As the 2008 Summer Games draw to a close, I am reminded why good sports stories are always so compelling.

When I started watching football with my then-boyfriend, now-husband, he knew how to hook me. “That guy broke his back two years ago and they said he’d never walk again,” he’d tell me pointing to the beefy linebacker running onto the field on TV. “That guy was in the Canadian league and they took him as a third string quarterback,” he’d say about the now-champion NFL player. He showed me that it wasn’t just about scores and stats. It was about human beings challenging themselves physically, mentally and even spiritually, as is the case with all athletes who take to the field, court, pool, track, etc. and reach for an elite level.

So in the last two weeks, the come-from-behind, overcoming-the-odds, feeling-the-pain-and-doing-it-anyway stories have been filling the airwaves and I’ve been noticing that the population of bikers and runners on the streets in my neighborhood has gone up. But I’ve also been thinking, as I know a lot of people are, about how I challenge myself- Am I in the best condition I can be in? Do I try my very hardest to reach my goals? Do I believe in my ability to make it happen against all odds, to win my own version of the gold?

Of course, we are also seeing a lot of stories of those who came up short in competition in Beijing, but still there they are. They have reached athlete’s mecca, they have made the journey, and even if they didn’t reach the podium, they fought with everything they had. They inspire us with their sacrifice, with not giving up even when gold is clearly out of reach.

David Neville, for instance, lunged at the finish line in the men’s 400m finals and with that split-second act, he beat the fourth place finisher by a split-second to take home bronze. Is bronze better than fourth place? You bet it is. And even better, he knows that he left nothing on the track. He has the bruised and skinned knees to prove it and, in the years to come, long after the wounds have healed, he’ll have the medal to prove it, too.

When was the last time you lunged to reach your goal? Why not try it now and see what happens?

One of my favorite thinkers, Seth Godin, a marketing guru and all around great writer, has posted a brief, low-key & brilliant blog entry on how people are spending less time passively watching television and more time on creating interesting things. As usual, he puts it better than I ever could, but it made me smile and maybe it will make you smile, too!

Though there were no great guidance counselors, no Sherry Banks (see “The Guidance Counselor I Never Had” below), in my youth, there were a couple of educators who really inspired me, made me feel good about myself, and shaped the adult I became.

Thomas Hudnut, then principle of The Norwood School in Bethesda, MD (now headmaster at Harvard-Westlake in LA) recognized my love of words. He taught me the difference between etymology and entomology and always complimented my early writing efforts. Whenever I learn an interesting new word or write something I am particularly proud of, I think of the encouragement I received from him. Thanks, Mr. Hudnut!

Walter Bartman, an artist and art teacher at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, MD (now founder and director of The Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery in Glen Echo, MD), was a mentor to hundreds of students who came through his class, teaching us how to really SEE and how to translate what we saw into powerful visual art. He took us on field trips to New York City, which was an incredible adventure for us budding artists. (On one of those trips, I met Andy Warhol as he was passing out Interview magazine at a Greek Coffee Shop where I was eating lunch. I was 15. Can you imagine?) Many of Mr. Bartman’s students ended up getting college art scholarships and grants as a result of the training they received and the resulting pieces they created. Many of them are making a living as artists still. But regardless of whether we pursued art professionally, all of us were changed by passing through his class. We had our eyes opened. Thank you, Mr. Bartman!

These are not the only educators who inspired me. And of course, there were other adults who made me feel special, encouraged me. But for today, kudos to Tom Hudnut and Walt Bartman. Many years ago, you took an interest in me and it is still paying dividends today.

So, readers, who inspired you? Let us know in the Comments section.

For many years, I was involved with a fantastic Los Angeles-based organization called The Fulfillment Fund. The Fulfillment Fund matches students who are in 8th grade with area professionals for one-on-one mentoring throughout high school. They provide many means of support to help the students.

The College Couseling program is one of the stand-outs for me. It is run by an energetic firecracker of a woman, Sherry Banks, a veteran college counselor and educator who manages to make the process of choosing and getting into the right college both fun and serious business.

I met Sherry when I took my first student, Maria, to meet with her. Maria was in 10th grade at the time and from the beginning, Sherry presented the choice of colleges as a reflection of the personal preferences as well as the academic level and needs of the students. The "personal preferences" part was, I am sad to say, an epiphany for me. I had always known, though Boston University is a great school with top academic offerings, that I had attended the wrong college. But I hadn't thought about why or been able to imagine having gone a different way.

As I sat there with Sherry and Maria, talking about Maria's needs, I was surprised to find myself feeling a little jealous of Maria. The "why" of my mistake was clear: I had needed a Sherry Banks when I was Maria's age and I hadn't been lucky enough to have one. But then again, couldn't all high school students use that kind of help? How many are lucky enough to stumble into the right school on their own? I wasn't.

In the years that followed, helping Maria choose which colleges she would apply for and then "the one" she would attend, I pictured myself having a Sherry Banks, and mentally went down the road not taken. In that alternate universe, I attended a small liberal arts college with an intimate, creative vibe, a college by coincidence like the school Maria ended up attending.

As I drove away from dropping Maria off at school and getting her settled, I knew she was in the right place. I also knew there was no blame to lay for where I had ended up. I had gone to the school my brother had gone to. I felt I knew Boston well because my cousin had also gone there. I had made the best decision I could at the time.

And I was happy for Maria, that she had had Sherry. Sherry had not only helped her become clear about what type of school she wanted to attend, but also encouraged her to stretch for a college that her high school counselor had emphatically (and wrongly, of course) told her was out of her league.

When I am consulting with clients about their next career move, Sherry Banks is never far from my mind. I want to help them find a place that fits them and to stretch for a position they might not otherwise try for.

I want to be for them the guidance counselor I never had.

I’ve been working a full time job for all of my adult life. In addition, I have always had several side projects which I actively pursue, not to mention a personal life and hobbies and all that. I am a very good multi-tasker. I can keep my focus on short term tasks and long term goals. I am adept at making lists and carving out time to get each item on the list done.

Okay, I was. Last month we picked up our now 7-month-old new bundle of joy from Taiwan. Since this is a blog about career transition, I will refrain from sharing the details but simply say the following summary:

• We went through a lot of effort to get him.
• He is generally a great baby, though he is teething so tres cranky a lot of the time.
• We adore him.

But since I am currently his solo full-time caregiver and he is extremely limited in what he can do on his own (going to the bathroom in a diaper, crying, skootching awkwardly across the floor, etc.), I am completely unable to keep up my juggling act. Sure, I get a few minutes here and there to run to my computer and bill a client for work I did before we got the baby or contact a client to set our next meeting. I am even- right now- getting to blog while the boy sleeps.

But it’s not like it was. And until I get some fabulous childcare in place, it can’t be. It will be soon, but it won’t be tomorrow. So I’ll have to focus on being a good mom and let the work wait if need be. That is my version of Life Balance at the moment. We’ll see how it evolves with the bambino in the picture…