INSIGHTS FROM AN OLYMPIAN BY JOHNNY QUINN | @JOHNNYQUINNUSA

My wife and I fly a lot. Before Amanda joined the family business full-time she worked for a graphic design firm which required a substantial amount of travel. For the past few years she has qualified for companion pass with Southwest Airlines which allows me (her companion) to fly for FREE! This is the best airline incentive on the market for sure and we do our very best every year to keep up the pass.   Photo credit: Mikael Kristenson  We now travel together speaking to businesses, schools and organization all across the country and have established a routine. Park the car, go through security, check the monitor to confirm the departing gate, you know the drill. We have OUR routine and we like it. Now, anytime our routine gets off track albeit traffic, airplane delays, left behind wallet (that was no fun!) it can put us in not so nice of mood. Have you ever experienced that before? The routine you have come to know and stick to, gets disrupted and you turn in to a Grumpy Gus! Welcome to the club, you’re officially human!   What if you could control Grumpy Gus?   Murphy’s law states that if something has the ability to go wrong, it will. When there are a lot of moving parts, the chance of something not working, or functioning properly skyrockets. I have found success in preparing for the unexpected. What I mean by that is if the unexpected happens, well, then I will roll with the punches. I don’t have to agree with it nor do I have to mask my frustration – these are normal human functions. Instead of letting unexpected events control my attitude, I control my attitude.   Dr. Stephen Covey, in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, talks…

It’s an exciting time at JQUSA.com! We have launched my new website with a new logo, hi resolution photos and stunning design! As an Olympian and former professional football player I deliver thought-provoking and action-packed messages to businesses, school and organizations across the globe. See for yourself! FUN NEW ITEMS!?! I have designed a THINK Guide to help become more intentional with your time and to create more margin in your life for what matters most to you! Download for FREE! My Speaker’s page is loaded with high quality content and easy access navigation buttons such as: Most Requested Topics Client List Videos Testimonials Media Kit Think Like An Olympian Blog are easy reads to begin your morning. I tackle topics on leadership, teamwork, motivation, faith and social media and much more. I would love to hear your feedback on my new EVERYTHING and where you think I can improve. Browse through JohnnyQuinnUSA.com and send me an email with your thoughts and tips!

Everyone learns by experience. The more experience, the more life lessons you can learn and apply. Learning by experience is a great way to learn, but the BEST way to learn is by taking advice from people who have been there and done that. Photo Credit: Kevin Curtis This type of learning is the absolute, hands-down, BEST way to learn. Now let’s think about that for a minute. To learn which path to follow while avoiding potential pitfalls is a fast track to success. It doesn’t matter what field you are in, if you have the answers to the test (or in other words, advice from wise people) you will ace it! If you are going to take advice, which I highly recommend you do, here are the do’s and don’ts to follow: I was at the grocery store the other day and I saw an old friend. We’ve traded messages here and there on social media, an occasional text, but it has been awhile since I’ve seen this person. After the standard greeting and the “Hey, how are ya’s” he started give me financial advice. The newest “thing” he has invested in and how he has been spending his money. I nodded, acknowledging that I heard his words, but there was no way I was going to take his advice. Here is why: He displayed no true sign of financial savviness, he just threw around some fancy words. He consistently complains about money problems (on social media). His actions don’t line up with his words. Now let me follow this up with one very important fact. I in no way am being mean or judgmental of my friend, but what I am doing is acting out of wisdom. I will simply not take his financial advice because his actions,…

I wrote a post last week on designing a strong morning routine and the benefits of getting up early. Naturally, my next post should focus on ending the day just as strong. I first came across this concept by Darren Hardy, in his book The Compound Effect. Photo Credit: Jay Wennington  If you haven’t read his book yet, I encourage you to add it to your reading list. Darren introduces and discusses the concept of controlling your bookends. Or in other words, what you do in the morning and in the evening can help shape your day. It was an interesting concept that I felt compelled to apply to my life and feel strongly that it can help you too. Below are a few tips I wanted to share with you on how I control my evenings. Six Tips To Building A Strong Nighttime Routine 1. Make A Commitment Sound familiar? With anything in life, especially if it’s new, we must commit first and foremost. Write it down, share your commitment with your spouse, a parent, a close friend, (Not Facebook – we’ll chat on that later) or anyone in your inner circle of influence that you trust. It’s important to understand why this is step one. If you don’t make a commitment and just “hope” for things to be different… let me fast forward to the end of the story… Nothing will change. I promise. 2. Set Time This isn’t grade school anymore where bed times are mandatory. Instead, it’s important to set a time in the evening to start winding down. Pick a time to start disconnecting from your computer, phone, TV or any other blue light device. Yes, I know there are programs/apps that block the blue light (I use FLUX on my MacBook) but mentally, it’s…

One of the best ways to win the day is to control what you do in the morning. Studies show that those who start their morning early (waking up with intention), are more proactive, more optimistic and better planners.  Photo Credit: Joshua Earle I have put together a list of five components to help you WIN your morning. 1. Make A Commitment Especially if you’re not a morning person, you must get committed. Write it down, post it on your bathroom mirror, set three alarms, do whatever it takes in order for you to be committed to controlling your morning routine. Otherwise it won’t stick. Sure, you might make it through a week or two, but in the long run without a commitment in place, it will fade into the dust of busyness and lack of time. 2. Start The Night Before Get in bed earlier if you want to commit to a morning routine. I have found that if I plan the night before (SPOILER ALERT: That’s my next post, “End Your Day Just As Strong”) it’s easier to get out of bed when the first alarm goes off. Too many times I have tried and failed by cramming in more work at night and getting in bed an hour or two later than I should and expect a cheerful start in the morning. In most cases, I hit the snooze button multiple times and the next thing I know I’m behind on time and rushed in the morning. That is a recipe for a stressful day, not a winning day. 3. Be Quiet We currently live in the most advanced and innovative time the human population has ever seen. Technology has connected us in ways that 20 years ago were unimaginable. People are selling, sharing and passing out…

I speak to corporations and to first graders. The age and attention span is quite different. Although some would argue about the latter. When it comes to dreaming BIG, I tend to hear students talk about BIG dreams more freely and openly. Photo Credit: Alex WongAs we grow older and we are told no, reality sinks in. Either we have selected or been given (some cases forced) the short end of the stick and start to settle in to this zone of being comfortable – whatever that may be. We forget the importance of dreaming BIG.All the time I hear young people talk about wanting to be astronauts, doctors, lawyers, professional athletes, even The President! These are BIG dreams and they are important dreams! What if we started to dream BIG again? Dreams about closing the biggest deal in company history! Or scoring the highest grade achievable on an exam, review or test! What if we dreamed for the most amazing spouse (that dream came true for me!) or for that dream house, dream car, dream plane (too much?), you name it! What if we dreamed about reaching people who are lost. Helping and serving others who can’t repay. When we are allowed to dream BIG, we start to get rid of the junk that can’t help us achieve our BIG dreams. The point of dreaming BIG is to realize that the reward down the road is so much better than being comfortable with where you are at today. Do yourself, family, friends and colleagues a favor and start dreaming BIG, again! You and everyone else will enjoy the reward! Question: I would love to hear your BIG dreams! Send me an email to info@johnnyquinnusa.com and share your BIGGEST, baddest, boldest dreams!

We all stumble, we all fall and we all fail. When those things happen, and they will, put in action three simple steps to re-purpose your life and get back on the proverbial “right track”. Photo Credit: Matthew Wiebe  STEP 1: BORROW WISDOM No one likes to ask for help and this step requires us to lower our pride. The beauty about borrowing wisdom is that you can learn from people who have gone before you and gain crucial knowledge on things they did well and things they wish they could have done differently. Borrowing wisdom from the right people is a sure fire way to get you back on track and back on purpose! See who I borrow wisdom from >> STEP 2: HELP OTHERS Zig Ziglar said it the best, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough people get what they want.” When you serve others, it creates an intrinsic sense of selflessness and reinvigorates your soul. Especially, when the person(s) you are helping is in no position to do anything for you in return. I have found when I am searching to re-purpose I need to take my focus off of my world and my desires. Helping others has a strong way to clear the lenses of cloudy vision and re-purpose your life for exactly what you are called to do. STEP 3: RESET That’s right. Start over. Reset. This step is crucial for re-purposing your life. Here is what happens… You seek out a mentor and find one. You pick up a ton of “ah-ha” moments and knowledge. You begin to shift your focus off your world and actively engage to serve and help others. Things are going well. Things are going really well because things are different, this…

We are all different. We have different personalities. Different backgrounds. Different belief systems. Regardless of how different we are (which is actually beautiful), we have one fundamental thing in common. Can you guess it? The answer is, time. Let me be more specific. We all have the same amount of time in a day = 24 hours. Shocker right? Here’s the thing… Some people choose to spend their time wisely (a.k.a. intentionally), while others simply let time fly by. Photo Credit: Wil Stewart I want to spend my time intentionally. I would hate to look back and see that I let time pass without being intentional in the direction I wanted my life to go. As I am sure you do too. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be reading this post. I have put together a list of three tools that can dramatically change your life, because you’re choosing how to intentionally spend your time. TOOL #1: BLOGS If you haven’t subscribed to a blog, it’s a must. You can have them delivered right to your inbox. Most people post their blogs first thing in the morning. It’s a nice way to process great content as you begin the day. And the best part is, it’s FREE! TOOL #2: PODCASTS Wow, what an awesome concept! You can get great content audibly. On your way to and from work try substituting the radio for a podcast. Download a podcast before a flight and tune in at 30,000 feet. I have even started to listen to podcasts during workouts. I hate cardio, but I now blast right through it when I’m listening to a great podcast! TOOL #3: BOOKS For under $20 (typically) you can get someone’s best work on a particular subject or topic. I use Amazon’s Kindle for my book consumption. On…