Kim Swims
Recently I went to see Kim Swims, a documentary film by Kate Webber. It was hosted by my past client, Susan Sullivan and her organization, Women Sports Film Festival. The film is about Kim Chambers’ experience of being the first woman to swim from the Farallon Islands to the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, a 30-mile swim located at what is called the Red Triangle because it has one of the highest concentration of white sharks in the world and is extremely cold water. She swam in a bathing suit, not a wetsuit.
Sound crazy? Yes. I agree. But here is what I think is such an important reminder to any of us when we are creating transition and change in our life. Kim’s story is powerful and not far-fetched because she believed she could do it. She only started swimming 6 years prior to this swim, and about 8 years prior to then she almost lost her leg to amputation after taking a bad fall. The fact that she almost lost her leg sparked a desire to go more for what she wanted in life.
She was not a great swimmer; most of the coaches who trained her called her good but not great. Her ability to meet this incredible goal was her mindset, determination and an amazing community that she architected to set herself up for success.
It is also important to note that it took 6 years before she achieved this remarkable goal. Here is what I want to ask you:
★What is your Farallon Swim?
★What is it you envision for your life?
★What is your almost leg amputation moment?
Career change takes making a decision and then lots of determination with a big dose of community support. We cannot create change alone. We need our support team. Determination comes from a real relationship with our WHY:
★Why is our purpose so important to us?
★Why are we willing to fail in hopes of creating the change we seek?
★Why does our purpose and our vision make a difference for us?
It is amazing what we can achieve when we set our mind to do it no matter what. And if you are reading this and your inner critic is screaming, that is great for Kim but not for me, I challenge you to look for evidence where you had a goal, were determined and made it happen. It does not have to be a big goal, just simply a goal that felt important and you made happen.
I always love hearing from you, please reach out and share your “Farallon Swim” goal…
Michelle M. Olsen - Career Purpose Coach
GreenLight Your Life
