Future Fund Ambassador: Larissa Franklin

Larissa Franklin started as a young aspiring athlete and became a professional softball player and Olympian. Between practices, Larissa is completing her Master’s in Management Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Smith School of Business.

Also an accomplished keynote speaker, Larissa speaks of transforming your mindset to overcome obstacles, relating it to her experience in high-performance sport.

She uses her platform to inspire and develop aspiring young athletes by equipping them with mindset tools to take into sport and life. Read on to see how.

Q: How did softball impact your childhood and, as a result, your adulthood?

A: Mindset towards failure - In the grand scheme of things, striking out in softball is relatively inconsequential. I believe that learning to fail in sports has allowed me to be more welcoming of failure in life. I have a short-term memory, I see obstacles as lessons and an opportunity for growth. I believe this skill was being trained from the moment I stepped on a softball field and it continues to provide me with resilience and a growth mindset in adulthood.

Confidence through self-awareness - Like most kids, I had self-doubt growing up that I wasn’t going to be good-looking enough, or funny enough, and I worried about people liking me. Softball has taught me to see the value that I bring to my team and my relationships. Over the years I have learned to recognize my strengths and my areas for improvement. I learned what I contribute to a team and with that, it gave me confidence that I am enough the way I am.

Q: Involvement in sport is known to have a positive influence on kids’ self-esteem and overall mental health. Can you share how sport influenced your well-being in your youth?

A: Friends - Some of my best friends have come from sports. In my youth, these friends played and laughed with me which ultimately impacted how I felt about myself. This continues to be true in adulthood but now my teammates are people I know I can go to when life presents various challenges.

Outlet - When school and social pressures became overwhelming, sport impacted my overall mental health by serving as an outlet. It was my constant and it was the place where I felt like I could be myself. Yes, it brought other challenges, like overcoming failure and personal expectations but it was different from the intensity that came from school and it provided me with the balance I needed.

Q: What inspired you to start your public speaking career and what impact do you hope to have?

A: After being asked to speak at a number of schools, I realized I really enjoyed the challenge of figuring out how to connect with and relate to an audience. Not only that, I realized that I had valuable lessons to share from my experiences and an authentic way of sharing it so I knew that public speaking could be my vehicle to impact and connect with people.

My hope as a public speaker is that I can leave as many people feeling hopeful and empowered that they are enough just the way they are. I am passionate about helping people build confidence and self-awareness so they can show up as their beautiful selves. With this in mind, the most important thing to me is that when I step on stage people feel inspired that I am showing up as my true self.

Q: You often refer to an “All It Takes” mentality. Can you tell us a bit more about this?

A: An “All It Takes” mentality is the belief that you have everything you need inside of you. You do not need to look to other people to tell you what it takes, you already have it.

Oftentimes we look to other people to determine who we should be, how we should look, or behave. By becoming more self-aware of what is in your back pocket you can equip yourself to overcome the challenges that life presents.

Life is hard, but your experiences, strengths, and story mean something, and I love helping people uncover this.

Q: You work closely with KidSport, a charity making sport accessible for kids by removing financial barriers. What has been your most rewarding moment working with them?

A: In 2019, a local softball player/coach, Kaitlyn Ross, and I had the opportunity to break a World Record for the most throws in an hour. We invited the community to come out and watch and raised about $8000 for KidSport BC. We ended up shattering the record with 2278 throws, but it was especially rewarding to see the power of community and the impact we can all have on youth in sport.

Q: If you could give your 14-year-old self three pieces of advice, what would they be?

A: 1. Some people will be your people, others won’t be, and that’s okay.
2. Don’t stress about how you look. If you learn to love yourself, the right people won’t care.
3. If it isn’t fun, do something about it.

Follow along with Larissa on social at @larissafranklin26 and her keynote speaking ventures here.

Images by: Tracy Moromisato Photography

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