“Usain Bolt is no longer the man to beat at the London Olympics”
Everywhere you looked in June, headlines to this effect dominated the sporting press. At the National Jamaican championships in Kingston, Jamaica, Bolt was seemingly dethroned as the King of World Athletics. His best friend and training partner, Yohan Blake had beaten him in the event that Bolt was the current world record holder for – the 100m sprint.
Fast forward to this week, and all the pressure was on Bolt. In what many regard as the ‘flagship event’ of the Summer Olympic Games, Bolt lined up on the blocks for the 100m sprint once again. Many in the stadium (and in fact the world) doubted that he could regain the title that he so spectacularly won in Beijing in 2008.
As Bolt crossed the finish line in 1st place (with a new Olympic record to boot) the rest, as they say, was history.
Interviewed after the race, a jubilant Bolt was asked how he came back from that infamous race in Kingston to go on and win the gold. How did he silence those inner demons and regain the confidence to know he could still achieve his goal?
“I always listen to my coach. I asked him if I could still win and he said I could, so I then knew it was going to be ok. For us, it was just about doing what we knew worked. We had a plan and we just stuck to it” was Bolt’s reply.
Great lessons from a magnificent athlete… but also great lessons in finance and indeed life.
Especially in the world of investment, there is a lot of ‘negative noise’ out there. It feels like every day, someone else predicts that the end of the world is nigh, that there is going to be another GFC or that the property market is going to crash.
But the key to success is learning to ignore the critics, surrounding yourself with people who not only know what works, but also understand YOU. This in turn helps your formulate and most importantly, stick to, a plan that achieves the results you desire.
So what race are you running? And what is your coach saying to you?
If you are relying on the media, your friends or popular opinion to be your coach, perhaps you need to seek a second opinion…
Enjoy your weekend guys,
- Michael @ PSK
1 Response(s)
Very interesting article and well written.
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