What do I excel at?

This is the question we should all ask ourselves before we even start to judge the performance of our Canadian Olympic athletes as they arrive home from Beijing. After every Olympic games the inevitable discussion begins about whether Canadian Olympians lived up to our expectations as a nation.
However, before we begin to judge our athletes performances, on the World Stage against the best competition each Nation has to offer, I think we first need to decide whether we even have a right to comment on their performances by asking ourselves the question "What do I excel at?" What am I a World leader in? What have I dedicated myself to and focused on for the past 4 plus years to make sure I was among the best of the best on the world stage? If you feel you do belong at the top of your chosen field then feel free to judge, otherwise please keep your judgments to yourself.
You have no idea how hard these athletes work and how much they sacrifice to motivate and inspire not only the youth of our nation but all members of our society to achieve excellence in their own lives. I have had the pleasure of getting to know several current and past Olympians and the role they play in our society goes far beyond the hardware they return with from an Olympic games.

Congratulations to all our Olympians and thank you for inspiring me to pursue personal excellence.