Friends,

The purpose behind the Monday Morning Mojo is to share things that inspire amid the drumbeat of daily news that often is most worrying. I regularly share inspiring stories other people tip me off to, I have had guest authors, I have tried to focus a lot on my past in Asia/China, the public relations business, and my present life in the United States, and I have also, selfishly, shared a lot of my personal pursuits.

Well, today’s post is one of those personal journeys filled with lots of inspiration. If it hasn’t been clear since earlier missives, what inspires me personally is my wife, my kids, my extended family, my friends, my communities, and lots of sports. This past week was a coming together of almost all these things, with the exception of my extended family who I was in regular contact with.

I was in Paris this past week enjoying the Olympics, with a brief stop in London along the way. My family, friends and I have been together to witness, first-hand, inspiring Olympic stories daily, and it has been great for the soul.

I am using today’s MMM to share with all of you much of the inspiration we witnessed.

Olympic Inspiration

My highlight was watching volleyball, women’s basketball, rhythmic gymnastics and athletics with my family and friends, surrounded by friendly, happy people from all over the world.  Here are pictures of us with friends from China, the Holdsworths and the Salomons.  We had a fantastic dinner with Duncan Clark and Robin Wang, hosts extraordinaire, home-cooked by Robin. We loved watching the US women win the 4×100 relays. Great seats in the rhythmic gymnastics put us in listening distance from the coaches and participants. Jackie, Lisa and Samuel even made it on the jumbotron at the athletics.

Pin Trading

Another very enjoyable experience was passing along my Olympic pin trading tradition to my kids. In 1976 I attended the Montreal Olympics with my mom, and she got me started collecting and trading Olympic pins. I delighted in watching my kids take over the trading and we have many great stories together. Jackie and Samuel are masters. Jacquelin did not shy away from chasing the pins she wanted, and Samuel began trading with police officers for their badges.

Celebrity Sightings

I also loved how much fun everyone had. I don’t think Jackie and Samuel slept at all, traveling along with a colleague of Samuel’s, Stuart Hoover, and they ran into a lot of their favorite celebrities including Steph Curry’s dad, Dell Curry, Draymond Green, Carmelo Anthony, Thierry Henry, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Travis Scott before his scuffle with Paris police, to name a few.

Inspired By The Stories

The inspiring stories from these Games were many. I loved the story about, and reaction of, the USA’s weightlifting bronze medalist, Hampton Morris, who trains with his father in his garage. I loved watching the Javelin Gold Medal ceremony featuring Pakistan and India as the gold and silver medalists. I enjoyed seeing the dominance of the Chinese in table tennis and weightlifting. The men’s tennis final between Alcaraz and Djokovic was electric. And, reading the stories about the 61-year-old Chinese woman who represented Luxembourg in table tennis was most encouraging for an old man like me. Overall, observing the US and China finish the Games at 40 gold medals each was fun, seeing how Lisa and I were following this from the beginning. Finally, watching Snoop Dog on television I thought was a brilliant idea by NBC. I was inspired from start to finish.

A Brief Stop In London

Before we arrived in Paris we passed through London where we visited with Mike, Miranda and Kate Allen, and the Holdworths.  We also had the delight of meeting Gregg and Kim Ainsworth, longtime friends from living in Taiwan, which was most enjoyable.

A Visit To Southern France

Lisa and I are rounding out our holiday in Provence and enjoying our time in Southern France. Wishing you all an inspiring year ahead. We need more events like the Olympics that bring people together in peace and happiness while putting differences aside. Peace.