Making the Top Six in the Defender Trophy
I was not selected to advance to the Defender Trophy Global Final in Africa, but making it this far was an honor I will always remember.
From a field of competitors across the United States and Canada, I became one of six U.S. finalists for the 2026 Defender Trophy. The journey challenged me through off-road driving, navigation, physical tasks, and problem-solving in unfamiliar terrain. It also gave me the privilege of representing Fort Worth alongside people who brought remarkable skill, determination, and enthusiasm to the experience.
Congratulations to Nathanial, a walking Land Rover encyclopedia, and Tirin, whose father participated in this competition in the 1990s. They will represent Team USA in South Africa, and I wish them every success.
I am also grateful to Daniel Syvrud and Brendan Harrington at Autobahn Land Rover Fort Worth for nominating me. Their confidence opened the door to an experience I would never have had otherwise.
There is an important lesson in reaching for something difficult even when the final result is not the one you hoped for. We often measure an opportunity by whether we won, advanced, or received the title. But growth happens long before the final announcement. It happens when we prepare, take the risk, learn what we can do, and discover how we respond when the outcome is uncertain.
That lesson has become part of the story I carry into my speaking work: courage is not the absence of fear, and success is not limited to finishing first. Sometimes the real achievement is becoming the person who was willing to begin.
Related reading