The Heart Of A Champion

Denise Ilitch show

“Show Yourself Compassion: A Conversation with Meryl Davis” “You have to wake up every day, give your best and if you fall, it’s really about getting up that matters most.” Meryl Davis

In this episode Denise talks to the Olympic, World and U.S. Champion ice dancer, Meryl Davis. The challenges of being an elite performance athlete have been opportunities for Meryl to grow in confidence and to use her accomplishments to empower others. In a world dominated by social media and the false picture of a perfect life it can paint, Meryl acknowledges that our challenges are also a part of who we are. She says having an amazing support system and knowing that her family would love her, no matter what, was the only thing that kept her sane in such a high-pressure, competitive judge sport.

Find out from Meryl:

• The importance of investing and prioritizing friends and family
• The need to destigmatize the conversation on mental health
• The positives AND negatives of performance critique

• The need for self-compassion
• What giving back has given her
• Why she loves her hometown, Detroit

Meryl Davis fell in love with figure skating on a frozen lake by her childhood home outside of Detroit, Michigan. Teaming up with Charlie White at age nine, the pair became the first and only Americans to win the Olympic ice dancing event; they’re also six-time U.S. Champions and two-time World Champions, making them the most decorated U.S. ice dancers of all time.  Meryl’s multiple philanthropic endeavors, most prominently, Founding Co-Chair of Figure Skating in Detroit, she aims to empower girls to develop life skills through figure skating. Meryl is also on the Advisory Panel of the Women’s Sports Foundation.  Meryl holds a degree in anthropology from the University of Michigan and published her first children’s book, “Moon Walk,” in 2020.  She lives with her family in Los Angeles and Detroit. To learn more visit www.MerylDavisAndCharlieWhite.com  

Denise Ilitch, an owner of Ilitch Family Companies and President of Ilitch Enterprises, has been a part of Detroit’s business and philanthropic community for over 40 years. As a mother, lawyer, entrepreneur, devoted community servant and tireless advocate for women and children, she learned early, from her father, that everyone is worthy of contributing to the world. Her passion for affordable, accessible, quality education stems from her own experience as a first-generation student, earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, where she currently serves on the Board of Regents.

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