I've waited 20 years for this LOVE to land.
And, given the rough start, I trust the timing is now perfect and that this new relationship will only flourish.
It was a coaching conference in Vancouver in 2006 where I first shared the idea that LOVE could be an integral part of building a successful team and healthy culture. It’s funny; I was more nervous about simply getting up in front of the assembled crowd than sharing my unorthodox message. I mean, I was familiar with it—LOVE as a competitive strategy was something I was used to. I had lived it ever since awkwardly stumbling upon this paradigm shift a few years earlier with the help of my wife, Robyn, and her approach to middle-distance running on a very competitive world stage.
When a handful of those gathered responded with dismissive laughter, I tried not to judge. Truthfully, how could I—I had no foot to stand on. My initial push back against Robyn and her hippie-centric LOVE message was abnoxiously herculean. What I knew and believed then not only didn’t jive with what Robyn was all about, I found her views offensive—an affront to my ego’s desperate protection of an old-school, tough-guy approach to competing. My insecurity couldn’t handle a message that invited me to rethink my tried-and-true combative methods. Piss off with your fluff, was my initial repsonse.
So when I spoke again a few years later in 2011 at a national coaching conference in Ottawa, where national team coaches and administrators literally got up and left when I began questioning the recent rebranding of our national sports governing body to “Own the Podium,” (OTP) well, I wasn’t totally surprised. Disappointed, yes, but not surprised. And, okay, maybe calling OTP brash, destructive, and misguided was a little harsh. But once again, I had to remind myself that during my competitive years, I likely would’ve embraced the confidence that owning a podium imbues.
Perhaps inviting coaches to consider the power of LOVE as a means to build healthy and highly motivated world-class athletes would be a harder sell than I had imagined. After my talk, a coach approached me and said, “Hey, great story—even better message. And I wouldn’t take the early exits personally—my guess is you’re a little ahead of your time.”
I wasn’t flattered. If anything, I was more pissed-off—more determined than ever to convince the sporting world we had it all backwards. Our potential wasn’t reached by hating and grinding our way to the top, but instead by loving and flowing. Too wussy? I didn’t care. I had seen it work as a coach time-and-time-again—I wasn’t backing down!
Convincing others of what I had discovered became an unhealthy obsession. I resorted to my old competitive habits—head-on and taking no prisoners. Come hell or high water, I would see to it that people embraced this message.
What followed was a few years of outspoken television and radio interviews, a second book, Pulling Together, along with some prickly newspaper articles. I was making headway—the media seemed interested in a disgruntled Olympian with unflattering views on our national sports programs. It made for good soundbites and headlines. My message of LOVE was finally spreading. Fair enough, I was selling it utilizing a strategy of aggressive dominance, the very thing I was speaking out against, but I didn’t care—it was working.
Then, our workshop took shape—a message of LOVE and synergy combined with strategies that built and sustained a healthy culture of high performance. It had been another ten years, and the laughter had finally diminished. A few things contributed to a more receptive audience: the times were changing, and truthfully, so was I. Shoving LOVE in people’s faces was no longer my schtick. I was now walking our talk—inviting others to consider what was on offer on their terms. It felt better, and the comments from participants reflected that.
But you can’t deny the cultural shift, as well. For whatever reason, a new generation of athletes talked about LOVE in a way they never had before. During a post-game interview, I remember the first time I heard an NHLer say, “There’s a lot of LOVE in our locker room.” That was a moment—LOVE might just be the competitive strategy I had been talking and writing about for years. It certainly wasn’t my doing, but hearing other coaches reference LOVE more frequently and freely during press conferences was certainly helping demystify the stigma around utilizing the “L-word.”
Finally, the time was ripe for a book about the very message we had been sharing. A book told in the voice of the one individual who embodied that message more and better than anyone I had ever met: Ike, our golden retriever.
In 2023, IKE, the dog who saved a human, was born—a canine autobiography sharing his life’s story and celebrating what’s on offer when we notice and consider our dogs’ way of being—open to life and love, sharing and receiving. Perhaps our dogs did have things figured out, and we’d be better served by paying attention.
But, to my surprise, the reception was crickets. Sure, IKE was selling, but the same media outlets that couldn’t get enough of me trashing Canadian sport culture weren’t interested in a book about, well, just LOVE—especially dog LOVE!
So, I reached out to some Canadian-speaking bureaus again. Having shared this keynote with thousands by this point, I figured maybe it was time for some help spreading the word.
Thanks, but no thanks! Com’ on, really! If ever there was a message that this planet needed, surely this was it. I mean, look around at the mess we’re in—clearly the Beatles were right. All we do need is LOVE—even if just a little. So, why such resistance to an elixir that could cure all that ails us?
Every year on April 27th, I think of our beautiful little boy and the life we travelled together. The gratitude that bubbles up when I reflect on that time is immense. Like the title suggests, he saved my sorry ass. He came alongside a bitter young man and, without judgment, showed him the possibilities of living a love-centric life, like all our dogs do.
LOVE for themselves, for others, and all life has to offer each and every day. Seems simple enough, but for many of us, yours truly included, we can lose touch with that simplicity in our pursuit of what we or others think life should look like.
What’s interesting about this year’s commemoration of Ike is that this week, I received notification from an American speakers bureau, All American Entertainment, confirming they would like to begin working as a booking agent for future speaking gigs. Hence the title of this piece—I’m not being overdramatic when I say that I have been daydreaming for 20 years, imagining a bureau representing me and my message of LOVE. It’s taken some time and a lot of patience, but here we are—I’ll take it!
The stars have aligned, the times have caught up, and I couldn't be more ready and excited to share Ike’s story and message of LOVE with people I may not have otherwise had the opportunity to meet—very cool! Thank you, Universe.
So, Happy Birthday, Ike. And, as always, thanks for everything. Now let’s get ready, we might just be getting started!
Also, I assume it goes without saying, but if you or someone you know has an upcoming event that requires an uplifting story and inspiring message, please either forward this along or pass on their name to me—much appreciated!
Yes! All good stuff. Reading something far more political this morning, the dual message there was that apathy (and inaction) can be contagious, but so can engagement and action. On your end Jason, I think the world could use a little- or a lot of contagious love now. Having just finished Ike last week- fantastic BTW- let the new speaking tour begin!