You can't win 'em all

Last night, Rodger lost a match to his recent nemesis, Novak Djokavic in a three-set match at the 2011 Australian Open. I can't say I don't miss the days when Roger could beat anyone. Literally, anyone! He was unbeatable for so many years that tennis fans everywhere got used to Roger winning. It was only a matter of how long it would take and how hard he would have to work.

Now, there appears to be some change and instead of being completely dominant, Roger wins some and loses some - This is the way it's supposed to be! You're not supposed to win 'em all! Many fans get hung up on the fact that Roger now loses a match here an there and we lose sight that Roger Federer had accomplished something virtually unparalleled in sports and entirely unheard of in professional tennis.

And from this most recent match of Roger Federer, I was reminded that: Sometimes, despite our greatest effort, we lose. We just do. We can't win 'em all. And for Roger, who is still playing great tennis, maybe it does have something to do with age. It's no secret that the career of an elite athlete is limited. The human body can only take so much constant pressure at that level. Recently, Gil Meche, a pitcher for the Kansas City Royals announced his early retirement and sacrifice of millions of dollars of pay due to him because he was in regular pain. As the Royals' general manager said, "You only have so many throws in you." Roger still has quite a few left. And when he doesn't, he'll do what we all have to do, move on to the next thing, whatever that may be.

Just like snowboarding

iPhone and Android apps and games are here to stay. And they keep getting more and more complex and sophisticated. My favorite game lately is one called Crazy Snowboard. This game is similar to Angry Birds, which most people know of at this point, in that the goal of the game is to pass each level and get the most stars on each level so that you can unlock special boards or tricks. To get the most stars, however, you need to attempt the most difficult, risky, and complex tricks and get the most points. In attempting these difficult tricks, you're also more likely to crash, and even a single crash can make achieving that high score impossible, even if you have a perfect run for the rest of the level.

In this way, life is a lot like this Crazy Snowboarding game. To get the most out of life, we need to take some risks and attempt some difficult things. In doing so, we're more likely to crash and maybe not quite achieve what we had hoped. But without the risk, we would be unable to maximize our potential during the short time we have on this planet.

On the Crazy Snowboard game, after crashing and failing to max out my score, it's easy enough for me to select the "try again" option and give it another shot. In life, it's often a bit more difficult to try something again after feeling like we failed. But it's also more fulfilling when we eventually get there, when we get all the stars that we always knew we could.

Measuring change

I don't like "New Year's resolutions" because they have become synonymous with unrealistic, overreaching goals that almost always result in failure and disappointment. The start of the new year, however, is just as good a time as any to set specific, measurable, and attainable goals to improve aspects of your life. I decided it would a good time for me to set some new goals for my personal fitness: exercise at least three times a week, which is a good, easy to measure goal that I like. While many fitness professionals don't encourage using body weight to determine a person's level of physical fitness, I decided I would also keep track of it, since there's a scale at my gym and I was keeping a log of all my exercising activities anyway.

For about two weeks, my weight remained right around the same number. Then today, there was a clear three-pound decrease in my weight. My personal trainer reminded me that a three-pound weight change isn't really that significant and doesn't really say anything about long-term improvements in physical fitness. And though I know this and keep it at the front of my mind, seeing this measurable change really helped motivate me to keep working toward my actual goal of exercising three times a week.

Always set your physical fitness goals with the advice of a fitness professional. Instead of body weight, many fitness professionals will recommend monitoring body mass index (BMI) or measurements of certain areas of your body. Setting a goal of a certain number of exercise sessions each week is also a good way to monitor your progress. But however you do it, being able to measure your progress will help you stay on track to meeting your goals.

Resources for aspiring motivational speakers

It turns out that you can find lots on information on motivational and keynote speaking with just a few keyword searches.

Wikihow and eHow both have pages giving some tips on the process of becoming a motivational speaker.

By searching for "speakers bureau" you can find local organizations near you. In my area, I found two Hong Kong-based bureaus, Speakers Connect and the Hong Kong Speakers Bureau.

Toastmasters is also a great way to practice your public speaking skills, get tips and feedback on your public speaking, and meet other people who share your interest in making public presentations. In Hong Kong, there are many different clubs for English, Cantonese and Mandarin speakers.

Not just for sports heroes

The other day I told my friend that I was going to actively pursue more motivational speaking opportunities. She told me that the only people she'd ever heard of becoming motivational speakers were either sports stars or people who had lived through a tragedy. I thought about this for awhile, wondering if she was right. Then I came to a realization. Without taking anything away from athletes or those who have succeeded in the face of tragedy, since clearly both these groups of people understand what it means to overcome challenges and difficulty, I realized that the world needs other types of motivational, inspirational figures. In fact, everyone, in some way, has something to offer and can be an inspiration to somebody else. And by being just an ordinary person, with an ordinary life and ordinary problems, there's a greater chance of connecting with other ordinary people.

I encourage everyone to think about how they can be an inspiration to the people around them. I'll do the same as I continue to look for more speaking opportunities here in Hong Kong.