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?
Interpretation
Apolo Ohno expresses that the true pressure he feels is to make a positive impact on others rather than focusing on his own achievements.
In this quote, Apolo Ohno reflects on the pressures of being highly decorated but emphasizes that his primary concern is not about his accolades. Instead, he is focused on how he can leverage his success to inspire and uplift others, helping them realize their potential and cultivate their own champions. It highlights a selfless mindset where success is measured by the impact one has on the lives of others rather than personal glory.
In practice
Using this quote in a motivational speech to encourage individuals to focus on helping others.
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.
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.
When kids want a picture or autograph, you reflect later on and realize you did something good. Then you see them come back five years later, they're all grown up, have their own lives and they tell you how much you inspired them. You're like, 'Whoa.'
I have always drawn strength from my late mother's life. When Eunice Johnson set up the first major fashion show for African-American audiences more than 50 years ago, she did so at a time when black Americans, especially black women, were still fighting for a seat at the table - any table.
Catch on fire and people will come for miles to see you burn.
I live for that exhilarating moment when I'm in an airplane rushing down the runway and pull on the stick and feel lift under its wings. It's a magical feeling to climb toward the heavens, seeing objects and people on the ground grow smaller and more insignificant. You have left that world beneath you. You are inside the sky.
Sam Phillips always encouraged me to do it my way, to use whatever other influences I wanted, but never to copy...if there hadn't been a Sam Phillips, I might still be working in a cotton field.
A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.