I’ve learned a large portion of what I know about teamwork and leadership from sitting in the locker room.

I’ve watched dozens of teams since I was 5 years old.

I’ve watched them go through ups and downs.

I’ve watched them deal with the emotions of winning and losing

I’ve had my own ups and downs and I find myself leaning on those experiences in those times.

I found out last week that my dad and I are being inducted into the Hall of Fame together at my high school next month.

(He’s already in the LA state Hall of Fame for coaches)

The same day I found out he is retiring after 36 years of coaching.

It was a very mixed bag of emotions.

I was upset that he was retiring, and that caught me off guard.

I’ve never known anything else and while I haven’t been in that locker room for 20 years it felt like that chapter was closing for both of us and not just him.

I think that feeling was fear.  A fear I maybe didn’t know existed.

Les Brown said:

“Most people don’t work on there dreams, why?  One is beacuse of fear, the fear of failure.  What if things don’t work out?  And the fear of success.  What if they do and I can’t handle it?”

I don’t fear failure, and you probably don’t either.  Most CrossFitters have come to know failure pretty intimately and are comfortable there.

I hadn’t really ever thought about my dad not coaching.  I never thought about him moving on.

And I don’t know that I had ever really thought about moving on myself.

Moving on for doesn’t have to mean retiring and starting a next chapter.

     It could mean leaving a particular mindset behind and becoming a different type of person.

     It could mean advancing in our job and taking on new and bigger roles.

     It could mean leaving a relationship behind.

     It could mean stepping out on our own and taking a risk to chase a dream.

     It could mean leaving the net of security that we live in now.

“Fear kills dreams, fear kills hope”

Because we come in and train every day.

Because  we down failure everyday and work to get better.

Because we show up and work to get better.

Because of all of that, we are prepared for the fear that comes with chasing success.

Accept failure for what it is and don’t fear success. 

Fern