The most successful people in life achieve their dreams because they are completely committed to their objective.
Those who compete in the Olympics certainly fit that mold.
My first experience watching the Olympics on television was during the 1972 Summer Games when I saw a huge Russian weightlifter win the Gold Medal. I was six years old and I remember saying to Dad that I thought it would be fun to do that someday. He asked me if I was serious about it, and I said that I was. He told me we were getting up at 6AM the next morning to start training. I was remember being shocked, and he said that best time to start is now, so we were getting up early before he had to go to work.
At 6am the next morning, he put me through a workout that I thought was tough. He asked if I was ready to do this again the next day, and I said no.
At that point in my life, I hadn’t grasped the idea of doing whatever it takes to achieve the big dream.
Fast-forward a few years, and a young man named Ruben Gonzalez was watching Scott Hamilton compete and win the Gold Medal in the 1984 Winter Olympics. Ruben got very excited when he saw this little guy beat everyone to claim the ultimate Olympic prize.
Ruben’s goal was to compete in the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, now all he needed to do was pick a sport. That may seem a little backwards because most athletes have their sport in mind because they have been competing all of their lives. To Ruben, getting to the Olympics was the big dream—he didn’t really care which sport he competed in.
He did something very important. He took stock of his skills and resources. In order to succeed, you need to know what your strengths are and plan accordingly. He didn’t consider himself to be an elite athlete, but he knew he had persistence and would never give up in the face of obstacles.
Many people quit at the first sign of trouble and therefore don’t even give themselves a chance to make it.
Others may decide they will do everything it takes to succeed except “this” or “that”. In other words, they place limits on the sacrifices they are willing to make.
Ruben noticed that many athletes more skilled than he was decided not to continue in their Olympic quest because they gave up too soon. It allowed Ruben to rise to the top, and as a result he has now qualified for four Olympic Games. In fact, he is the only Winter Olympic athlete to compete in four Olympiads in four different decades (1988, 1992, 2002, and 2010.)
To read more about Ruben’s incredible journey, and to learn the success principles he learned and applied to achieve his Olympic dream, I strongly encourage you to read his book “The Courage to Succeed”. It is one of my favorite books, and one I recommend on my own website www.briankwright.com
