If you're like most of the world, the last few weeks you were glued to the television watching the Summer Olympics. You saw tears of happiness and defeat, incredible performances by the world's best athletes, and a lot of commercials and commentaries.

There were a couple things that stood out to me during this time. And yes, the usual maxims apply: work hard, never give up, go for the gold, achieve your dreams, etc. But I want to focus on three key takeaways I learned from the games:

1. Tell the truth. A certain swimmer who shall not be named (because let's face it, he is clearly a publicity hog and let's not give that narcissist anymore mention!) created an international scandal when he lied about his nightly adventures. Not only did he shame himself and his teammates who were involved, he shamed his entire country. Your name is your reputation and should be cherished, protected and upheld at all costs. Maintain integrity in every area of your life and work.

2. Be memorable. I saw so many commercials during the games - some good and some bad. I bet you can think of one commercial right now that stood out for being cute or funny or intriguing. But can you remember the advertiser or the product they were trying to sell? If you can't, the commercial hasn't done its job. This is all too true in the industry. We try to do things that are cute and eye-catching, but if it doesn't build upon your brand identity and cultivate a relationship or encourage the reader to take action, it's not a success.

3. Pick the job you want. When you listen to many of these athletes' stories, they talk about how they wanted to be a gold medal winner in [insert sport name] since they were a kid. Sure, some athletes are new to their sport, but most have been working for this all their life. They chose this profession and worked hard every day, training to be the best in their craft. In the same way, we should be devoted to our careers. Not in a "I can't sleep or go on vacation because I have to check emails and work 24/7" kind of way, but in that our hearts are committed to the work we do. If you aren't passionate about it, perhaps it's time for a career change or maybe just a reminder of why you started working in your field. People can sense if you're genuinely interested and committed to your cause, so evaluate your feelings and make sure you reflect that passion in your daily life.

So there are my musings for the day. Now I guess I need to go find something else to watch on television...