having started yesterday, you can actually see who is participating at the Youth Olympic Games in August! The profiles of the 30 Young Ambassadors as well as those of the Young Reporters and of course the athletes will be up on the Cube, which is the virtual YOG platform on the Olympic homepage. So starting now, you can look up all the people that are contributing to the YOG 2010: The Young Ambassadors promoting them, the Young Reporters spreading out the latest news from Singapour and most importantly, the athletes!

Apart from just browsing through the guys and learning more about their unique backgrounds, you can also filter them. For example, if you are a swimmer and you want to get in touch with other swimmers from around the world, you just filter out all the swimming athletes and there you go. On their profiles, you will also find links to the most popular social media sites, so you can stay in touch via Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and the like.
You can also select people by country. So if you are from the United States and you always wanted to know how people in Austria are doing, just see who from Austria is going to be there in Singapore and get in touch with them.

I think the Cube is a very funny and also informative tool. When I was told that it had gone online, I looked up my fellow ambassadors and learned new things about them. So, go to the Olympic website and check out the Cube - there are from now on plenty of amazing people on it!

Barefoot

Hey folks!

Coincidence is a funny little thing since it's uncontrollable, yet usually leads to really cool stuff. Yesterday, I wrote about "I can" - the power of belief and that you can reach everything you want to. I also mentioned the examples of Michael Phelps and Thomas Geierspichler as an example for the countless great role models that are out there. Funny enough, I very closely experienced an example of what you can actually do when you just believe in yourself. I'm afraid it can't live up to Michael or Thomas in terms of excellence and impact, however, I promise you that it's a story you probably haven't heard yet. And although it just sounds stupid and hilarious, I think that there are some true thoughts attached to it.

After finishing my blog yesterday night, I went out - a thing that became rather rare in recent times. Since I got today off, I stayed out a little longer and had a fabulous time. The only problem was that my shoes are a little to big and I started getting blisters from them (Yes ladies, men also have such problems. At least I do ;)). It was 3AM, I was in good spirits and I actually didn't want to go home yet...so I just took them off and continued dancing. That went on for another hour or so before it really was time to kick it and go home.

Ever since I retired as an active athlete, I kinda feel uneasy if I don't get enough exercise. Yesterday night must have been a particular strong night, because even after hours of dancing and jumping around, I still felt the need to move my feet a bit. Of course, I couldn't put my shoes back on, because then my feet would hurt even more. So I started to walk down the deserted street, without my shoes, and just waited for things to change. Of course they didn't, so I started to think: "How far can I go without my shoes on, before my feet hurt too badly and I have to give up?" It was just a silly little bet with myself, however, I was really curious how much will power I could bring up at 4AM.

I don't want to pose as a tragic hero (After all it was my stupid idea), but believe me when I say: The walk was unpleasant! It was cold, I was tired and the concrete and the gravel weren't too comfortable a ground to walk on. Yet I kept going. And going. And going. To cut a long walk short: I ended up going the entire distance, a total of 5km, from the club to my home. Barefoot at 4 AM. Of course I could have taken a cab and just take the easy way. But I had asked myself the question: "How long until you give up". And that was enough motivation to keep me going, since giving up just sounds like an insult to me.

Of course this story is somewhere between utterly and completely stupid and in case you haven't guessed yet: The reason I was walking was that I definitely was not allowed to drive a car anymore (nuff said).
However, I'd like to make the point that it still shows something. It shows that if you refuse to give up and just keep on going, you will finally succeed and reach your goal (in my case my bed and some rest for my feet). And if you continue the dedication you show in small things in life (i.e. bets with yourself) in every other domain, you will eventually succeed with bigger tasks than walking home barefoot at 4AM.

I can

Hey folks!

First of all, please accept my apologies that I cruelly neglected this blog for a while. It's just that classes started again and I had some other stuff to attend to. However, I promise that I will keep more discipline with updating this blog in the future. As it is still 119 long days to go, I am pretty sure that I'll find the time for another article.

Today, my fellow ambassador and dear friend Fergus shared an incredible video for the Singapore 2010 YOG with us. I embedded it at the end of this article so you have instant access to it and see how awesome it is. Apart from being a very fine piece of artwork (being a student of advertising, I really appreciate such stuff ;)), it really succeeds in telling what the YOG are about in a mere 60 seconds.

Through my different activities, I have the chance and privilege to meet with a lot of people. A thing I like to ask people I just met is what their dreams and visions in life are. It's a very simple question, yet there are so many different answers to it - ranging from "I want to be an Olympic Champion" to "I want to graduate from college". However, after telling me about their dreams, most people start saying stuff like "...but that's never gonna work out" or "Unfortunately, it will always remain a dream". And that really disappoints me. At this time, I always quote Henry Ford, who said:

"Far more people give up rather than they fail"

Social psychology has a theory calling this behavior self-handicapping - the process of giving a reason for failure before you even took up a task or challenge. And that's exactly why I think this is so sad: Because normally the only person preventing you from succeeding is yourself!

So I think it's another great initiative to actively tell the YOG athletes at a young age: You can! You might can't do other fancy things yet like driving a car, going to a club or getting a tattoo (which are not much of a deal anyways!) - but there are millions of things you can do. For instance: Do you think that Michael Phelps only discovered the day before the Olympics in Athens started that he can swim? Probably not. He rather knew that he can swim like a fish in a pool and that nobody will care how old he is. A couple of days ago, I also wrote about Thomas Geierspichler and told his incredible story. Those two are just one of the thousands of examples of what people can reach, when they believe in themselves.

Of course I know what it feels like to be a teenager and thinking of all the cool things there are in this world, but that you have to be at least 30, hold an MBA and tons of live experience to do those things. But that's so not true! All it takes is a big heart and the ambition to go out there and live your dreams. Because it doesn't matter how old you are, what sex you are, where you come from or what others think of you. All that matters is that you stand tall and let the world know: I can!

The culture in sports

Hey folks!

The last two days, I went to Tyrol where I earned my bachelor degree from 2006 to 2009. I gave a short presentation to the students of the "Sports, Culture and Event Management" program, which I am an alumni of. When I was applying for admission in mid-2006, I thought that this course of studies was just a perfect way for me to combine my interests in sports (I was still an active athlete then) and culture (I was a journalist for a youth culture/music magazine). I hope now it becomes clearer, why I am so happy to be a Young Ambassador. After all, the YOG are a picture perfect match of how to apply my curriculum in the real world.

To give you a better impression of what I studied (a task I am still busy doing when talking to my (grand) parents)), I'll just give you a short overview of the program. Since I earned a BA in Business, I spent the first two semesters with law, business administration, HR management and accounting (God, how I hated those accounting records - if you don't know what that is, neither do I!). Later on, we also started out with sport and cultural sciences as well as sports and culture management. In the third year, it was time to gain some practical experience and get to see the world. So first of all, I did an exchange semester in Paris, before doing a 6 months internship in New York.

As I mentioned in the introduction, for me the YOG are a great way to apply my knowledge into practice. Because one of the most important things I learned during my studies was that sports, culture and events are not three isolated pillars, but rather three components of one big whole. Let's take the YOG as an example: I guess I don't have to bother to explain where sports and event part comes in here - being given the fact that's one hell of a sport event. However, in addition, we have this great Culture and Education program, where the athletes are taught skills an values that will definitely come in handily on their way to becoming champions.

But even if you take the traditional Olympics (do the YOG a favor and justice by not refering to them as 'real Olympics', since the YOG are very real as well!) that unfortunately don't have a CEP yet, you'll discover that there is plenty of culture in there. If you think about the Olympics and take what comes to your mind: The five rings, the torch relay, the opening ceremony etc.. Those are all symbols and rituals that have grown over decades and sometimes even centuries.

Now with the YOG, we face the formidable task of being part of an organization as powerful and established as the Olympic Movement, yet with the challenge of forming something new. So we - the IOC, the SYOGOC, the Young Ambassadors and mainly the youngsters worldwide - have to think about a way to take the underlying message of Olympism and transform them to be used with new instruments and media. This is of course a very exciting task, since we are all part of something really big and unique. And even tough sports and culture tend to be seen as two opposites, they actually share the same roots.

Some thoughts on digital media

As I am writing these lines, I am slowly, but steadily moving home towards the east. I am on a train, enjoying one of the biggest miracles there is in life: Mobile internet! Being a little bit old school, I don’t even take such things as wireless internet in public places for granted. I tend to think of the Internet as a luxury good not always available (which of course it still is in many parts of the world) – so just sitting on a train, plugging in a small stick and enjoying the mercy of instant messaging, surfing and of course blogging, is nearly too good to be true for me.

“Oh no, another random rambling that has nothing to do with the Olympics”, you might exclaim. Au contraire, mes chers (Too bad I can’t throw around more of these French terms). Because with the great Culture and Education Program (CEP) the young athletes will experience in Singapore, one of the five pillars is digital media. In a wide array of workshops, hands-on experience and discussions, the youngsters will learn more about using digital media, sharing ideas, visions and data, but also avoiding risks and threats.

I believe that this is really a very good initiative since it is at the cutting edge of our modern life. After all, it is nearly certain that the use of digital media will increase even more in the near future. So for the teens of today, fluency in digital media will be a non-negotiable requirement. I mean, it indeed has many benefits. For instance, time and distances became only a minor issue when dealing with the internet. I can sit in my room in St. Poelten, Austria, having a conversation going on with one of my new friends – Elise from Australia, Erin from the US, Shannon from Papua Newguinea, Jed from Singapore – and it will happen in real time, although they are thousands of miles away.

Also for the athletes, the use of the different social media platforms will be crucial, not only for their personal life, but also for their career. In the near future, after growing out of the YOG and into the traditional Olympics, our youngsters will have a considerable amount of fans, appreciating their excellence with friendship and respect. So what better way is there than using digital media to give something back to your fans? A nice picture, some words of thank you or even a tiny video – all those things are easily done (when you know how to do them!) and can have a great impact.

Of course there are thousands of examples of how you can benefit from digital media (It goes without saying that there are also plenty of risks, which I promise I will address in the future!). However, I guess the underlying message is that by using digital media, our youngsters have a possibility to make themselves heard. And with the CEP just about to start, I think it is our duty and privilege to provide them the tools to make their voices heard!

Traveling

Hey folks!

I am afraid that today's entry won't have much to do with the YOG. However, since I am lying here in my bed in a hotel in Innsbruck (yes, that Innsbruck!), being awfully tired and stuffed with food, I can just jot down some thoughts I had for a couple of years. So for you this is one of the rare chances to take a break from the daily routine of reading this blog ;).

When I was a teen and I was thinking about jobs I'd like to have one day (back then, astronaut and professional athlete didn't rank too high on the list any more), I always knew one thing for sure: It has to involve a lot of traveling. Don't ask me why, but for me, nothing spelled success as much as having to go to foreign places to work. And although a lots of things have changed since (e.g. the job I actually have - btw: What IS my job exactly? - and that I'm not a teen any more and thus certain things have become embarrassing) I still feel the same way: The further away a job is, the more attractive it becomes.

Thinking about it a little closer, I guess it's a rather stupid thing. Because after all, you are going to a different place to work, i.e. you got a job that needs to be done, and not for some leisure activities. So when in the past you've been jealous of people telling you that their work leads them around the globe, don't be! They are absolutely right when saying that all they see is the airport, their hotel and the job site. At this point, I might want to point out that I am no expert on these matters, however, I draw the experience I lack from what other people tell me.

I guess that's also the reason why so many people you meet 'on the road' are annoyed about the fact that they spend too little time in their own beds. If you talk to people whose job consists of going around the globe in a little under a week, they usually don't share your excitement about the whole process of moving yourself from one place to another. For them, it's just part of the business. The annoying part that is. I mean, to a certain degree I get their point. If you get older, I guess you start to cherish the simple things in life (your house, your spouse, your kids - in short all the things I don't possess) even more.

However, I take pride in saying that I am still in the phase where having to go away somewhere to work just adds to the overall excitement. I can't explain why, but somewhere in the whole process - from going to the airport to checking in to trying out ridiculously expensive colognes I'm never going to buy - I start to get this special feeling: This feeling that I am out for a new adventure and that I can show my skills in a new part of the world. Maybe it's also just the humbleness that somebody likes my work so much that he/she is willing to invest in airfare and lodging for me. Be it as it may be: I hope that I can conserve the attitude of liking to be on a business trip as long as possible!

Listen to the beat

Hey folks!

As you might have noticed, I decorated this blog with a list of songs I really enjoy. However, instead of making a dull "Top 5 of all time" list, I opted for something more creative and chose things like "Songs I can't get out of my head" (ok, maybe not that creative) or the current "Songs I have to close my eyes when listening to" (which is why they are banned from my car stereo). Btw: Feel free to post categories you'd like to have in the comment box - I think we should have a nice collection of "situational soundstracks" until August!
After this introduction, it's not hard to guess what this blog entry will be about: Music. However, the trickier question will be: What does music have to do with sports?

While at the CEP Seminar in Singapore, one of our first activities was a drumming workshop. At 9AM, all the Young Ambassadors and CEP Champs, a mere 100 people, gathered in the Learning Lounge of the NACLI in Singapore. Suddenly, the door opened and 5 guys with drums entered with a stomping rhythm. They made their way to the stage were they ended in a grand finale. After their epic entry, their leader David addressed us and said: "Guys, at the end of this day, you will be the best Samba band in Singapore". Looking at him in disbelief, we weren't all too convinced that in only an hour, we'd become a real band - let alone the best one in town.

For further description of the Community Drumming, I'd like to refer to US ambassador Erin's excellent blog. She also points out a very important aspect of the drumming workshop. I quote:

"A Samba Band takes different sounds made from different instruments and blends them to make one beautiful product. [...] Whether you are an athlete on a field or court, a student in a classroom, a professional in an office, or a member of a family - you play an important role in the final sound. That team, family, company, or class is not complete without you - make your sound heard.

So what she is aiming at is the incredible team building character the community drumming will have for the young athletes participating in the CEP program. With 3,600 youngsters originating from 205 countries, it goes without saying that there will be plenty of cultures, attitudes, visions and moral standards. However, with music as a catalyst, they will be taken on a common ground and thus be heard as one sound. After all: No matter where you come from, there plenty of things that are universal for not only athletes, but teenagers around the world.

I would like to focus on another aspect of the drumming though. Being Young Ambassadors, we face the challenge to convince athletes that the CEP program will teach them valuable lessons on their way to becoming champions. While this task is rather easy with nutrition and career management workshops, it becomes a little trickier with things such as drumming. "What use should banging on a drum have for my career as a swimmer", will probably be the question asked. The answer is as simple as it might be astonishing: The community drumming is not only a great activity because it boosts team work and intercultural learning, but also because it is actually sportive training!

Let me explain: In sport sciences, their are the so-called coordination abilities. They are basically responsible that we coordinate our limbs and sensory system to work together. Or, put even blunter: Without coordination abilities, we would find ourselves lying on the floor, because we wouldn't be able to integrate our different bodily functions to stand upright. According to sport scientist Zimmermann, there are a total of 7 coordination abilities: ability to connect, differentiate, balance, orientate, react, adapt and, voilà, rhythmize. Let's take the example of our swimmer: When swimming, you need to find a certain rhythm for your strokes to be as efficient as possible (I'm sure my dear colleague Callum Ng could dwell on that ;)).

After the seminar, I was curious, so I talked to one of my coaching instructors, a certified sport scientist and coach. And he confirmed what I thought from the beginning: "Rhythmic activities, even if they are happening outside a sports setting such as drumming, are a perfect training for your ability to rhythmize. After some training, your feeling for the drum rhythm will automatically improve your abilities to rhythmize in sports."
I think that this is a crucial point for our work as Young Ambassadors: If we can demonstrate to our athletes that the CEP activities will not only contribute to their holistic development as humans (which is of course very important), but also improve their skills as athletes, they'll be more than eager to join in. And after what we have seen now, even activities that, on the first glance, have nothing to do with sports such as drumming, can actually be as important as a good work-out in the gym. Although I am sure that the latter can never be as much fun as being part of the best Samba band in Singapore!

Million Deeds Challenge

Hey folks!

After some digression in my recent blog entries, I'd today like to talk about a - in my book - very cool initiative to promote the Games in Singapore and thus the YOG as a whole. It is called Million Deeds Challenge and can be described as a virtual torch run to bring the Olympic Flame from Olympia in Greece all the way to Singapore - a distance of 9,236 km as Google maps just told me. So if you are currently sitting in Olympia, you might as well get started now.

As the name indicates, the Million Deeds Challenge seeks to collect one million deeds of Friendship, Excellence and Respect from people from all over the world. Every single deed brings the Olympic Flame a little closer to its final destination in Singapore. The idea for this program came from a group of students of the Holy Innocents High School - another example that you don't have to have your PhD to have great and visionary ideas!

Participating in the Million Deeds Challenge is dead easy. You just need an account (which will be valid for the whole Why Oh Gee universe!), a good deed (well, maybe that's the tricky part) and you are good to go. And the best thing: You don't need to set a new 100m world record or save your grandmother from a burning house (although I was told those are accepted as well). It's, as always in life, the little things that count: Giving a smile and saying thank you, give somebody your seat on the bus or getting an A on an exam (ok, that's not that easy after all). The only 'catch' there is: You are not allowed to post the same deed twice or more.

At the moment, a total of 53,000 deeds have been posted, so we'll need another 947,000 to get the Flame to Singapore in time. Right now, it's stuck somewhere between Iceland and Great Britain, waiting to continue its journey to the rest of the world. So please people: It's easy, it's fun and it's most definitely a good cause, so just join in and post your deeds on the Million Deeds Challenge's website. I'll set a good example and will from now on post one good deed a day (Being a former boy scout, this should be a piece of cake!). Ok, now I am off to do the dishes...I need some material to get me started after all.

What's the worst that could happen?

Hey folks!

For me, one of the biggest differences between the Olympic Games and 'ordinary' world championships has always been that the Olympics seemed to stand for something more. It was this mysterious universe of traditions, rituals, myths and the like. It was where heroes were created in the competitions and plenty of times also outside. Being Austrian, I feel obliged to take Hermann Maier as an example. Two days after his terrible crash in the downhill race, instead of being dead, he was back up on his feet and won two gold medals in Super G and Giant Slalom.

Having witnessed countless examples of mind winning over matter, David kicking Goliath's bottom, I've always been a big fan of inspirational stories. Although they might have been on a smaller scale than the Olympics (well, they most definitely were actually), I think they are still worth sharing here on this blog with you. So in the course of the next months, I will pick out some of the stories I like best to present to you. Today, I would like to start with the story of Thomas Geierspichler, a 2-times Olympic champion, who competed in three Paralympics so far.

Thomas gave a speech in my hometown in February. And
what seemed like a boring PR obligation (a sponsor invited us to go there) at first, soon turned out to be a very valuable lesson. His story in a nutshell: Thomas had an accident at the age of 17, leaving him paralyzed from the hip down. First, he couldn't cope with his fate and tuned into alcohol and drugs. However, soon he realized that this will only destroy him and with the help of this faith in God, he overcame his addictions.

One evening, while working out, he was watching a broadcast of the Paralympics, I think it was in Atlanta 1996. He watched the award ceremony, with all the athletes on the podium and the national anthem of the winner playing. And at this moment, he thought:

"One day, I would love to hear the National Anthem being played for me."

So Thomas continued working out and started to compete on a professional level. And finally, after having won two medals in Sydney, he fulfilled his dream and won the 1500m race in Athens. Nowadays, Thomas is still active and continues to win races and break world records all over the world.

Towards the end of his speech, when it was time for some questions and answers, of course somebody asked him, where his incredible perseverance and will power came from. And this is the part that really opened my eyes and made me see a lot of things in a completely different light since. He replied:

"You know, I fully believe that one day, I will be able to walk again. So everything I do is meant to lead me to this beautiful day when I can walk again. And I am not afraid at all. And you know why? Because what is the worst thing that could happen to me? The worst thing that could happen is that many years from now, as I lie dying in my bed, I could realize: 'I was wrong - I can't walk'. And believe me: There are definitely worse things than being wrong."

I just really love this story, not only because he still stays optimistic and fights on despite all the stuff that has happened to him. I also believe that his thoughts are very, very smart. Because, he is right: In many cases, the worst thing that could actually happen to us is that we are wrong. And I agree: There are definitely worse things than that!


Note: All pictures © Thomas Geierspichler. Please click on the pictures for more information. No copyright infringement meant!

It's emotional addiction

Hey folks!

Wow, not even a week of blogging and I'm already running out of ideas. No, just kidding, I just thought that today, I'll throw in a little something about myself so you actually know the guy sacrificing his sleep to promote the Olympic Values ;) Don't worry, I don't want to give you a blow-by-blow account of what I've done in life from the day I was born until today. Over the next couple of month, I'll rather pick out a couple of episodes I think were important on my way or that at least I find entertaining to remember. For a start, I feel obliged to write about the topic that probably had the biggest impact anything ever had on me in my life: Playing (team) handball.

Handball, or team handball as it is called in the United States, is a sport mainly played in Europe. It consists of six players on the field and one goal keeper. Apart from that, each team has another 7 players and up to 4 officials on the bench. Substitution is like in basketball, i.e. unlimited and substituted players can re-join the game. When describing the sport, I usually draw comparisons to other sports: The underlying principle is, like in soccer/football, to score a goal. However, as the name indicates, we take the ball in our hands like basketball players, only that the ball is small enough to be held comfortably in your hand. And unlike basketball, the physical contact is more intense (Not as bad as rugby, however sometimes things can get really messy). I found this nice video, uploaded by Manchester Handball Club to give you a little illustration.

I was introduced to handball at the age of 7 by my dad, who was a former Austrian national team left wing. He was also my first coach until I was about 13 years old. Since I am left handed, I played my entire career as a right wing, which is the far right position on the field (And thus being left handed gives you a better shooting angle). I remember that I was only mediocre at best at this time and thought about quitting several times. However, instead I talked to my dad (he wasn't my coach any more back then) if he would give me some extra lessons outside of regular practice. So he taught me some moves for my position and worked on my 1-on-1 skills. Over the time, I got much better and was eventually nominated to play on the Lower Austrian state team.

Until I reached the age of 18, my teams won several youth championships with one third place and one runner-up at the Austrian Championships. Funny enough, I got more runner ups than wins in the Lower Austrian Championships, but that's a different story. In addition, in my last season with the adults team, we won the Lower Austrian championship and the League Cup. It was my last season because I was already 19 and it was time to go to college. Since college was 450 km away, I signed up with a team there. And since the only team in the area was first league, I took up the challenge.

Playing first league was an experience I don't want to miss in a thousand years, although the credit side remained rather empty: I hardly ever played on the first team and in the whole season, I scored two goals (A good player has an average of ~7 goals...per match!). Still, in this one season, I really learned what it means to work hard for a goal and constantly push yourself to keep going. Usually, I would have classes all day and at 5pm take a two hours train ride to practice, work my bottom off for 2 hours and go 2 hours back, where my homework was comfortably waiting for me. So after a year of this, I hope you get how happy I was the day I scored my first, and only, two goals in the first league.

After that season, I ended my career. Not because it was too tough, but rather because I had to decide between playing handball and focusing on my studies. I admit, handball was, still is and probably will always be the biggest passion of my life. Yet I knew that if I continued playing it, many other dreams and visions I have in life would be left behind. And although I quit playing, handball is still a vital part of my life. At the moment, I'm working as a project manager for my old club and I started training to be a coach as well. And the funny thing is that nowadays, I get the same feeling of satisfaction I used to get when playing a good match when signing another sponsoring deal or seeing a youngster performing a trick I taught him. So I guess even though I thought the day I'll quit playing will mark the end of my life, it is eventually only a question of perspective. After all, sports is much, much more than just being physically active.

Yes we can!

Hey folks!

Since picking up somebody else's posts and elaborating or commenting on them is a vital part of blogging, I thought that today I'll add my two cents to the excellent video blog Callum Ng posted a couple of days ago. As Callum used to study philosophy, I won't dare to try matching with him intellectually. All I can offer is my own interpretation of the stuff he says.

Basically, in his blog Callum advances the view that our lives, through our collective experiences, will add up to something great. This means that, I quote by memory, success is nothing else but the outcome of our collective experiences, combined to form something great. In the end, this knowledge that our experiences are all interlaced and can add up to make a difference in this world, should make everybody happy and satisfied.

I think this blog addresses a very important thing: That, by believing in ourselves, we can use our experiences (which I interpret as an umbrella term for our knowledge, skills and in some cases even wisdom) to make something great. Whatever this great something might be depends, since success is a very subjective term, but I don't want to focus too much on that. I can only concur with Callum, because I think you don't have to be Einstein or Obama to make a change in this world.

In the first entry of this blog, I wrote as a metaphor for going to Singapore: "Imagine you live in a nice country, where nobody dares to dream as big as you do." This country was of course my own Austria. I don't know how much you know about us folks (I'm already flabbergasted if you know we don't have too many kangaroos hoping around the mountains), but Austrians tend to be rather static. If something has worked for 50 years, there is no need to change it - even if it has never actually worked, but we rather got used to it. That's also why I deeply enjoyed Callum's blog, because he dares to proclaim: "My life will add up to something great." Where I come from, a similar exclamation would hands down earn you the "Arrogant Bastard of the Year Award".

I know that there are many charlatans out there making a fortune by giving you sweet pep talks (btw: Is there anybody out there sharing my admiration for Joel Osteen??). But to a certain degree, they are right. You can achieve everything you want to, if you just believe in yourself.
And I also think that with an extraordinary group like the Young Ambassadors and CEP Champs are, with so many great experiences, we can add up to something really great. I guess all we need to do this is actually believe in ourselves and dare to be great.

I guess there will be many entries following on the topic of being successful, believing in oneself and making a difference in this world. Until then, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the issue. Do you think that 'ordinary' people like us can really add up to something great and make a difference out there?

Friendship, Excellence and Respect

Hey folks!

As promised yesterday, I am going to tell you something about the Olympic Values today. Also like I mentioned yesterday, most people thought of things like "no doping", "no racism" or "fair play" to be the Olympic values. (One guy really impressed me by throwing in "Citius, Altius, Fortius" which is Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger". I should really have paid more attention in my Latin classes!).
However, while fair play and the complete absence of racism and doping are of course underlying principles for every athletes, they are rather an expression of the Olympic Values. Let me explain:

When being introduced to all the amazing CEP activities Singapore has in store for the young athletes, most of them were designed around the Olympic Values. The basic scheme is that athletes will do an activity focused around one or several values to illustrate to them, which influence the Olympic Values can have on his career and his life. So as I said before, they are the base for attitudes like fair play or no doping to emerge. For example, if you know that excellence can not be achieved with performance-enhancing substances, you are hopefully less likely to do doping. And if you realize that a true champion is not only made out of excellence, but also friendship and respect, you'll also understand the importance of fair play and the like.

Talking about champions: When giving presentations in my old high-school, I used this example which I like very much. I told them a story about two athletes (Out of courtesy, I shall not mention their names). One athlete has won everything there is to win in his sport, however, he was also very much respected among other athletes and a very nice guy. The other one was also a very gifted athletes, however, he was a loner and nobody really liked him as he only cared about being successful. Turned out that the two guys were on the same team in a competition and the latter one won. Being a rather extroverted personality, he proclaimed that he is now the greatest athlete in his sport. The other one of course heard this and hence said the following sentence:

"Dude, you might be a winner, but you are NOT a champion."

What at first glance seems like only a semantic difference, is actually a huge difference in real life. It means that you might win a competition and be a successful person, however, this does not mean that you are a champion. Because it takes a champion to show Excellence (winning competitions), Friendship (being friends with your team mates and even opponents) and Respect (respect and be respected by others). Of course this is a big difference, because success and medals will soon fade and put on some dust. However, being a champion is something that stays with you for all your life, no matter what you do.

And you know what? I think that's true. Because for me, you don't have to be a person like Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps to be a champion. Actually, you don't even need to be an athlete to be a champion. Let's face it: For every athlete winning an Olympic Medal, there are 100s, probably 1000s that didn't get as far. However, you might be a musician, an author, an engineer or just an ordinary guy - as long as you shape your life by Excellence, Friendship and Respect, you have all the chances you need to become a true champion.
So when the YOG will unite 3,600 young athletes from all over the globe in Singapore, the goal is clear: To teach them the values they need to become true champions - be it as an athlete or whatever it is they want to be!


NOTE: Pictures 1,3+4 © SYOGOC, picture 2 © IOC. Please click on the pictures for further information. No copyright infringement meant!