• 3 Broken Collarbones

• 2 Concussions

• 1 Broken Jaw

• 1 Broken Wrist

• Multiple torn ligaments and muscles

From the age of 13 to 17, you could say I had a bit of a rough go with hockey injuries. In my first year of full body contact at 13 years old, I broke my left collarbone at the start of the year and my right one at the end of the year. Part of the reason was lack of strength, but the main reason was that I was scared of getting hit, which, as any hockey player can relate, makes you more susceptible to injury.

What’s interesting is when I turned 18, I started playing hockey against men, and for 13 years, never had another hockey injury. I got hurt but never injured. My mindset changed. I knew that in order to keep up and earn my spot on the team, I would have to prove I could play with the big boys. I went from being an offensive-defenceman to a defensive-defenceman. I started to embrace going into the corners, and in fact, looked forward to going into battle.

While on the bench waiting for my next shift, I would run this thought through my head;

“What’s the worst things that could happen? Will I die? No. Will I get injured? Unlikely. Will I get hurt? Possibly. Is this something I have to do for my team? No question.”

This self-talk is the strategy I would use to take hits and start dishing out hits. I started coming out of the corners with the puck and making that all-important first pass out of the zone to relieve our goaltender and help give our forwards the best opportunity to succeed up front.

Once I saw success on the ice with this type of self-talk, I started to translate it into business. Taking on challenges and intentionally putting myself into uncomfortable situations because I knew the benefits that could come of it.

“What’s the worst that can happen if I ask for the sale? They say no. Big deal, learn from it and improve your questions that will lead to getting more yes’.”

“What’s the worst that can happen when I cold-call this person? They hang up. What’s the best thing that can happen? They come in for an appointment and it leads to a sale.”

“What’s the worst that can happen if I ask for a referral? They say no. That means I didn’t do my job effectively and it opens an opportunity to ask how I could improve. What’s the best that can happen? They are more than happy to share their experience and send their friends and family my way.”

The higher quality questions you ask yourself, the better answers you will get. Don’t be afraid of getting outside of your comfort zone and “going into the corners”. Although it may seem intimidating at first, you’ll come out a stronger player and further be able to help your team succeed.