All my life I believed I became an athlete through my own determination, but it's impossible to think that being descended from slaves hasn't left an imprint through the generations.
Michael JohnsonRead
They don't give you gold medals for beating somebody. They give you gold medals for beating everybody.
Interpretation
Success comes from being the best, not just defeating a single opponent.
This quote emphasizes the importance of striving for excellence and achieving high standards in order to succeed. It suggests that true accomplishment is measured not just by outdoing others, but by surpassing all competitors and achieving the highest level of performance.
In practice
During a motivational speech at a sports event.
All my life I believed I became an athlete through my own determination, but it's impossible to think that being descended from slaves hasn't left an imprint through the generations.
One of the main techniques I used was focusing on the goal and visualising myself competing in the race before the race started.
You can't control what the other athlete is going to do; you can't control anything except for your competition and how you execute the race or how you execute the task.
All my life I believed I became an athlete through my own determination, but it's impossible to think that being descended from slaves hasn't left an imprint through the generations. Difficult as it was to hear, slavery has benefited descendants like me - I believe there is a superior athletic gene in us.
Barack knows the American Dream because he's lived it, and he wants everyone in this country to have that same opportunity, no matter who we are or where we're from or what we look like or who we love.
Nobody remembers that you lost a Super Bowl, they remember who won a Super Bowl.
The praise of the praiseworthy is above all rewards.
Accept business only at a price permitting thoroughness. Then do a thorough job, regardless of cost to us.
I'm going to retain a lot of Microsoft's stock.
Over a 10-year period, 99 out of 100 new entrepreneurs will fail. Only one will be left standing as others get pushed out of the market or burn out from working so hard. It's really sad.
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