Out of Office: Clara Hughes

Notes for the modern business traveller from Olympic athlete Clara Hughes.

JUN 28, 2012  ·  BY LAURA OSBORNE | ILLUSTRATION BY NICOLE ALINE LEGAULT

The only Canadian to win medals in both the winter (speed skating) and summer (cycling) Olympic Games, Winnipeg native Clara Hughes is in London – bike in tow – for the 2012 Olympic Games. Hughes is also tireless when it comes to reaching out to Canadians as a mental health spokesperson for Bell Canada’s Let’s Talk campaign.

1. Always listen to your instincts. And don’t just listen but act as fast as possible. Just do it.

2. What I had to learn on the fly Anything I’ve learned in sports is applicable to life. I prepare for a race the same way I prepare for being interviewed 41 times in one day.

3. My business mantra Follow your bliss. I always need to know what’s behind that closed door.

4. Best place for a work lunch 
I love the Summer Herbivore salad at Montreal’s Olive + Gourmando.

5. The biggest risk I ever took was quitting my job at 27 to try speed skating. I went from getting paid to ride my bike to paying to skate.

6. In business, now’s a good 
time to throw away the script. People are tired of being talked at.

7. My eureka moment I’m racing a bike at 38 years old. 
I have the chance to show people I have no limits.

8. In my carry-on you’ll find everything because I’m basically homeless all the time. I haven’t been in one location for more than three weeks since 2005!

9. My go-to gadget 
My SRM. It’s a device that takes the data from every pedal stroke and sends it to my coach.

10. Window or aisle? 
Aisle. I’m perpetually hyper-
hydrated… Need I say more?

article: http://enroute.aircanada.com/en/articles/out-of-office-clara-hughes