Michael Phelps-the name is now in the air. We all know what he's doing; we're all mesmerized by what he's doing, and of course, we're all cheering him. In case someone from a different planet reads this-Phelps is the American swimmer who's won FOURTEEN Olympic Gold medals! Also, he now holds the record for the most gold medals won at a single Olympics; a total of eight, surpassing Mark Spitz , the legendary American swimmer best known for winning a then-record seven gold medals at the 1972 Olympic Games, in the 2008 Beijing Olympic. He's been called not only the greatest swimmer, but also the greatest Olympian of all time, and Mark Spitz himself has called him the greatest athlete of all time.
Also, he holds all sorts of "youngest ever" records. He first competed in the Olympic Games when he was 15. In 2000, at 15 years and 9 months, Phelps became the youngest man ever to set a swimming world record, by breaking the world record in a 200 m butterflyand now if I try to list all the records he's set till date and all the history that he's created-well, I'll have to write about five articles.
Dreaming big
"Dream as big as you can dream and anything is possible. I am sort of in a dream world. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure it is real."-Michael Phelps.
After winning his seventh Gold in the Beijing Olympics, Phelps said that tying Mark Spitz's record had been his goal. "In my dreams I always wanted it," he stated. "I thought in the perfect circumstances I could do it."
In an interview, when asked whether he'd expected such international fame and record Olympic success when he'd started swimming as a kid, Phelps said he'd always wanted to win Olympic golds and set world records.
You can achieve only what you dream of. Self-limiting beliefs ("I can't", "I'm not worthy", "I'm not talented") have a far more profound effect on what we do (and hence what results we create) than we think. Believing in yourself and your ability to achieve your dream is an absolute must if you're to really get there, and as they say, no dream is too big. You have a dream means you have the capability of realizing it.
Single-minded focus
But we all know that, don't we? Of course we also know that Phelps has a body particularly suited to swimming. Also, many will say his talent is God-gifted. But ask him what makes him soooo special, and he'll tell you, "I love the competition and I love to train."
That's what makes the biggest difference, not only to an Olympic level sports career, but to any life, for anyone. You and I don't need to be sports stars to realize that success in any field ultimately comes down to your attitude-a few things like your grit, your ability (and desire) to focus, your perseveranceHere's a life-lesson all of us can and should learn from the Baltimore Bullet.
Perseverance
This brings us to the second thing about him that amazes me-his ability to be at it', hour after hour, day after day, year after year. I read a newspaper article which described his daily routine as "eat-sleep-train. Repeat". Given that, do you think he'd ever have achieved the kind of inhuman success he's now enjoying, if he hadn't put in such inhuman amount of hard work?Attention those of you who hide behind the excuse of lack of talent' when it comes to trying and creating your own success! Paste a poster of Phelps on your bedroom wall and write on it: "eat-sleep-train!", so that the next time you feel like resorting to the old I'm-not-talented-enough-to-be-successful routine, he keeps you right on track.
The regular guy
Last but not the least, his ability to keep his head cool in the middle of all that media attention is exemplary. Imagine how much more difficult it must be for him to maintain focus, than it is for us, given that he's the constant centre of attention of the entire world, especially now. Mark Spitz has said, "I've always marveled at the fact that in the last four years, he has had to live with a lot more expectations and anxiety than I had to deal with."
No matter what goes on in the outside world, his almost other-worldly focus has never shifted from its mainstay. Neither has all the adulation and fanfare gone to his head. I've heard him mention in numerous interviews, "There are a lot of things I have to work on," which again is an important lesson on how to keep your head cool and your mind focus even if you're overwhelmed with your own success. (Luckily that sort of scenario doesn't arise too often in the lives of most of us!)
So that's all about today's life lessons, straight from Michael Phelps! Keep cheering him, and meanwhile keep his lessons in mind!
Sulagna Dasgupta provides self-improvement related advice on her website www.changeyourlifenow.co.nr. She can also be emailed at sulagnaadasgupta@gmail.com with individual queries and requests for specific self-help related advice. She replies to every one of such emails, and all of this is free.
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