Believe in yourself & Go for it
Tim Ferriss believed in himself. In fact, he believed so strongly in his abilities that he won the national San Shou Kickboxing titles just 6 weeks after being introduced to the sport.
As a prior all-American & Judo team captain at Princeton, Tim had always dreamed of winning a national title. He had worked hard. He was good at his sport. But repeated injuries over multiple seasons had continually denied him his dream.
So when a friend called one day to invite Tim to watch him in the national Chinese Kickboxing championships 6 weeks away, Tim instantly decided to join at the competition.
Because he had never been in any kind of striking competition before, he called USA boxing and asked where the best trainers could be found. He traveled to a tough neighborhood in Trenton, New Jersey, to learn from boxing coaches who had trained gold medalists. And after 4 grueling hours a day in the ring, he put in more time conditions in the weight room. To make up for his lack of time in the sport, Tim's trainers focused on exploiting his strengths instead of making up for his weaknesses. Tim didn't want to merely compete. He wanted to win.
When the competition day at last arrived, Tim defeated three highly acclaimed opponents before making it to the finals. As he anticipated what he would have to do to win in the final match, he closed his eyes and visualized defeating his opponent in the very first round.
Later Tim told me that most people fail not because they lack the skills or aptitude to reach their goal but because they simply don't believe they can reach it. Tim believed. And won.
IT HELPS TO HAVE SOMEONE ELSE BELIEVE IN YOU FIRST
When 20-year-old Ruben Gonzalez showed showed up at the US Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York, he had in his pocket the business card of a Houston businessman who believed in his Olympic dream. Ruben was there to learn the sport of Luge, a sport that 9 of 10 aspirants give up after the first season. Almost everyone breaks more than one bone before mastering this 90-mile-per-hour race against time in an enclosed mile-long downhill track of concrete and ice. But Ruben had a dream, passion, a commitment not to quit, and the support of his friend, Craig, back in Houston.
When Ruben got back to his room after the first day of training, he called up Craig.
"Craig this is nuts! My side hurts. I think I broke a foot. That's it. I am going back to soccer!"
Craig interrupted him. " Ruben, get in front of a mirror!"
"What?"
"I said, 'Get in front of a mirror!' "
Ruben got up, stretched the phone cord, and stood in front of a full-length mirror.
"Now repeat after me: " No matter how bad it is, and how bad it gets, I'm going to make it!"
Ruben felt like an idiot staring at himself in the mirror, so in the most wimpy, wishy-washy way possible, he said, " No matter how bad it is, and how bad it gets, I'm going t make it!"
"C'mon! Say it right. You're Mr Olympic Man! That's all you ever talk about! Are you going to do it or not?"
Ruben started getting serious. " No matter how bad it is, and how bad it gets, I'm going to make it!"
"Again!"
"No matter how bad it is, and how bad it gets, I'm going to make it".
And again and again and again..
About the fifth time Ruben said it, he thought, Hey, this feels kind of good. I'm standing a little bit straighter. By the tenth time he said it , he jumped up in the air and shouted, " I don't care what happens. I'm going to make it. I will be an Olympian!"
Its amazing what happens to your self confidence when you get eyeball to eyeball with yourself and you forcefully tell yourself what you're going to do. Whatever your dream is, look at yourself in the mirror and declare that you are indeed going to achieve it-no matter what the price.
Ruben Gonzales made that declaration, and it changed his life. He went on to compete in three separate winter games in the luge-Calgary in 1988, Albert ville in 1992, and Salt Lake City in 2002. And he's currently training for the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics, where he will be 43 years old, competing against athletes half his age..
Whoa very long if you ask me, but worth it....
Stories gotten from Jack Canfield's book, my new hero... If you can, please buy his book.. " THE SUCCESS PRINCIPLES: HOW TO GET FROM WHERE YOU ARE TO WHERE YOU WANT TO BE", by Jack Canfield.
Do have a lovely weekend
Ciao
