Happy New Year! For many of us, January marks the beginning of new goals that we set for ourselves. The start of the new calendar year also marks the countdown for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games happening this summer. Therefore, I thought I would set the year off on the right track for all of us by showcasing a mentor of mine, Chandra Crawford, who has excelled in achieving her goals as a Gold-Medal Canadian Olympian and Founder of the organization, “Fast and Female.” I’m excited that today Chandra is sharing her insights to help us all #fuelpersistence in our personal and professional goals. Chandra is a positive role model, who I am honoured to feature on Arianna’s Random Thoughts. With this interview, my hope is that Chandra will empower us all with some practical strategies for achieving our dreams.

Today, Chris Guillebeau, the New York Times best-selling author of The $100 Startup, is sharing his record-worthy practice with all of us. During a lifetime of self-employment, Chris visited every country in the world (193 in total) before his 35th birthday. Each summer in Portland, Oregon, he hosts the World Domination Summit, a gathering of creative, remarkable people. Connect with Chris on Twitter, on his blog, or at your choice of worldwide airline lounges. 

Only you can become an expert at valuing yourself! What practices help you become your own personal best?

Valuing yourself is a process and requires practice. Earning it may not give you applause and acknowledgement from outsiders, but having healthy self-worth will provide you with the strong foundation to perform in other arenas.

You are special in your own right. Not for being your job title or for a role you play in your life, you are worthy for being YOU! You without the mask, without the titles, without the applause.

Aloha! I’m back. Hope you all had a great couple of weeks. I had a refreshing vacation in Maui.

If you want to get inspired, you should visit the Hawaiian Islands. They have changed my life; they may change yours. We all have places that empower us. The Hawaiian Islands do this for me.  Maui has a special place in my heart; it is where I originally came up with the idea for my blog. So, I thought I should use my holiday as a chance to reflect on my blog, past and present.

Mara Glatzel is a self-love coach + author of the Body Loving Homework e-course. She works with women who are ready to create the lives they want — and deserve. Her blog — Medicinal Marzipan — has inspired thousands of women to heal their relationships with their bodies, and treat themselves with relentless compassion. Catch up with her on facebook, twitter, or join her body-loving mailing list for secret swapping and insider news.

Last year, I went with an amazing friend to our local Lululemon store to browse their products, which we both love. While there, I saw vision boards on display which the staff had created. I thought the boards were really interesting, so my friend and I went up and looked at them closely. I have wanted to make a vision board ever since my hairdresser told me about it a few years ago. The boards on display were so beautiful that I was inspired to make a vision board myself, as I was just about to graduate and had so many dreams I wanted to pursue.

Sharleen Hoar (Ph.D.) has been supporting elite and aspiring performers of all ages to achieve personal and performance excellence since 1996. She is a member of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association and is the mental performance lead with the Canadian Sport Institute - Pacific working with Olympic and National team athletes, coaches, and sport science and medical professionals. Sharleen attended the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2015 Pan American Games, and supported clients through three Olympic games including the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver (Canada) and Sochi (Russia), respectively, and 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).   

Today, Yvonne Young is sharing with us about perseverance.I first connected with her after I found her blog.  I had  posted about standing tall and was looking for others who had done the same. I can relate to her and am excited she has decided to participate in this series.  So glad I connected with her :) Thanks Yvonne! You should check out her blog after you read her interview.

Bestselling Amazon author, speaker, and poet, Heather Grace Stewart was born in Ottawa, ON, and currently lives near Montreal, QC with her husband, daughter, and three feline friends.

Heather wrote her first poem at age five, inspired by falling down a lot while trying to figure skate. ‘At the Arena’ was published in her school newsletter. From that moment on, she was hooked on writing.

I'm delighted that Elaine is sharing with us her thoughts on perseverance. She has extensive experience in education and sport, which gives her great insight on these topics. Thank you so much, Elaine! I contacted her earlier this year, as I am interested in positive organizational climates and reducing bullying in sport. I suggest you check out the program after you read her interview below. The work being done is very well needed!

Celenia Serrano works for a private consulting firm based in Toronto, ON. Her true passion lies in promoting gender equality in lesser developed countries and understanding the economical and social barriers to development. It is her mission to challenge the antiquated gender roles in her own culture and promote an equal partnership between males and females. When not at work, Celenia participates regularly in yoga, in playing music and in staying active with the many dogs and horses on the farm. 

I connected with Art Butcher a couple of months ago, and I am delighted that he agreed to write this post.Thank you, Art! Please check out his bio and the link to his website, which are included at the end of the post. Building on my post from yesterday about the importance of social support in goal setting, I think Art's post is a wonderful follow-up to the question. Read Art's guest post below!