For myself, losing is not coming second. It's getting out of the water knowing you could have done better. For myself, I have won every race I've been in
Interpretation
True success comes from self-reflection and improvement rather than just winning.
In this quote, Ian Thorpe expresses that for him, losing is not merely about finishing in second place but rather about the disappointment of knowing that he could have performed better. This perspective emphasizes personal growth and the importance of self-evaluation, suggesting that the greatest victories are those in which one strives for their best potential, regardless of external results.
In practice
During a motivational speech, someone can share this quote to encourage athletes to focus on their personal journey rather than just the outcome.
When I go out and race, I'm not trying to beat opponents, I'm trying to beat what I have done ... to beat myself, basically. People find that hard to believe because we've had such a bias to always strive to win things. If you win something and you haven't put everything into it, you haven't actually achieved anything at all. When you've had to work hard for something and you've got the best you can out of yourself on that given day, that's where you get satisfaction from.
The only thing is I am a little bit ashamed of is I didn't come out earlier, that I didn't have the strength to do it, the courage to break that lie. But everyone goes on their own path to do this, and I don't want the struggle to be so hard for other people.
As quickly as it started, our business model evaporated. But while Traf-O-Data was technically a business failure, the understanding of microprocessors we absorbed was crucial to our future success.
If you want your company to succeed, you have to have the confidence in your business to take a bet on its future - to risk destroying a mediocre business model for the chance to have a strong one.
One of my great breaks is I have only done work I wanted to do.
In most things success depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed.
Roger, liftoff, and the clock is started.
I copied (Shoeless Joe) Jackson's style because I thought he was the greatest hitter I had ever seen, the greatest natural hitter I ever saw. He's the guy who made me a hitter.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.