Kangaroo moves and other Olympic lessons

Unlike many, I am not mad at Rachael “Raygun” Gunn, the Australian breakdancer who has gone viral at the Olympics. Her moves were, probably unfairly, compared to a kangaroo. I will admit her version of breakdancing did seem somewhat comical. It was hard to tell while watching her performance if she was completely serious. Supposing that all athletes who reach the pinnacle known as the Olympic games are serious about their respective sport, Gunn must have been serious, too. But her commitment to her performance does not minimize the fact that many onlookers were essentially hurt. Breakdancing was once a revered dance form that was born alongside hip hop. Created from the need to tell the untold stories of urban neighborhoods, hip hop has become everyone’s music. That Gunn would take on break dancing is not strange. It’s popular. It’s cool. It looks like a lot of fun. While I do believe Gunn’s performance was unexpected, to say the least, I also believe there were bigger lessons we could take away from the Olympics. Lesson one: brilliance does not have a zip code. Or a home state or country. Greatness abounds across this planet. So does tenacity, grit, talent, skill,...