How many times have you caught yourself being way too hard on yourself?

We all have that voice — the inner critic — that second-guesses, undermines, and judges.

Who has shaped your soul?
Behind every success, there’s someone who believed, someone who challenged, or someone who showed the way — even if they didn’t realise it at the time.
I’ve been shaped by love, by adversity, and by lessons that have stayed with me for life.
Who do you owe your growth to?

Everyone sees the gold medal. No one sees the 5am alarms.
You don’t win on race day, launch day, or the day the deal is signed.
You win in the quiet moments — when no one is watching.

🟡 The sacrifices
🟡 The discipline
🟡 The consistency

That’s where the magic is.

In 2008, my crew and I missed qualifying for the Beijing Paralympics by less than a second.
I gave everything I had—and still came up short.

But what I learned in the aftermath of that race shaped how I see challenge, failure, and purpose to this day.

This isn’t a story about losing.
It’s a story about discovering what really matters.

How many times have you started something—full of hope, energy, and intention—only to hit a wall and walk away? Maybe it felt too hard, too slow, or just too frustrating to keep going. I’ve been there. We all have.

As a young 25 year old female I had been on the Toronto Police force for 6 years.  I had been working undercover in the Morality Bureau and yes as the name suggest, we investigated morals, prostitution, drugs and gambling.  I had worked for a year in the prostitution area and was given the chance to move into the drug squad. 

In order to succeed, an elite athlete must understand and embrace discomfort.

How often do we forget that we actually have a choice? That we have the power to shape our lives, our direction, our story. It’s easy to blame circumstances or other people when things don’t go the way we hoped. But at the end of the day, no one else is responsible for our path — we are.

How many times have you been offered an opportunity and instinctively said no? What if saying yes could open the door to a new passion, a new path, or even a whole new chapter in your life?

On April 24th, Carol version 6 truly came to life. I was heading to Belgium, just like most years around this time, for a Para Cycling World Cup. But this year was different—I wasn’t there as a cyclist but as the Team Manager.

How many of us are truly living our purpose? Have you ever paused to ask yourself—what is my WHY?

I don’t believe that grit is just about being dedicated to a goal. It’s deeper than that. Grit is about loving what you’re doing—feeling that fire in your belly even when things get tough.