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What would
your life be like if failure was not an option? Would
you like to
perform at your peak more often? What would you do
if you knew
you could not fail?
Four years
after making a decision to begin training for the
Olympics, I
realized my dream. I competed in the 1988 Calgary
Winter
Olympics in the luge. I went on to compete in the 1992
Albertville
Olympics and I just competed in the 2002 Salt Lake
City Olympics
at the age of 39.
How does
someone who did not even take up the sport of luge
until he
was 21 become a Three-Time Olympian? As I tell
thousands
of people in my speeches, I’m not a big shot. I’m just
a little
shot that keeps on shooting. I’m proof that ordinary
people can
aspire to achieve extraordinary things if they will
just follow
a few simple steps.
Step 1:
Choose a goal
What
changes would you like to make in your life that excite you
just by
thinking about them? What would you love to do? Where do
you want to
be 10 years from now? What is your dream?
Ever since
I was in the third grade I wanted to be an Olympic
Athlete. I
respected the Olympians because they were an example
of what I believed
in - they are willing to commit to a goal,
willing to
risk adversity in the pursuit of it, willing to fail
and at the
same time keep trying until they succeeded. But it
was not
until I was in college and saw Scott Hamilton compete in
the
Sarajevo games that I actually made the decision to train
for the
Olympics.
Just
thinking about your goal is not enough. If you want to
reach your
goal, you need to make it real - write it down! Don’t
worry how
you will make your dream come true at first. Magic
happens
when you put your goals down on paper. Writing it down
is the
first step in turning a dream you might achieve into a
goal you
will achieve.
In 1960,
Harvard Business School did a study of their graduates
20 years
after they had graduated. They found the top 3%
moneymakers
made as much money as the other 97% put together.
The only
difference between the two groups was the top 3% had
always
written and regularly read their goals. As a result,
everything
they did on a day-to-day basis was focused on
reaching
their goals.
When Tiger
Woods was a young boy, he wrote down on a 3x5 card
that he
intended to break all of Jack Nicklaus’ records. Tiger
read his
card every night. Jack Nicklaus agrees that Tiger was on
track to
make it happen.
Write your
goals down on a 3x5 card. Write them in the present
tense along
with a completion date. On the other side of your
card write
at least three reasons why you will do it. The more
reasons the
more you increase your belief.
Read your
card first thing in the morning EVERY DAY to stay
focused on
the objective. Then read your card EVERY NIGHT before
turning out
the lights so your subconscious mind can work all
night on
ways to make it happen.
Step 2: See
yourself succeeding at your goal.
Several
times a day close your eyes and for a couple of minutes
vividly
imagine what it’s going to feel like when you achieve
your goal.
Really get into it. Feel it as if it were really
happening –
right now! What’s it going to look like? What’s it
going sound
like? What’s it going to feel like when you finally
make your
dream come true?
Get excited! Your subconscious does not know
the difference
between
imagining it and it really happening. By doing this, you
become
passionate about your desire, your belief becomes
unshakeable
and you become unstoppable.
I
constantly imagined what it was going to be like when I walked
into the
Olympic Stadium at the Opening Ceremonies. I imagined
it in great
detail. I could see the crowds waving at me. I could
see the
flags and the balloons. I could hear the roar of the
crowd, the
fireworks, the Olympic Hymn. I could feel the cold
wind
blowing snow onto my cheeks. I could feel the tears of joy
streaming
down my face. I could feel the goose bumps running up
my back and
over my shoulders. I thought about it all the time,
while
jogging, while lifting weights, even in the shower. It was
my dream -
but it became my goal! And when I finally entered the
Olympic
arena, it was just the same -only 100 times better.
Seeing
yourself succeeding is an important step because
imagining
yourself succeeding will keep you from quitting when
the going
gets tough.
Step 3:
Choose a quality that will help you reach your goal.
Have you
ever looked at someone and wished you could be like
them?
Everyone has at one time or another. The good news is that
if you
notice a quality in someone else, you have some of that
quality in
yourself. You just need to develop it further. "It
takes one
to know one". Any quality you admire in someone else
is a
quality you have – you just need to practice it!
So step
number three in reaching your goal is to choose the main
quality you
think you will need to reach your goal. Is it
Boldness?
Creativity? Enthusiasm? Patience? Leadership?
In my case
it was Perseverance. To get good at the luge, I knew
I was going
to have to endure many crashes and injuries and
simply
refuse to give up. So I made a decision to become
perseverant.
To never quit. Someone has said, "The main
difference
between a success and a failure is that the success
tried one
more time." I decided to persevere in trying one more
time.
Step 4:
Create a new habit that will help you achieve your goal.
Good habits
usually don’t just happen. You need to develop a
specific
plan for creating a new habit. It’s simply a matter of
choosing an
action that helps develop your quality, deciding
when to
practice that habit, knowing that you are going to have
to repeat
it many times and then give yourself a reminder.
Since
perseverance was the most important quality I needed to
have to
reach my goal, I needed to find ways to develop my
perseverance.
I had to get good at "not quitting". So I decided
to become
an expert on perseverance. I read books about people
who had
faced great challenges and refused to give up. I got
inspired
that if they could – I could!
I made a
decision that no matter how bad a crash I had, I would
get back on
the sled. I had a picture of a luge athlete riding a
sled. I
used that picture to remind me to get back on my sled.
My action
step, my habit, was going to be getting back on the
sled, after
every crash, no matter what. I practiced getting on
my sled
more than most. I did it when I didn’t want to. I did it
when it
hurt. This was the habit I was going to develop.
Sometimes,
after a painful crash, I’d have to work at it. I
would have
to walk up and down the track for a long time telling
reminding
myself things like "I’m a winner. I’m going to the
Olympics. I
never quit. I’m getting back on the sled. When the
going gets
tough, the tough get going. No matter how bad it
gets, I’m
going to make it if I don’t quit! I never give up!" I
thought of
that picture of the Olympian on a luge sled.
Eventually,
I'd get to the point where I could walk up to the
coach and
say "Coach, I’m ready to get back on the sled."
And it
worked! On the road to the Olympics, many athletes much
faster than
me, much more talented than me, chose to quit along
the way.
How do you think they felt when they watched the
Olympics on
TV? The price of getting your dream is big but the
pain of
regret is hundreds of times bigger.
Create a
habit, something you do every day, to develop that
quality you
need to reach your goal.
You can do
it. No matter what your dream is, you can make it
happen if
you follow these four simple steps: 1) Choose a goal,
2) see
yourself succeeding, 3) choose a quality, and 4) create a
habit to
develop your quality. Commit to these four steps.
The
difference between people is there are those who are
interested
and there are those who are committed. A key to
success in
life is going from being just interested to being
fully
committed. Once you are committed you will produce
results. At
the point of commitment, you mentally "burn all the
bridges"
and you do whatever it takes to make it happen. THAT’S
when you
become unstoppable!
Commit to
these four steps and you too will make your dreams
come true!
Ruben
Gonzalez is the author of the critically acclaimed book,
“The
Courage to Succeed.” His experiences as a three-time
Olympian,
businessman, and professional keynote speaker give him
a unique
perspective on how to conquer the corporate struggles
of today.
For his free 10-Part Success eCourse, visit
http://www.StartWinningMore.com or
contact him at
832-689-8282.