333. Motivation to Cross the Finish Line

“Back in 2007, I was invited to do a small triathlon in the Houston, Texas, area, and to do it for a cause. My friend said, ‘Look, if you do it for these kids you’ll actually be motivated to do the training, and you’ll do what it takes to cross the finish line.’ She was right! At that time, I raised $2,400, finished my first triathlon, and said, ‘This is the best feeling in the world!’ I just kept going from there.”

Gabrielle was always good at math. “I’m a logical kind of person, very practical, so I always leaned toward the activities that were practical and mathematical. It’s just what I did. Fast-forward, I ended up in college getting a degree in civil engineering. I was also clearly focused on earning a degree that would get me a job.” Although she did land a job in engineering, she recalls, “By the time I was a junior in college I already knew it wasn’t going to be something I’d do long term. After working in construction management for awhile, a gentleman on-site introduced me to a leadership program called The Landmark Forum. It’s all about discovering who you are, your talents and what you are passionate about. So, at 24, I enrolled in the class. It solidified even more for me that engineering and construction weren’t for me. I realized that I wanted to use my talents, abilities and my love for people, in different ways.”

Through her husband, Bill, who is co-founder of Reason2Race, Gabrielle met an executive in a capital management company. “The company gives away 50 percent of their profits every year to charity. It’s written in the company’s by-laws! I was amazed he was able to build a company effective and successful enough to be able to funnel millions of dollars to the charitable world. I set a goal for myself: create a million dollars for charity. I fell in love with this whole concept of cause-related charitable giving through athletics. At that moment, the life-long question of what I’m here for and what I’m here to achieve just made complete sense to me.”

1. If there’s something you passionately want to do, hang out with people who do it. “Before I completed the Iron Man Triathlon, guess who I was hanging out with?”

2. Learn from other people’s experiences. They’ve already made the mistakes and walked the path. Why recreate the wheel?

3. Believe in yourself and in what you have. Believe in your product and do what you love to do. Eventually, it will turn out for you, if you put in the work.

The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea, by Bob Burg and John David Mann

Uncharitable: How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential, by Dan Pallotta