How an Olympic Champion Navigated Thin Ice

Apolo Ohno's five golden principles can become part of our own leadership and personal-growth tool kits.

February 24, 2022

Sports has long been a powerful vehicle to teach us about the art of living, leading and embracing change.

Apolo Ohno, one of the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympic athletes of all time, recently reflected on the timeless life lessons he’s acquired as a speed skater in his new book, Hard Pivot: Embrace Change. Find Purpose. Show Up Fully.

In speed skating, a hard pivot is an aggressive shift of direction that requires courage, practice and split-second timing. For Ohno, the most frightening hard pivot of his life didn't happen on the ice, but rather, when he had to hang up his skates for good.

“After my final Olympics, I felt confused, vulnerable, and adrift without purpose," he write. "Yet that's when I realized my experiences had given me something much more valuable than medals and memories. I had tools I could use to shift my life in a new direction—and most importantly, these were tools anyone could benefit from.”

These past two years alone have pushed us out of our comfort zones. We have had to embrace change, make our own difficult pivots and lean into the unknown. The reality of these unique times has cultivated opportunities to have more honest conversations about our purpose and, ultimately, what is most important in our lives.

We must not become paralyzed by perfectionism. Change, transitions, reinvention, and letting go of the familiar can be difficult and scary. Still, this process can be transformative if we lean into those moments with a deeper appreciation, awareness, openness, and less resistance.

In Hard Pivot, Ohno shares his five golden principles for overcoming times of change and challenge:

  1. Gratitude: A daily practice to help you maintain perspective, cultivate empathy, and alleviate stress.

  2. Giving: How to elevate your life's purpose by offering your time, attention, and resources to others.

  3. Grit: Exercises to build mental stamina, resilience, and toughness to persevere through hard times.

  4. Gearing Up: Ways to prepare yourself to meet the unknown with flexibility and grace.

  5. Go: Develop the courage to take risks, learn from success and failure, and come back stronger.

These five golden principles can become part of our leadership and personal growth tool kit so that we can lead even more effectively than we already do.

Winning gold at the game of life is our birthright. Showing up more fully and authentically amid immeasurable change is our birthright.

The next time we face a hard pivot, we can do so with more grace, faith and confidence and thank Apolo Ohno for making the slippery ice of leadership a little smoother.