Hi, my name is Briana Scurry. and I'm a World Cup Champion and 2 time Olympic Gold medalist.
The reason why I started this MySpace profile is because I've had some incredible success in my life
and I'd like to share the keys to my success with others. I've spent 14 years playing soccer and
representing my country to the best of my abilities. It's been hard but I've loved it and I'm grateful for
the opportunities I've had.
With this profile, I hope to meet, network and give back through inspiration
and guidance to help others achieve their dreams. I know the key to achieving one's dreams is
personal development.
As I do talks around the country alot of people ask me how I got to where I am today. Soooo I thought why not just put it on MySpace and then I don't need to go into it every time. Y'all can just come here and find out.
Let's see, where should I start? How about at the beginning...
I was born and raised in Minnesota, the youngest of 9 kids. Mom and dad did the best they could with what they
had and I was blessed to have parents that believed in me and did everything in their power to support
me. As you may have guessed I played sports all year around. It kept me active and out of trouble.
I loved all sports and realized early on I was pretty good at most of them. I remember watching all the
amazing athletes on TV that played the same sports I did and wanted to be like them. I loved Pearl
Washington, Flo-Jo, Cheryl Miller and many others.
When the winter and summer Olympics came around every 2 years I would glue myself to the TV after racing
home from school. I vividly remember the incredible triumphs of 'Miracle on Ice', Mary Lou Retton and Michael Johnson.
My best friend and I used pretend we were in the Olympics using broomsticks as javelins and racing each
other up and down the street. I think those moments were what stirred up in me the desire to be an Olympic
athlete although I had no idea how I would do it at the time.
Somewhere deep inside of me I felt I was meant for so much more than small town living and small dreams.
No offense to anyone that digs the small town life. It just wasn't for me you know what I mean? All those
times when I dreamed the big dream of winning Olympic Gold are what led me away and got me on the podium
for real.
Off to college Through athletics I was able to get a soccer scholarship and go to UMass Amherst. At the time I was a skinny
asthmatic, small town girl competing on a team that made the NCAA Final Four in Women's Soccer 3 out of
the last 4 seasons. Talk about the deep end but for some reason I knew I was supposed to be there.
My senior year I made All-American and got the attention of Anson Dorrance, coach for the US Women's National
Team.
One week after my last collegiate game I found myself in the National Team camp. I did my best to stop
as many balls as I could. Needless to say I thought I resembled a piece of swiss cheese so many got
by me. For some reason though, they kept asking me back.
The years passed and little did I know all the while behind the scenes the universe was conspiring to
make Women's Soccer an Olympic sport.
Running with the big dogs In 1995 not only was women's soccer introduced as an Olympic sport, it bypassed the trial period and
became a full medal sport at the 1996 Centennial Atlanta Olympics.
So there I was at age 24, no longer pretending to be one of the athletes I saw on TV - I was actually
one of them! I have to admit that I floated around in a haze for those 3 weeks in Atlanta but I do
recall with absolute lucidity how I felt when the final whistle blew and the scoreboard read USA 2 China 1 .
I felt a flood of emotions. Overwhelming excitement, the realization of a dream come true... it was almost
surreal. It was the first time I understood a thought of absolute belief could become reality. Without
knowing it I had learned the first lesson of personal development and tapped into the Law of Attraction.
I've been fortunate to be on the podium 2 times since then. In World Cup 1999 in front of 90,000 at
the Rose Bowl and in the Athens 2004 Olympic games.
That is my story. It's not one of the hard luck stories you hear about so often.
My parents didn't have alot of money but we weren't destitute. I was not dodging bullets as a kid but I knew
if I didn't get a scholarship my parents would not be able to afford to send me to college. I never attended
an Olympic development program which is how the vast majority of my teammates got recognized. These
things never phased me. I simply focused and played to the best of my ability day in and day out.
Time for a change
So what's your story? Maybe you have odds stacked against you and maybe you don't. The
question is are you going to let it get in the way of your dreams. What's holding you back?
My success in my athletic career is due to my understanding of the Law of Attraction and personal development
over a period of 23 years. Determination , teamwork, dedication , preparation , training, focus , working
with the end in mind , sacrifice. These are all things that made my team successful. These are the same traits
the most successful people in sport, business, entertainment and other industries possess as well.
These are the traits that YOU will also possess once you have the right mindset and training.
It took me years of hanging around with people of the same mindset, reading books on leadership, focus
and determination and constantly working to make myself better to have the success I've been able to
achieve. I have spent thousands and thousands of dollars investing in myself because I knew it was
the best investment I could ever make.
Success is absolutely available to anyone who has the desire and understanding to go after it.Today when I'm not playing soccer I do motivational speaking to companies and teams around the country.
I feel strongly about impacting people on a personal level. I live my life everyday with the spirit that I will do something GREAT today.
In my talks I impart what it takes to have that kind of winning attitude. I talk about how our day to day decisions affect the future results we get in our lives.
Many of us make our decisions based on how we feel about something. If we give our negative thoughts (fear, hopelessness, doubt, etc..) the power to make decisions then often times the results we get reflect our thinking.
However, when we focus on what we truly want and make decisions based on whether it will move us faster towards our goal or not then that's when we're being GREAT every day!
You must be willing to work for it and on yourself. It's not necessarily easy but it
is simple.
Overall in my talks I teach how to create the life you want and deserve.
You may be wondering why I'm talking about this now even as I'm heavy in the middle of training for World Cup in September. Well, once the leadership retired from my team in 2004 my role shifted. We had a lot of young kids come in and being the veteran, I found myself being asked to take on more of a mentoring role. I really enjoy my added responsibility and most of all seeing their success and knowing I had a little bit to do with it.
Over the years, I've done dozens of motivational talks for Fortune 500 companies like Staples & Sony to Jr. High School girls in after school programs. I love sharing my experiences with others. My goal for each talk I do has been to provide that one nugget of information - the little insight that may help one person in the audience bridge the gap between where they are now and where they want to be.
I enjoy speaking to hundreds of people at a time and have found it very rewarding and will continue to do so. After having been in high pressure situations a few times in my life I know what it takes to mentally prepare for success in any situation.
Want me to talk to your company or team? Shoot me a message and we can chat.
