What snowboarding has always had and the Olympics has not touched is that spirit, that original spirit of creativity and athletes standing up and having a voice and being innovative. But I guess what the Olympics has done is provided a platform for that spirit, and that's what I see as being a really positive thing.

My family moved to Aspen, Colorado, where we had 'Avalanche Danger' days that kept us from going to school, climbed 14,000-foot peaks as part of my education, and I learned to snowboard.

The programs I do with my trainer are amazing for overall strength and have a major focus on building my core. We do a lot of unique exercises that shake up the nervous system, which builds my balance and propreception. That's really important for my sport.

I learned a few years ago that balance is the key to a happy and successful life, and a huge part of achieving that balance is to instill rituals into your everyday life - a nutritious balanced diet, daily exercise, time for yourself through meditation, reading, journaling, yoga, daily reflection, and setting goals.

I get to experience so much in my life as I travel around, and it's just such a great way to get to share that with people. All these sites, like Twitter and Make It Pro, give me such a very strong way to interact with people. It's easy to let people be part of your life and to keep all of your friends and fans together.

Building up expectations, creating unrealistic time frames, feeling like our end goal is the end all, be all can all lead to frustration or anxiety. We end up feeling as though we have to power through what we want rather than enjoy the process and just let the result come as it may.

Eliminate the energy vampires in your house. Connect all of your appliances to power strips and turn them off they're when not in use.

I don't have too strict a diet.

I work out hard; that way, I can eat whatever I want. If you have a hard time regulating your diet, pushing yourself at the gym will help you keep the pounds off.

Growing up with brothers, I've always been a very competitive person and also very involved in sports. So when I was younger, whatever sport I was involved in, I wanted to go to the Olympics for that!

I've learned that you have to make careful choices because everything has an impact. I've also learned that you can't please everyone in life, so please yourself and figure out what really matters.

Life is short, and if we enjoy every moment of every day, then we will be happy no matter what happens or what changes along the way.