Desire to Win an Olympic Gold Medal
Dan Jansen was a great speed skater. He took up skating after being
inspired by his sister, Jane. In 1984, Dan finished sixteenth in the 1,000
meters at the 1984 Olympics.
In the 1988 Olympics, Jansen was favored to win a gold medal in
the 500- and 1,000-meter speed-skating competition. He had worked
four years at perfecting his skating and was all set. But on the day of the
Olympic race, Jansen received a call saying that his sister, Jane, was dying
of leukemia. He spoke to his sister that day, but she was unable to speak
to him. A short time later that morning, Dan Jansen was informed that
his sister had passed away.
Jansen was determined to race that same day. He, of course,
wanted to bring home the gold medal from that Olympic race. But, as
determined as he was, Dan Jansen fell in the 500-meter race, as well
as in the 1,000-meter race. He went home with no medals from the
1988 Olympics.
In the 1992 Olympic games, Jansen was once again favored to win.
But again, he left the Olympics with no medals. He finished well out of
the running.
So, in his final Olympic games in 1994, Dan Jansen had to stay
highly motivated and at the top of his game. The desire to succeed
had been etched deeply in his subconscious mind for at least four
thousand days. Jansen had to stay in tip-top shape, and for all that
time he had to maintain that intense desire to win at a sport where a
simple slip meant waiting another four years. Perseverance pays off.
In 1994, competing in his last Olympics, Jansen won the 1,000-meter
race at Lillehammer, Norway.
Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from
mediocre minds.
—Albert Einstein (1878-1955), Physicist and philosopher
C-2012 John Paul Carinci, from the book An All-Consuming Desire To Succeed
http://www.amazon.com/All-Consuming-Desire-Succeed-John-Carinci/dp/160037994X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0
No comments:
Post a Comment