Unstoppable Tracy

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

UNSTOPPABLE TRACY SCHMITT

International Motivational Speaker, Unstoppable Tracy Inc. In my 20s: I climbed the world’s largest Himalayan Mountains, captained a 110-foot-tall pirate ship and worked in numerous developing countries. I earned my honors degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies with a specialty in Outdoor Experiential Leadership followed by a Bachelor of Education in the Integrated Arts.

In my 30s: I won a national bronze medal in alpine skiing while consulting and crushing breakthroughs for Air Canada during the pilot strike, the bankruptcy and then the merger with Canadian Airlines. I spent my evenings earning my MBA in Organizational Development. My success depends on perseverance. I am humbled and proud to say I am an award-winning leader in business and in sport.

In my early 40s: When Shoppers Drug Mart was told no more government pharmacy funding, I provided training and development as a corporate consultant. I was a laser-focused and hard-hitting business coach. My skill set includes building teams that are outperforming stock markets in times of crisis! I don’t just talk about high performance in business… I live it!

In the last 24 months I became a TV Show Host of The Today Show and the podcast Unstop the Story. After becoming the bestselling author of Unstoppable You: Cracking the Limitless Secret, I became a #1 international award-winning speaker and have spoken in over 40 countries.

Did I mention I’m a four-way amputee? Audiences say they are pushed beyond their limitation boundaries as a result of hearing my mind-blowing story. My stories like “Let’s Get Started” on bullying and “Nobody Left Behind” dealing with resilience have gone viral on the internet with over 100 million viral views.

Tell us about breaking down

barriers. I recall a particularly painful day. A career I absolutely loved had just ended. What scared me most was being so intensely sad. As a firm believer in “what you focus on grows,” I was afraid this intense sadness was going to attract more sadness. In order to make it home that day, I needed to know what was going to pick me up no matter what. With the question, came the answer. Sailing. It was October; there was no sailing in Toronto in October. So I Googled where I might go to sail. San Diego had a regatta. The same day I finished work at 11:30 am, I found myself spontaneously on a plane at 5:30 pm going to San Diego. I did surprisingly well, getting a bullet (a first) in one of the races. During the flight home, Hurricane Sandy hit. During the flight I had a scary life-and-death moment. While thinking I was dying, life’s purpose came to me––if I lived, I knew I had to pursue my dream of being in the Paralympic trials! I called folk from my sailing world. They told me I would need 10,000 hours training, $10,000, a boat and a coach just to get to the trials. In fact, they said it was impossible unless I was an Olympic gold medal winner. I asked, “Do you know any?” They said, “There’s only Magnus Liljedahl and he’s in Miami.”

Let’s dial this back. While learning to sail, my first summer I failed. I kept falling out of the boat. Because I swam with my legs off, I sailed with my legs off. When the boat would heel, I would fall overboard. At the end of that summer, all the other kids got a White Sail Level One. I failed. It turns out you must be able to stay in the boat to pass. They awarded me a fish because I spent more time with the fish than I did in the boat. Choose to sink or choose to swim? Swim, of course. So the next summer I went back and mastered balancing in the boat. I caught up and got my White Sail Level 1 just like all of the students last summer. I also got my White Sail Level II along with my peers that same summer. In addition, unlike my peers, I also earned my White Sail Level III and IV. I learned to get my head out of my boat, to look ahead and read the wind to be able to predict what was coming and keep my balance. So back to being told there was no way. Impossible unless it happened with gold medal Olympian Magnus Liljedahl. I did an internet search for Magnus. I phoned, Facebooked, Tweeted and LinkedIn messaged Magnus. I got nothing. I made one of these 5-4-3-2-1 decisions. I’m going! I decided I would drive down there to get face-to-face with Magnus. My family and friends all love me dearly yet were not supportive of my journey, probably out of fear for me. In fact, they were quite resistant, even angry, that I was leaving. I arrived in Miami. Guess who wasn’t there! MAGNUS. So I hid in my car among two-million dollar boats… (I was thinking who you surround yourself with is who you become so million-dollar surroundings is a great plan)…and I slept in my car. I was exactly where I needed to be. I woke up with the sun. Guess who was washing boats at 5:30am? Magnus! Right in front of me! I jumped out excitedly saying at a million miles per minute, “Magnus, Magnus, Magnus, I’m Tracy from Toronto. I’m so sorry. I phoned you, emailed you, Facebooked you, Tweeted you, LinkedIn you, Myspaced you, unspaced you, all around spaced you, Magnus. I’M TRACY from Toronto AND I’M GONNA PURSUE MY PARALYMPIC DREAM!”

Long silence followed. I got nothing. He was busy washing his boat. Finally, he said, “That’s nice.” I was all about me. He had other concerns and really who was I? A girl in a male- dominated sport? A person with a disability next to an able-bodied giant gold-medal Olympian. So I picked up a sponge and I started washing a boat with him. For the next three months, I was washing his boats. On the dock one day, a boat was coming in out of control. Everyone was screaming and shouting at him in the impending chaos, “STOP”. Well, clearly this guy didn’t know what to do so, instead, I gave him focus. I said, “Let go of your mainsail. It’s the line in the middle. Push your hand on the boom to back the wind. Head to me. The wind was coming from my direction and that would stop the boat. I tied his boat off knowing Magnus had seen the whole thing. He said, “Tracy, you can sail?”! I said, “Yes, Mags!!!!!”

We started sailing together and he loaned me boats from then on in exchange for working for him. Magnus moved me into the back room of his girlfriend’s yoga studio; he even built a boat for me. By this time, he was like the brother I never had. I will love him for life. My competitive spirit is strong. I embarked on an aspiring Paralympic Sailing Campaign for the trials to be considered for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio! My competitors in the para world are missing a foot or a thumb or even paralyzed waist down. I call those paper cuts! I’m not fearless. I do it in spite of fear. Feeling uncertain is no excuse for inaction. Exceed uncertainty. Embrace possibility even if you don’t know how. Don’t avoid failure. Just get started and earn independence. I can’t begin to imagine what you are all facing in your lives. I do know if I live a life of ‘No Excuses’, I get to live a life of ‘No Limits.’ As an unstoppable coach, I support your peak performance by disarming your limiting beliefs to reveal the best version of you. Many positive thoughts your way.

NOW, GO BE AN UNSTOPPABLE YOU!