Goals and Dreams: Act on them now

"GOALS: Imagine what you can do when you are inspired by them, imagine what you can do when you believe in them, imagine what you can do when you ACT upon them." (Jim Rohn)
I shared this quote today at a networking breakfast and thought to share it here. Your imagination can either create OR limit your opportunities and the choice is yours. When you dare to dream, such as many of the Olympians on show recently, then you open yourself up to what is possible. When that dream inspires you, pathways will open themselves up to you and it's up to you to take them, to ACT upon them. It is not enough to think that your thoughts will create your results. By having inspired thoughts, you will find a way to take the right action. Pay attention to the signs. The one who takes regular daily action in the right direction is the one who will succeed. Is that you?
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Laser focus key to McLellan win

Congratulations Sally McClellan for winning Silver in the 100m Hurdles in Beijing. Watching Sally's interviews post the semi and the final made it clear to me that this girl has the right mindset of a champion. She demonstrates an ability to focus during the race and then seemed very clear in how to prioritise her thoughts directly after the semi-final. Very down to earth, able to enjoy the moment and yet looking forward to the next step. Sally's stated goal was to make the Olympic final though I am curious when she decided to aim higher for a medal. Was it once she made the final, or was it something she had put into her future some time ago and kept it to herself.
Sometimes when we share our lofty goals with others, the small-mindedness of well-meaning friends might stamp out the fire that burns within. I believe it can be better to keep our grandest goals close to our heart.
During the interview post-final, Sally had the look of someone who had seen this potential outcome before - and now it had actually occurred! What an amazing surprise that must have been - to think, this mind stuff actually works. It happened perhaps exactly as she had created.
Sure, I'm mind-reading here but I feel confident in stating the Sally McLellan has put as much training into her mindset as she has into her physical strength, speed and agility. The rewards are hers and who knows what she will set out to do now that she realises that anything is possible.

Beijing Olympics - sink or swim

Half way through the Olympics and athletes dreams have been realised, some have been exceeded, and or for some, dashed. So much energy - emotionally and physically - goes into preparation for this once in four years event. What makes the difference between glory or not?
I'm always interested to hear quotes of athletes as I am very curious as I listen for insights into their thinking. What created their result? I was in the UK when Welshman, Nicole Cooke won Gold in the cycling road race - she was quoted to have dreamt of winning Olympic gold when she was just 11 years old! Then I read of Libby Trickett trying to stop vomiting before a race - what must be going through her mind to cause this. Is she consciously thinking about what could go wrong? Is it just a physiological response occurring at the unconscious level?
When it comes to pre-race or pre-match routine an athlete wants to be in a state of mind that maximises their response. If Libby is able to put positive meaning to her response, and use it to power her towards a winning result, then it may be beneficial. Some people think that these sort of responses can't be changed. They can! We can make changes at an unconscious level to totally transform our behaviours and therefore our results. I know if I was still competing that I would be looking to create the best emotional state and behaviours to ensure the best result.
I would be looking to see how the best of the best does it. At the moment the best is Michael Phelps. At the time of writing he has won 7 Gold medals at one Olympics and preparing for his 8th. How does he prepare? What goes through his mind as he stands on the block? I’m curious, aren't you?

What sports for Olympics?

As I googled today for sporting news I noticed a number of comments on what sports should be included in the Olympics. Phil Mickelson thinks golf should be an Olympic Sport and a number of cricketers, including Steve Waugh and Adam Gilchrist, are backing their own sport to be included.
One of the criteria for Olympic sports is the universal appeal of a sport - that is, how broadly the sport is played across nations of the world. Cricket, though spreading in popularity, still falls way short of being global. Gilchrist is reported saying that building Olympic support of the Twenty20 format will help spread the game to further nations, including the US and China. I understand that it works the other way round - build the sport to world-wide popularity and then be invited to join the Olympic family.
Golf has universal appeal and yet I wonder it's legitimacy as an Olympic sport when it's players are so well rewarded as professionals. I think one of the criteria for being in an Olympic sport is that the Olympics would be considered the pinnacle reward for that sport. I believe tennis lacks that legitimacy because players would surely rank a Wimbledon win over an Olympic medal. Similarly, a golf player would rank a US open or British Open title over an Olympic win also.
I wonder what others think about sports that could be included and those that could be dropped. I know when Beach Volleyball was first accepted in 1996 it was wildly panned by naive critics, particularly because the athletes wore bikinis. Now it is widely accepted for the athletic sport that it is and one of the more popular watched sports. What do you think on what's in and what's out?