Meaghan and I were talking about the Olympics a little yesterday and I wondered aloud as we talked about the marathon “I wonder what kind of time the last place finisher ran.”

So, I looked it up. 2 hours 55 minutes for 26.2 miles. The last place finisher in the Olympic Marathon averaged a 6:40 mile.

I have little doubt that this person (a last place finisher) is in the top 1% of all marathoners in the world.

Watching the Olympics really made me think about how success is defined.

For some, anything other than medaling (or even anything other than a gold medal) was a disappointment.

For others, maybe just being able to be on the stage and to participate was the realization of a life long dream.

Either way the common theme is that of doing your best when it counts.

Performing to your highest capabilities when it matters most. When the pressure is on. When the whole world is watching.

And then being ok with whatever happened from there.

We have the same opportunity every day. Maybe we don’t have the grand stands or the aura of the Olympics around us as we serve customers and each other, but we can do our best.

We can set a new personal record. We can reach for that next level. We can practice a little harder or a little longer.

We can do our best.

Make it a great day. Set a personal record.

Jake