In social impact work we tend to wear many hats, but I was recently surprised to learn how many of us moonlight in our evenings as gymnastics judges. On a team call, the Building Impact team was gushing over the Olympics, but one name was on everybody’s lips: Simone Biles. I may not be a gymnastics expert, but boy, were we all energized witnessing the GOAT make her incredible comeback in Paris.   

While I watched this small moment of history, as Biles became the most decorated American gymnast of all time and the oldest American gymnast to win a gold medal (she’s . . . 27), I began reflecting on all of the incredible things we can learn from her and her career. Witnessing how she showed up for herself and for Team USA in what may be her final Games inspired me to consider how the Olympics apply to our work with donors:

1. Simone goes for difficulty points. While others in your field or sport play it safe, you’re trying hard things and reaching for the biggest points. Even if you mess up, or aren’t perfect, or land out of bounds, you still have the potential to get the biggest score on the board. For donors, these are our “big bets:” not shying away from confronting our most difficult challenges and seeking the most powerful solutions. As I remember from my glory days of high school Latin, “Per Aspera Ad Astra,” which translates loosely to the idea that you should shoot for the moon, because even if you miss, you’ll be amongst the stars. 
2. Simone changed the timeline, but not the goal. Biles knew that she aspired to become the most decorated gymnast in US history, but she also knew that Tokyo wasn’t the moment for her. She paused, reevaluated, and pivoted to the path that would put her closest to her goal, even if that meant that she (and the world) wouldn’t get it yet. It was worth the wait. In this work, I’ve come to know that timing can be everything. If you ignore the context in which you’re operating, the situation could open you up to wasted energy or even possibly danger (to you or to the effort overall). When I launched Enroll Indy, we hoped to launch our app a year earlier than we did. We didn’t give up, but we knew that sticking to our original timeline would sacrifice the opportunity to engage and invest more stakeholders in our work, which was critical for long term impact. We spent a year working directly with parents to help them navigate the school choice landscape, and that built even stronger demand for a simplified system. If we’d rushed it, I know now that we wouldn’t have been as successful. 
3. Simone still gets criticized. A lot. But she shakes it right off and stands her ground, regardless of where the spite is coming from. She has no interest in paying attention to her armchair quarterbacks. Remember your ultimate goal, and don’t be afraid to take the steps you believe will get you there. Simone gets in the literal (and figurative) arena and knows it’s not the critic that counts. Don’t let the fear of criticism stop you from working towards the change you wish to see in the world. 
4. Simone is honest with herself. She could have pushed herself in 2021 when she knew the team “needed” her.  But she knew if she (or the US team) wanted a future shot at gold, she needed to look internally at what she needed personally so she didn’t end up injured or worse. That resulted in three years of intensive mental training in addition to her physical training, and eventually, a lot of Gold medals. Donors should also explore their own needs, through coaching or other personal development, to consider how they can align their personal giving strategy to how they create deep personal satisfaction and joy. Without that alignment, many donors risk burning out or ending up on the sidelines.   Some donors deny their personal needs as they seek external validation for their work, but we’ve seen that when donors also feel joy in their giving, there is longer investment and more sustained giving.

Usually I watch the Olympics just because they make me happy. They’ve made me happy for years — they are the real-life version of the greatest sports movies of all time. But this year, as the whole world held its breath watching Simone’s comeback, I couldn’t help but take lessons to apply to my own life — as a mom, as a wife, and as a philanthropy advisor. I want to do hard things and still have a huge smile on my face even if I stumble in pursuit of my goals, and I would encourage any donor to do the same.