In this text from 10 years ago I talked about a theme that seems to be lacking in many young athletes today. Let us reflect on the value of these thoughts and compare them with our own beliefs.
“In my career I have missed more than 9,000 shots. I have missed about 300 games. Twenty-six times I believed I was making the shot-game and missed it. In my life I have failed often and continued to fail. And that is why I have been successful” (Michael Jordan, basketball).
“Champions are not made in gyms; they are made of something deep inside them, a desire, a dream, a vision” (Muhammad Ali, boxing).
“Because I am an eternal dissatisfaction, I derive my satisfaction from the success of my projects, often in adversity, it is true. I have often had to face them. When it happened, for me coming from Guadeloupe, an island where everything is beautiful, adapting to the red bricks of INSEP, changing the coach and fighting against racism … I found myself small inside something that was not made for me, but I am hard-headed, a missed boy and I climbed. In fact, everyone who tried to demotivate me, because I was young or because I was black, on the contrary, reinforced me in my determination” (Laura Flessel, fencing).
“After achieving a goal I start from scratch. Using current language, I would say I reset. Once the excitement, the celebration, has passed, I go back to the field by setting myself intermediate goals, such as winning an international competition. To understand it better, it is as if I am at the base of a ladder, ready to climb all the way to the top floor. I then concentrate on tackling the first step of the ladder that will eventually take me step by step to the top floor, my ultimate goal” (Francesco D’Aniello, shooting).
“Another episode that I remember fondly and that teaches that in life nothing is impossible concerns the 1956 Giro d’Italia. It was the last Giro of my career and coming down from Volterra I fell and fractured my collarbone. The next day I relapsed on that fracture and stopped the ambulance that wanted to take me to the hospital. I faced the climb up Monte Bondone with a broken collarbone and finished the Giro in second place. You always have to look ahead and never rest. I’m now aiming for 100 years, and that’s no joke” (Gianni Magni, cliclism ).
“Graziano is a good father and has been fundamental to my career. He was a very talented rider who, however, through bad luck-injuries, crashes and accidents-didn’t win what he was supposed to win. I came to finish the job he started. Humanly he taught me that you have to do things having fun, be serious, work, but at the same time without taking yourself too seriously. I made his way of thinking my own.” (Valentino Rossi)
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