Gold Rush by Michael Johnson

Author:Michael Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2011-07-14T16:00:00+00:00

MENTAL STRENGTH AND STUDY

Success at the highest level requires this brand of mental fortitude. Ironically, Daley, who was such a loose cannon compared with Seb – who has always been a diplomatic, British darling – shared that strength of spirit along with the determination to better himself by studying his sport. Daley’s learning curve started even before his career had officially been launched. ‘I’ve always been a student of whatever I’m doing. I want to learn so much that I will read and learn everything I possibly can about whatever it is that I’m doing,’ he told me. ‘So when there was an English schools championship coming up in a couple of weeks, I went to the library and picked up a book about how to run faster. It said to do three lots of 300-metre runs in one session twice a week and two lots of 500-metre runs in a session twice a week, so that’s what I did.’

Later, after he had begun to experience success as a decathlete, he got to know Bruce Jenner. Every time he saw him, he tried to pick Jenner’s brain about the decathlon. Eventually, Daley asked so many questions that he drove Jenner crazy. ‘I don’t like talking to you,’ Jenner snapped. ‘I don’t want to talk to you any more.’

As Seb and Daley understood full well, understanding the ins and outs of their sport provided them with an edge that non-students couldn’t compete with. Both also understood the power of their minds to make or break an athletic career.

While positive thinking and self-belief aren’t remotely enough in and of themselves, without them success is impossible. Daley has always assumed he could do anything. Like me and other Olympic athletes including Rebecca Adlington, he focused on the upcoming race rather than his competitors. ‘I felt I was going to win,’ he told me. When I asked him where that confidence came from, he said simply, ‘It’s all I’ve ever known.’

Daley grew up knowing he would be successful. ‘From the time I was a kid, I always believed I was going to do something special,’ he told me. ‘My brothers and sisters were just normal hard-working people and so was my mother, but I believed I could be great at something.’ Like me, he didn’t think early on that his success would involve sport, especially considering the lack of support from his family on that front. Eventually, however, his athletic talent was too great to deny. ‘At one point I thought I could be the best footballer in the world,’ he said. ‘Then I thought I could be the best track athlete in the world.’

The latter proved true. Indeed, considering the ten events it takes to become decathlon champion, it could be argued that Daley became the world’s greatest athlete, period.

Success like Daley’s requires talent, hard work and, yes, belief. The belief that you have the talent, ability, desire, work ethic, and everything else required to achieve your dream sustains you in the face of inevitable setbacks and obstacles.

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