Alright let’s jump right into this one. I decided to dig into inspirational sports leaders this week. You know how it is, scrolling through endless motivational clips on TikTok, feeling kinda meh? That was me last Monday afternoon. Figured I needed some real substance.
The Spark
So Tuesday morning, after my usual run, I sat down with a slightly burnt coffee. Opened up Notion and just typed out “SPORTS LEADERS?” at the top. Felt too vague. Needed a hook. Scrolling through news sites later, saw an article about a local underdog team making playoffs. Bam. Got it: “Who Made the List? (Inspirational Stories Inside)”. That felt more like digging for gold than recycled motivation fluff.
The Process
Grabbed my old notebook first. Pen on paper still beats typing sometimes, right? Started scribbling names:
- Obvious legends (LeBron, Serena, Messi)
- Lesser-known but impactful leaders I remembered from past World Champs
- Then went down a rabbit hole of Paralympic athletes on YouTube
By Wednesday my desk was chaos. Printed articles everywhere, browser tabs screaming “Too Many Open!”. Switched to an Excel sheet. Made columns:
- Name & Sport
- Biggest Obstacle Faced (Not just injuries – think racism, poverty, system stuff)
- Leadership Moment (Specific game, comeback, or off-field action)
- Why It Hits Different (The real human gut-punch reason)
Filling this out took forever. Stopped cold on Thursday when researching one runner’s story. Started comparing stats… then realized I was missing the point. Trashed half the stats columns. This wasn’t about numbers. Coffee stains made the notebook almost illegible. Progress? Yeah, right.
The “Aha” Moment
Then last Tuesday happened. Sat staring at my notes for an hour. Kept coming back to a Paralympian’s quote: “The finish line doesn’t care how you cross it.” Slapped my desk – THAT was it! Leadership isn’t about podium finishes alone. It’s about dragging others across their finish lines too. Went back, scrapped two names who were brilliant solo acts but never lifted teammates publicly. Added that wheelchair basketball coach who fought tooth-and-nail for accessible courts between seasons. That’s leadership bleeding into life.
Wrapping It Up
Friday was polishing hell. My Excel looked like a battlefield. Highlighted my final 7 names. Wrote three bullet points max for each – no fluff. Made sure every story showed the grime, the sweat, the human cracks, not just shiny trophies. Hit publish late Saturday feeling wrung out, but kinda proud. Proof? Spilled my entire afternoon tea across the keyboard mid-draft. Perfect ending. Messy desk, messy thoughts, real people. That’s the list done. Feels solid.
