Is Being An Inspiration Enough For Athletes Today?

Being an inspiration. Sounds good, doesn’t it? For most of the athletes and athlete groups I’ve worked with (like, global athletes from The North Face and dozens of Team USA athletes) being an inspiration, while on the surface sounds meaningful, when you dig a little further, it becomes less attractive.

This question seems to percolate with every group I work with: What does it mean to be an "inspiration" to others?

And let me tell you, opinions run STRONG on this topic in the athlete world. Here's why: Some athletes feel that being inspiring is cliché, rote even. It's what athletes of the ages have strived to be to others, so why on earth would they do the same. It's been done. It feels like a carbon copy, off the shelf, Home Depot-y for them.

That's fair.

Others feel like being inspiring, or an inspiration, is core to their message, one they’ve adopted because they want to lift people up, help them move closer to joy and happiness which, to be fair, is one of the 4 things people look for in life (others are belonging, psychological richness and meaning), making this a worthy approach.

Yup, also fair.

But during these discussions, I ask the athletes this question:

What if you didn't just inspire people with your story, but you did the work of finding out who your audience wanted to become, then helping them get closer to that...through sharing your story?

In other words, what if who you are, and who others identify you as, acted as an aspirational goal for people, like a ladder they could climb to reach some new place they want to go?

Because sharing your identity and the characteristics, nuances and details of that identity can be aspirational for others. As Chip Conley says, telling your story can act like an identity refresher for others because they see a piece of themselves in you.

And if you do that, if you can deeply understand who your audience wants to be, who they want to identify as, then you can start to share pieces of your story that help them get closer to feeling that way.

I mean, how cool is that? Your story can make people actually become more of who they want to be! That's where the power lies in sharing your story.

Now, a quick way to find this out? Ask your audience:

How do you describe yourself on a good day?

The secret? Find out how can you help them feel that way more...maybe even often...or, hell, all the time.

In the third week of my 6-week program for both athletes, entrepreneurs and leaders, we go deep into how to do this. If you're curious and want to find out more, hit me up for a free 20-minute chat and I can dish all the details!

xo, Lindsay