The beauty started 35k feet in the air, as we flew over the Colorado Rocky Mountains and over state lines into Salt Lake City. Once we landed in SLC, it was time to get onto a shuttle and drive to Park City, a town that draws a lot of similarities to the Laurentians of Quebec. Everywhere you look you’re surrounded by Mountains and Lakes. If you look closer, you’ll see fly fishing in the rivers, golfing on the courses, beautiful spas and hotels covering the town. Park City only has 8k residents, but tourism brings the population to around 40k in the summer and closer to 75k in the winter.
Day 1, Leaving the Eastern time zone to connect in the Central time zone finally to land in the Mountain time zone. Don’t kid yourself, 3 time zones in 6 hours is tiring, but when we arrived at the hotel we were hit with a rush of adrenaline and excitement as we began to meet fellow Bing partners and make new friends. Day 1 was simple, get to the hotel, organize, have some snacks, drinks and make new friends. Most people came representing their company alone, while only a few were travelling with colleagues. I was lucky to meet a fellow Montrealer at YUL…we were the only 2 Canadians on this trip. In total, we were a group of 36 individuals, 14 from Bing and 22 Agency partners.
Day 2, Olympic day. Friday started with an introduction to Hannah Kearney Gold Medalist in Mogul Freestyle at the Vancouver Olympics and Bill Schuffenhauer, silver medalist at the SLC Olympic games in the 4-man bobsled. We were taken to Olympic mountain where the SLC Olympics had held several events. We were given a tour of the Nordic Ski Jump track (which if you’re afraid of heights like me, don’t get too close to the edge!) and the bobsled track where Bill won his Olympic Silver medal. The fun didn’t stop there; we were all split into groups where we had a chance to ride the Olympic bobsled track in a “Summer Bobsled” on wheels. I know what you’re wondering, who had the best time and fastest speed? Well, Oh Canada! – My team hit a high speed of 70 MPH (113 KPH) and a time of 59 seconds (the only group to break 1 minute). Did I mention there was a G-force of 5 on the bobsled? ‘Don’t forget to breathe’ they said…easier said than done at that force! As the day continued, we watched freestyle ski practice – into a pool, unreal! followed by a workshop and presentation by Mr. Schuffenhauer.
Takeaways from the presentation:
- What is opportunity? The expectation of future success.
- Behind every challenge is the opportunity for success. Any fool can do it once, if you want to be successful you need to prove that you can do it again and again.
- Plan your race and race your plan. Stay on course. Trust the process, be ready for the unknowns and expect that not everything will be a smooth course.
The 3 C’s:
- Clarity: “85% of success is due to personality, ability to communicate, negotiate and lead. 15% is due to technical knowledge” Carnegie Institute of technology.
- Coaching: after action review (AAR): sit down with your coach/team/manager/boss/friends/family and see what we have done well, but more importantly, what we did not do well. How do we improve? Always look to improve.
- Commitment: no plan survives its first contact with competition, you need to be ready to pivot and tackle the unknown. Commitment followed by continuous consistent effort.
These were the lessons that Bing and Bill spent the entire weekend trying to instill in us. From Bill’s POV, this was the mind frame he needed to achieve success. Bill grew up with a drug-addicted mother, a father in jail and a family that told him he would never amount to anything. Bill was homeless and people told him that he would be lucky to live past the age of 16. I spent my time thinking about his values, his 3-C’s and that it doesn’t only apply to being an athlete nor does it only apply to business, it applies to being successful in life. Work hard and play hard, but don’t underestimate the work and effort needed to achieve your goals.
Friday continued with an amazing dinner and whisky experience at the Nelson House, followed by more drinks and stories with our new friends. Soon after, it was time for bed and a big day 3 ahead.
Day 3, ATV through the mountains of Park City, it is as beautiful as it sounds. We were blessed with a perfect day, 25C and not a cloud in the sky. As we stared at our off-road ATV trail, we saw far ahead in the distance the snow-covered mountains which we would be driving toward. As we got closer to the mountaintop, we stopped to admire the view. We were once again surrounded by lakes, farms, mountains, rivers/rapids, and golf courses. Every inch of scenery was stunning in its own way.
The lesson of the day and of the trip was a consistent one. If you want it, go get it.
Life is challenging and throws you curveballs. How we manage these unknowns and work hard to prepare for all situations is how we become successful. Remember, anyone can do it once – if you can repeat that success and continue applying yourself, the results will come.
My one regret of the trip: I didn’t get to share this experience with my fellow Bloom teammates. @Bloomer’s, my success is your success. My experience was our experience. I am honored to have been chosen to be the Bloom representative on this trip and I can’t help but be grateful that I get to work with such an incredible team every day, and who I’m proud to call my friends. I wish I could have shared this experience with all of you.
What I valued most: Meeting Bing partners and other digital marketers from all around North America. Making friends, exchanging stories, learning about new cultures and new cities. And a special thank you to the Bing team. The trip was planned to perfection; with amazing experiences I’ll never forget. Thank you to the entire Bing staff that went out of their way to make this an unforgettable adventure and for that, I am beyond grateful for this opportunity!
