The day when I start a race without intending to win it, I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror.
Eddy MerckxRead
You had to be strong in the head... training, training and training. That is the only way, even if you have big talent.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Strength of mind and consistent training are essential for success, even for those with great talent.
Eddy Merckx emphasizes the importance of mental strength and the need for relentless training in any pursuit, including sports. He suggests that talent alone is not enough to achieve greatness; rather, it is the combination of a strong mindset and persistent practice that leads to success.
Themes
StrengthTrainingTalentMotivationSuccess
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote at a sports team meeting to inspire athletes to focus on their training regimen.
More from Eddy Merckx
All quotes βIt's not like at university where you graduate. Every cyclist must start again. At the end of the season you know if you are good or not.
Eddy MerckxRead
Cycling is a sport of the people. How many people in the world have never been on a bike? Not many.
Eddy MerckxRead
I do not want to continue cycling until I am 35. I want to make something else out of my life, too. There are other things besides a bike and racing.
Eddy MerckxRead
I have decided to give up competition. I cannot train properly for the Tour de France which I had hoped to ride for the last time as apotheosis to my career. Doctors are forbidding me to ride anymore in high level competition and I bow to them.
Eddy MerckxRead
I was a more aggressive rider than Armstrong. I would attack more often. He waits for the other guys, then counter-attacks.
Eddy MerckxRead
Similar quotes
Find a purpose in life so big it will challenge every capacity to be at your best.
David O. MckayRead
You are not the product of your circumstances. You are a composite of all the things you believe, and all the places you believe you can go. Your past does not define you. You can step out of your history and create a new day for yourself. Even if the entire culture is saying, "You can't." Even if every single possible bad thing that can happen to you does. You can keep going forward.
Oprah WinfreyRead
There's this really awesome theory of human motivation - that human beings all want three things. One is to be competent, one is to belong, and one is be free, as in to have choice: to not be told what to do but to choose what to do.
Angela DuckworthRead
Finally, if you want to write, you have to just shut up, pick up a pen, and do it. I'm sorry there are no true excuses. This is our life. Step forward. Maybe it's only for ten minutes. That's okay. To write feels better than all the excuses.
Natalie GoldbergRead
There is no end to the good we can do, to the influence we can have with others. Let us not dwell on the critical or the negative. Let us pray for strength; let us pray for capacity and desire to assist others. Let us radiate the light of the gospel at all times and all places, that the Spirit of the Redeemer may radiate from us.
Gordon B. HinckleyRead
Expect the best; convert problems into opportunities; be dissatisfied with the status quo; focus on where you want to go, instead of where you're coming from; and most importantly, decide to be happy, knowing it's an attitude, a habit gained from daily practice, and not a result or payoff.
Denis WaitleyRead