When I'm done skating, I guarantee you that I will not look back and remember standing on the podium. I'm going to remember these days - being with the team. Training alone, in my basement. Training when everybody else is sleeping. Doing things that nobody else is doing. Digging down. Seeing what kind of character I truly have. I love that stuff.
Interpretation
True success is found in the journey and the hard work behind it, not just in accolades.
Apolo Ohno reflects on the value of the experiences and struggles he faced during training over the external validation of achievements like standing on a podium. He emphasizes that the essence of character and growth is forged in moments of dedication and solitude, highlighting that the camaraderie with his team and the discipline of training are what he truly cherishes.
In practice
In a motivational speech to young athletes emphasizing the importance of hard work over trophies.
I never had one day that I didn't want to be on the ice, because I always had an objective for that day. I had a rigorous plan and schedule in place that I had to adhere to. It was a step-by-step process of slowly but surely inching toward the Olympic Games and using every day as a series of goals to be accomplished.
Winning does not always mean coming in first...real victory is in arriving at the finish line with no regrets because you know you've gone all out.
Do I feel any pressure as the most decorated Winter Olympian in American history? None at all. The only pressures that I know I face are those of how to pay it forward: How can I continually make a positive impact in people's lives, help others achieve their dreams, create their own Olympic mindset, creating champions within themselves?
The truth is that intelligence, knowledge, and domain expertise are vastly overrated as the driving forces behind competitive advantage and sustainable success.
We try not to have many investing 'rules,' but there is one that has served us well: If we decide we were wrong about something, in terms of why we did it, we exit, period.
Money is a short-term result that incentivizes short-term decision making.
Wealth is only a benefit of the game of money. If you win, the money will be there.
Success is often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable.
The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.
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