Last night, Penny Oleksiak made us proud and marked Canadian Olympic history. The 16-year-old swimmer tied for gold in the 100-metre freestyle – making it her fourth medal, which is the most by a Canadian at a single Summer Olympics, btw.

 

Penny tied American Simone Manuel in a new Olympic record time of 52.70 seconds with a speedy second 50-metre on her way to the touchpad (almost half a second quicker than anyone else) and is also now the youngest gold medalist in Canadian Olympic history. Wowza. Read more here.

 

Speaking of world records, here is a great compilation put together by CNN of the most impressive Olympic records. Our Canadian athletes have been making us proud – with 9 medals so far (all won by women so far) and lead primarily by our incredible swim team who helped claimed our first medal last weekend (Bronze) in the 4x100-metre freestyle relay. Click here for the latest Canadian medal count summary and here for the world standings (the USA is leading with 43).

 

As mentioned in WOTS last week, RBC is a proud and longstanding sponsor of the Canadian Olympic team (the longest standing in fact since 1947) and I’ve enjoyed walking by the interactive outdoor viewing lounge set-up at the corner of Front & Bay everyday en route to and from the office – so I just had to stop and snap a photo on Monday when I ran into my pal Leo the Lion.

 

Another great way to support our athletes is to start thinking like them – many of the disciplined daily habits of our athletes can be translated to the habits that lead to success in our personal and professional lives. This great article suggests 10 Olympic Athletes’ daily habits you should steal (that don’t involve going to the gym) that I thought you would enjoy; here are my top 5:

 

Aim for High-Quality Sleep

Prioritize Sleep

Visualize Goals

Possess Self-Confidence

Keep a Record

 

Click here for examples on how to execute on these habits and for the remaining 5. And while we’re at it, here are 5 financial habits to add to your financial to-do list this summer:

 

Pay Yourself First by setting up pre-authorized contributions for your RRSP, TFSA, RESP & Stock Savings plan contributions.

Use Income Splitting strategies to reduce your family’s overall taxes

Use Credit to build wealth

 

Ensure adequate insurance to protect and grow your family’s financial future and living benefits to protect your largest asset (ahem, that’s you and your ability to work!)

Update your Will & POA for peace of mind

 

With so much going on and information coming at us from every angle, it's sometimes hard to keep your finger on the pulse of what's happening. In an effort to keep you in-the-know and provide you with some conversation nuggets for the weekend, I've compiled the following hit list to fill your conversation pipeline.

 

Now you are in-the-know with Word on the Street.