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TOPICS
1. Canada: True, Strong and Free
Canada’s Olympians represent the values and opportunities this country embraces; self determination, courage, perseverance and optimism. Silken celebrates our Olympians through storytelling and highlights how greatness lies in each one of us.2. Leadership: Personal Excellence – Moving from good to great.
For corporations and individuals to reach their true potential and be effective leaders, we need to find the courage to continually transform; to move beyond our comfort zone and accept that overcoming a challenge is a part of life that comes with a certain level of discomfort, but can ultimately result in great joy, new found wisdom and strength. In this presentation Silken draws upon her own remarkable sporting experiences and shares the lessons she has learned about life. Using her experiences with legendary rowing coach Mike Spracklen, Silken shows how even in a relentlessly competitive and demanding environment, great leaders love what they do and care passionately about the people they lead. People don't care what you know - Until they know that you care.3. Inspiration: An Olympic Story -The Courage to Dream
Ask yourself what successful people have in common and the answer is often that they found the courage to pursue their dreams against all odds. Dreams move us beyond our goals and they are the essential first step to success. In this presentation Silken Laumann relives the excitement and challenges of her own incredible dream and Olympic story. Silken provides an insight into how athletes motivate themselves; what makes a great coach; the power of a team and the importance of excellence in our society. Silken is graced with the gift of empathy. She reaches out and connects with people's struggles, their doubt and their pain. By sharing her own moments of doubt, times when she didn't know what the next step would be, moments where she was overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty, Silken reveals herself as a compassionate human being and connects deeply with her audience. Her message of courage has the potential to transform an audience 's image of themselves and their possibility in the world.4. Live Well: Three Keys to a Healthy Life
Silken Laumann knows about living life well. The equation to living well encompasses all aspects of excellence. Excellence in mind, body and spirit. We can’t be at our full potential in our jobs, in our relationships and in our communities, without a commitment to invest in all aspects of living well. Silken Laumann takes her audience on her journey to live well. A journey that brought her to the Olympic playing field, drove her to start her own charity focussed on healthy active kids and fuelled her lifelong commitment to mental, spiritual and physical health. Silken inspires her audience to explore their own potential and have the courage to dream big, challenge their limiting beliefs, and chart their own course to a life well lived.Think Well Mastering the art of Thinking Well is critical to an Olympic athlete’s career. In sport and in life it means overcoming fears, challenging doubts and limiting beliefs and playing a positive tape inside your head. Thinking Well is about building an awareness of the power of our minds. Where we direct our mental focus has a direct impact on what we manifest.
Act Well Acting Well comes from understanding and owning our personal power to positively influence our environments - in our work, in our families and in our communities. It is about sharing our gifts with one another - our power to encourage and support, our wisdom and our experience. Acting Well is about interacting with the world in a way that adds value.
Be Well Being Well comes from gaining an awareness of the important place physical health has in our lives - it is truly a foundational aspect to living life fully. When asked what they value most, people talk about their families, their work and then their health. Most of us invest little in our health. Yet without it, the other two core values are greatly diminished. Silken inspires her audience to believe that physical wellness is attainable and adds significantly to the quality of our lives.
5. The Courage to Shine: Releasing Your Inner Excellence
Building on her own remarkable experiences and those of other champions in art, music, and business, Silken shares with her audiences key strategies that lead to great performance. What is revealed is as surprising as it is sensible. From the company executive with a jar full of pennies representing the days of his life to the Olympic athlete in tears of doubt just days before winning gold medals. Silken shows us that leaders are not fearless, nor eternally confident. Rather they have mastered the mental skills that harness and unleash human potential. Understanding the power of our thoughts and intentions, staying connected to our passions and creating the positive environment from which creativity and excellence flows are keys to releasing inner excellence. The balance between controlling our own destiny while still being receptive to the unexpected and magical are lessons shared by this very open, sharing and caring speaker.6. Rowing Smooth in Rough Waters: Finding Courage and Opportunity in Difficult Times
In response to requests from audiences, Silken is pleased to announce the development of this new presentation. Rowing Smooth in Rough Waters is relevant to today's world. This powerful and moving presentation provides specific tools that the audience can use to affect change in their business and in their life. Audiences will walk away with winning tips for working with fear, protecting and building optimism, visualizing the desired result and most importantly they will learn how to Row Smooth in Rough Waters.
SILKEN LAUMANN
Olympic Hero
Silken Laumann takes her audiences on the journey of a lifetime, as she shares her story, from broken bones and shredded muscles to Olympic glory. Far more than a sports story, it is a story of courage, perseverance and the triumph of the human spirit. While Laumann's achievements are unique to her field, her process of achieving personal excellence challenges and motivates individuals and their organizations to reach their full potential. She discloses the critical elements for realizing success by presenting her audiences with striking anecdotes and powerful analogies, while sharing the tools she developed during her seventeen years of international competition.
The New York Times reported, "Laumann has touched her nation a million times", and her message continues to touch her audiences, as they identify with her anguish, her struggle, her exultation and ultimately realize their own potential for greatness. Laumann has been granted many honours, including being awarded the Lou Marsh Award as Canada's Outstanding Athlete. In addition, the Globe and Mail named her as one of Canada’s Most Influential Women, and she was recently inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
In November 2003, Laumann combined her passion for sport and youth and established The Silken Laumann Active Kid’s Movement, a national charity designed to promote the health benefits of physical activity, and to inspire and support Canadians wishing to increase physical activity levels in our children. She has written an urgently needed book for parents, educators and caregivers wishing to raise more active and healthy kids called Child's Play. It is a call for action, an inspirational guide to reconnecting with our kids, and an introduction to inspiring examples for building safe, supportive communities and healthy schools.
Silken Laumann's Blog Entries -
Olympians: the awe-inspiring magic of positive thinking
Our Canada, Our Athletes
COMMENTS FROM AUDIENCES
"As you could tell by the group’s standing ovation, your speech moved us emotionally and was a highlight of our weekend."
AMJ Campbell
"I have never had the pleasure of working with such a professional. Your speech truly touched the hearts of our members."
Canadian Professional Sales Association
"You provided our sales team with valuable new skills, applicable to both their business and personal lives."
Microsoft
"The Response from our participants was overwhelmingly positive.
For many it was her address that helped them to articulate what they want to achieve in their development as leaders.
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The Leadership Centre, Canadian Centre for Management Development
"If you only hear one speaker, it should be Silken."
Hamilton Health
"I’ve seen several motivational speakers and she’s by far the best."
Selkirk Financial
"My staff are still buzzing about the whole conference, Silken is a star, she set the scene for the rest of the day – she’s worth every penny."
Uniglobe Guardian Travel, Ft St John
"You were a big hit with our group, not only for your presentation (which was in itself truly inspirational), but also for your willingness to attend our social gatherings and give people a chance to get to know one of our country's authentic heroes up close. Your warmth and generousity of spirit were evident and appreciated."
Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP
"Silken was motivating, captivating, honest, warm and so down to earth. She stayed with us for a while after her talk and many people had the chance to talk to her one-on-one. We were delighted and totally inspired by her!"
Library Association of Alberta
"Silken, thank you so much for the inspiration that you have given me today. You have reached so deep inside me that I find it hard to put into words. I have several dreams that I hope will become reality and with your inspiration I am closer than ever before. Please accept my deepest thanks and allow me to give you what I think is the best compliment anyone could ever receive, “You made a difference in my life today!"
Chip Hospitality
"Truly inspiring. Her spirit and the essence of who she truly is came out. I thank her for sharing that with me and for being such a role model for humankind!"
Can Fit Pro
"My daughter and I had the opportunity to listen to you speak last night (February 26/08) here in Kamloops. My daughter introduced herself - my daughter (also Silken) is named after you. We chose to name her thus partly because the name is so beautiful and partly because I believed that you would be a very strong role model. Little did I know what a strong-willed person she would be and how important such a strong role model would be for her. I think you really touched her in your speech.
It is my hope that your comments have planted a seed she will be able to nourish and nurture as time passes, one that will help her chart her future and fulfill her potential as a person."
Thompson Rivers University
"The standing ovation following your inspiring words at the evening event was a spontaneous 'thank you' for an exceptional presentation. Your sincerity and warm manner were evident during your address, as they had been during the luncheon and while you were autographing books for the long line of admirers. You have challenged us to work purposefully toward improving the health and well-being of the children of Leduc and have suggested ways those goals might be reached. Thank you for helping us kick off the Games in a wonderful and memorable way!"
2008 Alberta Winter Games
"I have seen over 500 speakers over the years... Silken Laumann has something special and is amongst the very best in the world. She moved me."
President of International Rotary
