I’m so excited that today, athlete and entrepreneur Ian Warner is empowering us all to #fuelpersistence through sharing his story, passions, and life lessons. Ian reached out to me through Twitter and after connecting with him through email, I had to invite him to share his story on The Self-Disovery Retreat. I love his passion for life and how he created a company with his brother, also a fellow athlete.

Ian Warner grew up in Toronto, Ontario, where he attended the athletic powerhouse, Birchmount Park Collegiate. There he won provincials 8 times and earned himself an athletic scholarship to Iowa State. At Iowa State, he excelled as an entrepreneur by raising $150,000 from an angel investor. The same year as that investment, he became an NCAA All-American and made the 2012 Canadian Olympic Team.

Happy New Year! For many of us, January marks the beginning of new goals that we set for ourselves. The start of the new calendar year also marks the countdown for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games happening this summer. Therefore, I thought I would set the year off on the right track for all of us by showcasing a mentor of mine, Chandra Crawford, who has excelled in achieving her goals as a Gold-Medal Canadian Olympian and Founder of the organization, “Fast and Female.” I’m excited that today Chandra is sharing her insights to help us all #fuelpersistence in our personal and professional goals. Chandra is a positive role model, who I am honoured to feature on Arianna’s Random Thoughts. With this interview, my hope is that Chandra will empower us all with some practical strategies for achieving our dreams.

As the Director of Athletics at Ryerson University in Toronto, Dr. Joseph leads the university’s sports community of 12 varsity teams, more than 20 multi-tiered intramural leagues, several sports clubs, and other extensive offerings.  He shows the participants how to be their personal best athletically and mentally, both as individuals and as a group.

In his former role of recruiting student athletes, he was often asked what skill he was most searching for when looking for potential members to his teams; was it speed? Strength? Agility? In Dr. Joseph's TEDx Talk, he answers this question, explaining how self-confidence is not just the most important skill in athletics, but in our lives!  Watch Dr. Joseph’s talk here:

“Never, ever, ever, give up!” You may have to adapt your course like I have, but trust me don’t quit! I have persevered through many obstacles in my life; the most recent occurred within the last year. Instead of giving up, I changed my approach.  Doing so has made all the difference to achieving my goals.

Through my research and athletic experience at graduate school, I saw a need to reduce bullying in sport. The research I had conducted focused on creating effective school-based bullying prevention programs.  However, towards the end of my studies, it became very apparent that prevention cannot only occur in formal classroom settings (as these programs were using). I believe this needed to reach beyond the classroom. After I graduated, I wanted to improve the climates of educational and athletic environments by focusing on healthy relationships.

I have interviewed many people for my “Profiles of Perseverance” series about how they persevere through many types of obstacles.  After watching Krissy's TEDTalk online, I had to ask her to be part of this series.  I'm so blessed she agreed to take part. She really inspired me!  I'm so glad I heard her speak.  Krissy Moehl is a Ultra trail runner, event promoter of Runner Girl Races, Coach,  Patagonia Ambassador,  and a 2 time Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc champion. She is an awesome woman!  I love the work she is doing! I really respect her and think she has a powerful mission. Thanks, Krissy, for sharing with us the lessons you have learned throughout your life! Keep running, smiling, and sharing your story!

Michael Fear grew up in a small town in Indiana. Being an aspiring athlete in a small town brought its own disadvantages. There was no easy way to find and connect with the proper coaches or instructors that he needed to get better. After many months of searching, instructors were found through word of mouth. Michael and his dad were forced to drive 4 hours roundtrip, for hitting lessons. Michael thought, "There has to be a better way!" Therefore, he developed his own business, Get Better Today.

Today, Wade Wilson, is sharing with us his thoughts about perseverance.  Thanks Wade!  His message is really valuable and insightful.  I suggest you read it.  Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

Self-Reflection is a wonderful but scary process. It is difficult to objectively look at our faults and acknowledge them, however being able to learn from past set-backs is necessary to achieve excellence. We can self-reflect on both positive and negative experiences to find strength to persevere.

Today, Marie-Hélène (M&H) Thibeault, a Canadian Alpine Ski Team alumnus and the Executive Director of Fast and Female, shares her thoughts on perseverance with us.  Fast and Female was created by Chandra Crawford (Canadian Olympic Gold Medallist) in 2005.  Through partnering with Olympic athletes, it is dedicated to the empowerment of young women through sport. As a female athlete, I'm a proud supporter of the work that they do and have written about them on my blog in the past.  I'm delighted that I get to promote them on here as I fully believe in their vision.

I'm delighted to share with you a personal story of perseverance by Mina Samuels (Author of "Run Like A Girl: How Strong Women Make Happy Lives"). Mina Samuels is a freelance writer and editor. A former litigation lawyer and human rights activist, she has ghostwritten and edited work on a wide range of topics including human rights, business and legal issues, sports, and fiction. Mina’s most recent book is Run Like a Girl: How Strong Women Make Happy Lives. Her previous books include, a novel, The Queen of Cups, and The Think Big Manifesto, co-authored with Michael Port. When she’s not writing, she might be found out on the roads or trails, running, cycling, cross-country skiing, or doing yoga, among many other things. If you would like to connect with her, you can check out her Facebook page or follow her on Twitter! Thanks for sharing your story with us Mina.

I was really saddened to hear this afternoon of the passing of Champion freestyle skier and fellow Canadian Sarah Burke.

Sarah died today, nine days after she crashed at the bottom of the superpipe during a training run in Utah on Jan. 10.  She sustained life-threatening injuries which placed her in a coma.

She was a pioneer in her sport and such an inspiration to many people all over the world.  Her energy and her passion for her sport were evident every time you saw her.  I loved her bubbly attitude and her strong presence in sport. She was a role model of mine and I admired her accomplishments.  She was instrumental in getting ski halfpipe into the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

You may have the best intentions, but if you do not know how to deal with setbacks, you will be unsuccessful at achieving your goal.

In yesterday's post, I mentioned the three stages to goal setting: planning, implementation, and maintenance.  Many people have a goal; one way of achieving that goal is to devise a great plan.  However, people often fail to take into consideration the obstacles that they may encounter in the process.

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal" - Henry Ford

I have always been an athlete. My passion for sports, the sport environment, competition, and the empowering feeling I get after a long workout are what keep me involved.  I strongly believe that participating in sports teaches skills and lessons that you cannot learn in a classroom.  The sport environments which I have been a part of foster passionate and driven people who treat others with respect.I thought sports were supposed to be fun – so what’s with the stories about the “chilly climate”? When I think of chilly climates, I think of the frigid temperatures in Ottawa, Ontario (the coldest capital in the world) where I grew up.  Winter lasted almost six months.  The snow, ice, and freezing-cold temperatures could make anyone want to hibernate until spring.  However, despite the chilly climate, we would all embrace the climate by going outside and having fun.  There were plenty of ways to be active outside during these months: skating, skiing, tobaganning, building snow forts, etc.