• DE&I Commitment
  • Careers
  • SIGN IN
  • Book a Meeting
    Book a Meeting
  • Company
    Learn a little more about us, our values, and our team
    Our Values
    We don't just talk the talk; we live by our core values
    About Us
    Empowering brands to realize their potential with data, insights, and technology
    Leadership
    Meet our leadership team
    Secure Data Architecture
    Our promise of data security and privacy. We keep your data safe from publishers, competitors and bad actors
    Corporate Social Responsibility
    We are committed to making a positive impact on our communities and our planet
  • Platform
    Plan, manage, optimize, and measure your campaigns with our omnichannel platform
    Omnichannel Advertising
    A platform that connects all walled garden media for more effective campaigns
    Data Connectivity
    Make data-driven decisions as you plan and strategize
    Product Capabilities
    Take your campaigns to the next level by enhancing your platform capabilities
    See the industries we serve
    Learn how our customizable solutions can help with your unique needs
    Explore our partner integrations
    See the media, retailer, and data partners we work with
  • Case Studies
  • News and Events
    Check out recent announcements and see what we’re up to
    Newsroom
    Check out our recent media mentions and announcements
    Events
    Join us for our next conference or webinar
    Omnichannel platform launch
    Read the press release to see how we're helping marketers win the walled gardens
    Cannes Lions 2023
    Don't miss your chance to meet with Skai leadership in Cannes
  • Resources
    From new releases, to industry trends and best practices, Skai has you covered
    Marketer Insights
    Read the latest blog posts and thought leadership from Skai and other industry experts
    Skai Research
    Explore our studies, reports and whitepapers so you can keep up on the latest industry trends
    Quarterly Trends Report
    See the key digital marketing trends from Q1 2023
    The Breakthrough
    The only resource hub built for marketers in the new era of omnichannel
Back to Blog

The Skai 5: Five Questions with Moran Samuel on Overcoming Adversity

Skai™

March  22, 2022
moran samuel at skai

As part of our salute to Women’s History Month, we spotlight an inspirational athlete, Moran Samuel. We were honored to have her come to our office to share her life story and the challenges she’s faced on the way to achieving the highest of accolades. 

Overcoming Adversity

At 24, already on the Israeli national basketball team with a promising athletic career ahead, Moran Samuel suffered a rare spinal stroke and became paralyzed in her lower body. For a lifelong athlete, this was heartbreaking.

“In one moment my body was erased,” she recalls.

After a period of rehabilitation and adjustment, Moran bounced back and restarted her love of playing basketball, this time with the national wheelchair team (picture from Wikipedia). Her dream to get to the paralympic games eventually lead her to rowing and she began competing internationally with incredible success.

Her first games were London 2012 and she holds a medal from every competition since 2014, including gold medals at the 2015 World Cup and 2015 World Rowing Championships. That notoriety led to a spot in the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games in Rio where she won a bronze medal, and then again in Tokyo in 2020, where she won a silver medal.

On top of being a Paralympic champion, Moran is also a wife and mother of three. In 2016, she was named Female Athlete of the Year by the Israeli Paralympic Committee.

Recently, we had a chance to sit down with Moran to learn more about how this inspirational athlete has overcome obstacles along her journey and has been able to keep positive and productive in the face of adversity.

What did you do differently preparing this time around that helped you achieve a better result?

moran samuel at skaiTokyo was my third Paralympic games. My body felt strong, and my preparation was excellent. I had experience from long years of training and everything came together at the right time.

This time around, I changed a few things in preparation. I was injured before Rio but had no injuries going into Tokyo because I focused on listening to my body and knowing when to stop. I have amazing coaches, but I was really focused on what would be the best for me. On top of that, one of the best things I did differently this time around was that I brought my family to the long training camp [in Italy]. It made me more focused and relaxed knowing they were beside me.

How do you overcome distractions to stay focused during years of training?

Being able to stay focused is such an important quality. It helps you in the small things you do as well as when you are preparing yourself for something big—in sports or your personal life. I think sometimes we want to see ourselves as being great at multitasking, but I actually think it’s overrated. If you are able to do one thing at a time, but give it your maximum effort, you will do it better, faster, and will have more time for tasks. The key to staying focused while raising children and staying sane during the pandemic is about giving 100% of yourself every day and being able to enjoy every single moment. Work when you work, play when you play, and your children will appreciate the time they have with you—which will make them more tolerant when you need to work. 

All of us face so many moments where we want to quit. But, it is at these times which are the most important moments in your life—in your career or sports—because when you face challenges and can overcome them, that’s when you get stronger and stronger. For me, that’s why I love being an athlete because I have the opportunity to face challenges daily and overcome them. 

What can everyday people learn from your dedication?

Dedication can be a big word. It can be tricky. But it gets easier if we know exactly what we want to do and why we want to do it. Dedication becomes difficult when you’re not sure why you’re doing something.

So, living your life with things meaningful to you that you love makes it easier for you to dedicate yourself to something. What you can learn from my dedication is that when you take on challenges or obstacles and can overcome them, it gives you the power to keep on going. 

moran samuel crowd

How can someone in business apply your insights to their career?

There are many links between sport and business. But three principles can help make this tangible.

The first is appreciating small wins. You can improve yourself if every step you take—every time you push yourself a little bit—you make a small win. We all need to learn how to celebrate these small wins better, even if we haven’t yet hit the bigger goal. Small wins accumulate over time to help you achieve your main goals. If you want to get better, you have to keep working, training, celebrating the tiniest of victories. A small win is a moment in time where you wanted to give up, but you didn’t. 

moran samuel speaking at skai

The second principle is to “stay in the game,” a sports reference that means staying present in the here and now. Like if you miss the shot in a basketball game. What do you do next? Do you get depressed or get back on defense and get that ball? In business, the principle is the same. Maybe you have a terrible meeting and there was a lot of money on the table, but it doesn’t go your way. But you have another meeting in 10 minutes. Analyze that loss later. Right now, you need to get to that next meeting and nail it. This is something important to remember. We can’t change what has already happened but we can go from emotion to action and take the next best step we can.

The last thing that is more general is your ability to believe in the long journey. No one guarantees what will happen in the end. Worthwhile journeys are often long. You have to believe in your team, the organization, and the core values that make your organization the best. If you have that faith in your team and the people around you, it will be easier for you to have the perseverance to keep going. Going from focusing only on results to focusing on the steps needed makes it more possible to reach the results you want.

moran samuel crowd 2

What is the single biggest message you have for people struggling to keep up with their busy lives?

Our lives today are busy. We have so many things on our plates. We need to be very good at managing our time and resources. There are three things that are very important to me: sleep, what I eat, and what I have on my calendar. Sleeping and eating we all know are essential, but we don’t always give it the best attention. But this is your fuel and time to get energy back. Obviously, I always recommend physical activity.

But beyond getting the proper rest and eating right, when we plan our calendar, we have to be very specific to make the most out of our time. We need to prioritize the important things. Then, when we manage our time well with important tasks, we don’t feel that time is running out, and we can get to everything we need to complete.

For more information

Visit the Women’s History Month website

Learn more about Moran Samuel via her Wikipedia page

Related Posts

  • Skai and CitrusAd combined for a partnership expansion.
    The Skai 5: Five Questions with CitrusAd’s Sean Cheyney on the State of Retail Media
    Read More
  • skai black friday amazon ads checklist fb
    The Skai Black Friday Amazon Ads Checklist 2021
    Read More
  • The Skai Five: 5 Questions on the Brand-Agency Relationship with Straight North’s CEO, David Duerr
    Read More
  • Woman sitting at a desk holding a sign with like written out and a thumbs-up icon.
    The Skai 5: Five of the Best Social Media Campaigns of 2021
    Read More
  • Skai is Microsoft Advertising’s 2021 Independent Partner of the Year!
    Read More
  • Welcome to Skai!
    Read More
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email
  • Copy Link
    Copied!
Tags: The Skai 5, xTLx

    Subscribe to Updates

    Media that matters.
    Marketing that works.
    © 2023 Kenshoo, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
    Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Recruitment Privacy Policy.
    • Connected Strategy
      • Dynamic Marketing Mix
      • Budget Forecasting
      • Strategic Consulting
    • Connected Media
      • Overview
      • Retail Media
      • Paid Search
      • Paid Social
      • App Marketing
      • Auditing
      • Expert Services
    • Measurement
      • Incrementality
      • Experiments
      • Cross-Channel Attribution
    • Resources
      • Blog
      • Glossary
      • Case Studies
      • Training & Enablement
      • Developer Hub
      • The Breakthrough
    Privacy Preference

    We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential, while others help us to improve this website and your experience.

    Privacy Preference

    Save All

    Save

    Accept Only Essential Cookies

    Manage Cookie Preferences

    Cookie Details Privacy Policy Imprint

    Privacy Preference

    Here you will find an overview of all cookies used. You can give your consent to whole categories or display further information and select certain cookies.

    Save All Save Accept Only Essential Cookies

    Back

    Privacy Preference

    Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website, Imprint
    PurposeSaves the visitors preferences selected in the Cookie Box of Borlabs Cookie.
    Host(s).skai.io, skai.io
    Cookie Nameborlabs-cookie
    Cookie Expiry1 Year
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    PurposeThis cookie stores selections made by the user in the Accessibe tool in order to maintain those settings on future visits. These cookies help us make our website compliant with our obligations under US law.
    Privacy Policy https://accessibe.com/privacy-policy
    Cookie NameacsbState, acsbReset
    Cookie Expiryn/a
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Host(s)skai.io
    Cookie Namewordpress_sec_,wordpress_test_cookie,wp-postpass_*, wordpresspass_*, wordpressuser_*
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year

    We use these cookies to enhance functionality and allow for personalisation, such as live chats, videos and the use of social media.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Host(s).chilipiper.com, skai.chilipiper.com
    Cookie Namefs_uid, CHILI_PIPER_CLUSTER, guest-session, _sp_ses*, _sp_id*
    Cookie ExpirySession / 2 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Host(s).comeet.co, www.comeet.co
    Cookie Namevisid_incap_, nlbi_#######, incap_ses_, referrer22_00a, incap_ses_1364_2167377
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Host(s)skai.io
    Cookie NamemoduleFormPardotDownload
    Cookie Expiry30 days

    Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Accept
    Name
    ProviderGoogle Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
    PurposeCookie by Google used for website analytics. Generates statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.
    Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
    Cookie Name_ga, _ga_*, _gat,_gat_*,_gid, GOOGLE_ABUSE_EXEMPTION, AEC, __Secure-ENID, SOCS, CONSENT
    Cookie ExpirySession / 2 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderHotjar Ltd., Dragonara Business Centre, 5th Floor, Dragonara Road, Paceville St Julian's STJ 3141 Malta
    PurposeHotjar is an user behavior analytic tool by Hotjar Ltd.. We use Hotjar to understand how users interact with our website.
    Privacy Policy https://www.hotjar.com/legal/policies/privacy/
    Host(s)*.hotjar.com
    Cookie Name_hjClosedSurveyInvites, _hjDonePolls, _hjMinimizedPolls, _hjDoneTestersWidgets, _hjIncludedInSample, _hjShownFeedbackMessage, _hjid, _hjRecordingLastActivity, hjTLDTest, _hjUserAttributesHash, _hjCachedUserAttributes, _hjLocalStorageTest, _hjptid, _hjSessionUser_2229986, _hjIncludedInPageviewSample, _hjIncludedInSessionSample, _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress, _hjFirstSeen
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    PurposeVWO is AB Testing software that we'll use to test different elements of the website - form placement, nav, different page layouts, etc.
    Privacy Policy https://vwo.com/compliance/cookies-notice/
    Host(s).skai.io, dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com
    Cookie Name_vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_goal_{GOALID}, _vis_opt_test_cookie, _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combi, _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_exclude, _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_split, _vis_opt_s, _vis_opt_out, _vwo_uuid, _vwo_uuid_{CAMPAIGNID}, _vwo_ds, _vwo_sn, _vwo_uuid_v2, _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combi_choose, _vwo_referrer, _vwo, _vwo_global_opt_out, _vwo_ssm, uuid
    Cookie ExpirySession / 10 Years

    Marketing cookies are used by third-party advertisers or publishers to display personalized ads. They do this by tracking visitors across websites.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Accept
    Name
    ProviderLinkedin
    Cookie Namelidc, li_gc, lang, AnalyticsSyncHistory, UserMatchHistory, li_sugr, bcookie, TDCPM, TDID, bscookie, ln_or
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderSkai
    Cookie Nameken_gclid
    Accept
    Name
    Provider6sense
    Cookie Name_gd_session, _an_uid, _gd_visitor, _gd_svisitor, 6suuid
    Cookie ExpirySession / 400 Days
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderPardot
    PurposeCookie name associated with services from marketing automation and lead generation platform Pardot. The visitor value is the visitor_id in your Pardot account. This cookie is set for visitors by the Pardot tracking code.
    Host(s).pardot.com, pi.pardot.com, skai.io
    Cookie Namepardot, visitor_id*, lpv*
    Cookie ExpirySession / 10 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderGoogle Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
    PurposeCookie by Google used for conversion tracking of Google Ads.
    Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
    Cookie NameIDE, 1P_JAR, NID, _gcl_au, OTZ, test_cookie
    Cookie ExpirySession / 400 Days
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Cookie NamePHPSESSID, sid, okto-autoposter-XXX, oktgid, oktsid, oktlogid-XXX, oktolead-XXX-Email, oktolead-XXX-Company, oktolead-XXX-FirstName, oktolead-XXX-LastName, oktolead-XXX-Phone, oktolead-XXX-Country, oktolead-XXX-Url, oktolead-XXX-State, oktolead-XXX-Comment, optout
    Cookie ExpirySession / 2 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderMeta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland
    PurposeCookie by Facebook used for website analytics, ad targeting, and ad measurement.
    Privacy Policy https://www.facebook.com/policies/cookies
    Cookie Name_fbp,act,c_user,datr,fr,tr,m_pixel_ration,pl,presence,sb,spin,wd,xs
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year

    Content from video platforms and social media platforms is blocked by default. If External Media cookies are accepted, access to those contents no longer requires manual consent.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Accept
    Name
    ProviderWistia
    Host(s).wistia.com
    Cookie Namecb_anonymous_id, _sp_ses.2b40, _li_dcdm_c, __hssrc, _gcl_au, _clsk, hubspotutk, _sp_id.2b40, __hssc, __hstc, _uetsid, _uetvid, _gid, _ga, _ga_GQR109DZ3Y, _lc2, fpi, _ex-pricing-cta, _fbp, cb_group_id, cb_user_id, _clck
    Cookie ExpirySession / 400 Days
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderMeta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland
    PurposeUsed to unblock Instagram content.
    Privacy Policy https://www.instagram.com/legal/privacy/
    Host(s).instagram.com
    Cookie Namepigeon_state
    Cookie ExpirySession
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOpenstreetmap Foundation, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0WS, United Kingdom
    PurposeUsed to unblock OpenStreetMap content.
    Privacy Policy https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy
    Host(s).openstreetmap.org
    Cookie Name_osm_location, _osm_session, _osm_totp_token, _osm_welcome, _pk_id., _pk_ref., _pk_ses., qos_token
    Cookie Expiry1-10 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderTwitter International Company, One Cumberland Place, Fenian Street, Dublin 2, D02 AX07, Ireland
    PurposeUsed to unblock Twitter content.
    Privacy Policy https://twitter.com/privacy
    Host(s).twimg.com, .twitter.com
    Cookie Name__widgetsettings, local_storage_support_test
    Cookie ExpiryUnlimited
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderVimeo Inc., 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, USA
    PurposeUsed to unblock Vimeo content.
    Privacy Policy https://vimeo.com/privacy
    Host(s)player.vimeo.com
    Cookie Namevuid
    Cookie Expiry2 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderGoogle Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
    PurposeUsed to unblock YouTube content.
    Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en&gl=en
    Host(s)google.com
    Cookie NameCONSENT
    Cookie Expiry6 Month

    Borlabs Cookie powered by Borlabs Cookie

    Privacy Policy Imprint