107: Doug Lewis | How this Olympic Skier Sets Effective Goals

Former Olympic downhill skier Doug Lewis decided at 8 he’d compete on the Wold Cup level. Success came very early, but during his first World Cup race at age 17 he broke his back.  Failure, he now says, is critical to building confidence. He went on to win World Cup Bronze and represent the US in 3 Olympic games. The problem with peaking early is the looming question of what to do next - and will anyone care. Lewis chose to pass on the lessons he learned by creating a youth development program called Eliteam. He also chose to stayed close to ski racing and is a Skiing analyst for NBC for World Cup and Olympic games. Lewis is content with his life, but continues every day to look for new adventures and inspire kids to set lofty goals then dig deep to achieve them.

Lessons:
    1.    Good coaches set goals challenging enough to spur growth but not so overwhelming they create despair.
    2.    Students should set goals they may never reach, they will provide direction and inspiration.
    3.    Confidence requires failure.
    4.    In any meaningful life path, ebbs and flows are inevitable.