Edition #1. The Hail Mary Friday Club: So, What is It Exactly?
Welcome to the Hail Mary Friday Club.
I’m so glad you’re here! All your questions, including the reason for the ridiculous name, are about to be answered.
What is the Hail Mary Friday Club?
It’s a club for people who want to live with more courage, boldness, and joy!
What do you mean by “Hail Mary”?
Please don’t stop reading because you think you have to be Catholic or religious to join! A “Hail Mary” is a sports reference to a last gasp effort to win the game. Imagine you are an NFL quarterback and your team is down by 6 points with the final buzzer about to go. You launc a 70 yard throw into the endzone knowing that the chances of it actually working are slim. But you launch it anyways because you’d rather try than give up.. Watch my favorite example (video)
How did it start?
I initiated myself to the club when I retired from Paralympic Sport.
Life as a sprinter and long jumper was awesome! I loved the clarity. For 18 years, I knew my schedule 4 years in advance, I knew exactly what I needed to do, and I knew exactly how to measure success.
But life in the real world was very different. Breaking into the world of broadcasting and launching a speaking business was hard. Nothing was clear, everything kept changing, and I constantly felt out of my depth. I was spending way too much time obsessing instead of experimenting. I wasn’t taking action because I didn’t want to get something else wrong and feel like even more of a failure than I already did.
So I had a serious conversation with myself. It helps me process my thoughts and is very effective at discouraging people from sitting next to me on the train.
I said, “Stefanie - you know life is about taking risks. And you know they don’t always work out. So that leaves you with two options:
Stay small and stay safe
Try anyways, and know that whatever the result, you are living the boldest, most audacious life you can.
Put that way, the choice was easy.
I know that not all of my dreams will come true. But it will never be because I was too scared to try.
…enter the Hail Mary Friday Club!
What does membership involve?
Every Friday, your mission is to do something that you would normally consider a little too crazy, bold, or audacious.
Maybe you:
send that job application
ask to deliver that pitch
sign up for that course
ask that person to hang out
share that big idea
Every Friday, you give yourself 15 minutes of freedom to be bold and courageous without worrying about the result
The T’s & C’s
Full disclosure: most of my Hail Mary’s haven’t worked out. Yours may not either - and that’s okay! The pont is that you spend some time each week enjoying the view from the outskirts of your comfort zone.
But be warned: sometimes they do work out!
What you can expect:
The Hail Mary Friday Club will land every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month, featuring actionable, evidence-based content that challenges the way you see growth, opportunities, and success.
See you on Thursday August 14th.
Stay bold, stay audacious, and start thinking about your first Hail Mary.
- Stef
