As the world’s eyes focus on the Vancouver Winter Olympics our minds are filled with hopes and aspirations of the athletes: the glory of victory, the agony of defeat, the dreams that are fulfilled or crushed in a matter of seconds, the years of training that bought them to this moment. Can you possibly imagine how it would feel to walk under your country’s flag out into an arena of sixty thousand people cheering for you?

No pressure there.

Maybe you don’t have an audience of thousands watching you. Maybe it’s just your boss, your customer, your employee or your co-workers. How would YOU rate your performance? Give yourself an A if you do your job, get along with everyone, never make waves, show up and leave on time.
A stands for Average.

If you arrive a little early or leave a little late to complete a project, make suggestions to improve a company system, question a company policy or help a colleague meet a deadline, then give yourself an E.
E stands for Extraordinary.

Before I had the honor of playing the piano at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, I had to prove to myself and the Coca Cola judges auditioning me that I was more than good enough to entertain their VIP clientele from around the world. It had taken over ten years to prove to myself I was a good pianist.
It took ten seconds for Coca Cola to agree.

Point: if you want to be outside of ordinary in your field apply these three tools to make it happen:
Commitment.
Discipline.
Focus.

Ssshhh. Listen. Can you hear the roar of the crowd?

Author's Bio: 

Australian born Theresa Behenna is a performance expert. Oh wait, she’s also an award winning speaker, internationally acclaimed entertainer, fun emcee, author, recording artist and is totally unrelated to Olivia Newton John. Laid off from her office job during a recession Down Under, Theresa began playing the piano anywhere that paid money or free food and ended up touring the world. Armed with a positive attitude, a passion for performance and thirty one evening dresses Theresa appeared in some of the world’s most prestigious venues from Tahiti to Tokyo, Singapore to Switzerland, encountering celebrities Andrew Lloyd Webber, Matt Lauer, Elton John, Princess Grace, ‘James Bond’ and Andrea Bocelli along the way. In 2006 her extraordinary career on the entertainment stage was highlighted when Coca Cola chose her to perform at the Winter Olympics in Italy where she became the only world class pianist to bring back a gold medal. (Minor matter it’s of the candy kind.)

Theresa moved to the United States in 1982 and there after began combining her background as a secretary, musician, business owner, actress and TV talk show host with popular songs, Aussie humor and a motivational message that launched her onto the speaking stage. Using mastery of the piano as parallel principles for success, she has inspired thousands of people to become a leader in their field and stand out in today’s competitive work force. Her universal appeal has engaged, energized and uplifted a wide range of audiences with clients like British Petroleum saying: “You really connected with our group at an emotional level and made a lasting impression! I particularly liked your efforts to tailor your work to our needs for our mastery training event. Many commented on your amazing piano skills!”

As a professional member and past board member of the National Speakers Association Houston Chapter, Theresa was honored to win the John Wolfe Award for speaking excellence in 2007. A contributing author to the anthology "Rekindling the Human Spirit”, She has written numerous published articles for trade associations and currently writes a weekly column, ezine newsletter and very cool blogs.

Her best selling piano CD “Songs for Friends” was recorded in 2001 with her second album soon to be released.

Theresa resides in Houston where she has yet to sound like a native Texan.

www.TheresaBehenna.com
Theresa@TheresaBehenna.com