Awaken the Olympian Within (Stories from America's Greatest Olympic Motivators)Author: Nabor, John (compiled by)Genre: Sports Publisher: Griffin Publishing Group Released: 1999 |
A Review by John Nesbit
02/04/2002
Nabor’s collection strives to rekindle memories of great Olympic moments as well as give some insider perspectives of life at the Games. Primarily, he hopes that the stories serve as lessons on how to eliminate negative thinking, focus on important dreams, and learn how to overcome the obstacles to succeed. This goes beyond the background blurbs that you’ll see on NBC. Most of these stories are crafted by former Olympians who have honed their messages for the business community, so some stories come across as canned speeches. However, selective readers will find the gems to read, whether to recall certain athletes and moments or to find the message they need.
The twenty-seven selections span the gamut of Olympic experience. Both Summer and Winter Olympics are represented with skaters, skiers, swimmers, and track and field specialists. Some are famous and well known—Nadia Comaneci, Dan Jansen, and Florence Griffith Joyner—but most are not. Especially well represented is the incredible 1984 US men’s gymnastic team that shocked the sports world with its gold medal at Los Angeles—Peter Widmar, Bart Conner, and Tim Daggett. Other athletes in the compilation never won medals.
Each athlete speaks from a unique perspective, yet themes of success form familiar patterns. One common idea is the necessity of maintaining a positive attitude—like Dan Jansen's. (He responded to a reporter who badgered him about being the “greatest speed skater never to have won an Olympic medal” with the following:
That’s one way to look at it, but I choose to look at it another way. With this being my fourth Olympic Games, I have also had the opportunity to become one of the most successful Olympians of all time.”Having self-confidence cuts across all successful athletes. Dick Fosbury’s section is titled “Maybe You’re Right & Everyone Else is Wrong.” His name should automatically trigger sports fans to recall the “Fosbury Flop.” Before Fosbury, high jumpers had used a standard straddle method to clear the bar, but Fosbury dared to be different; he began with a scissor kick and flopped over the bar backwards. At first, coaches attempted to “cure” his unorthodox technique, but they couldn’t argue with his results, and it took him to Olympic gold. His name will remain forever linked with high jumping, since the “Fosbury Flop” has become the new standard.
Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner pair up for business functions to present their secret to success. They use the acronym F.O.C.U.S. to cue the formula:
F: Find your talentsFor each principle the famous gymnasts cite anecdotes to illustrate. Nadia explains how a single incident of indecisiveness caused her to fall on the uneven bars in the 1980 Olympics, but renewed focus two days later allowed her to nail perfect routines in the All-Around competition. Bart chimes in with more lessons about focus and adds the idea that it’s important to hone in on daily improvements instead of thinking that your self-satisfaction relies on Olympic success—not that many people will even make the U.S. Olympic team.
O: Observe your role models
C: Challenge yourself
U: Utilize your resources
S: Strive to make a difference
”There will always be someone with more money, a bigger house, better-behaved children, more opportunities and more of just about everything, so if you are focusing on that (the win, the title, always being on top) as your goal, you will never be totally satisfied. If you enjoy the process, then you will be constantly fulfilled and can always feel successful.”Pam Fletcher has a heart warming story of another sort—the six-time national champion was considered America’s most likely candidate for medal glory at the 1988 Calgary games in alpine skiing, but after breaking her fibula on the practice course, her Olympic dream was over. Not wanting to cast blame and suffer like Mary Decker at the 1984 Summer Olympics, Fletcher went on crutches to cheer her teammates on and hung around the Olympic Village to meet many remarkable athletes; she was determined to enjoy the experience and take home positive memories of the Games. She talks eloquently about getting over it and moving on.
One story most everyone will want to read is the final one, narrated by Mike Eruzione, captain of the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic U.S. hockey team—the one that scored the “Miracle on Ice” in beating the heavily favored Soviet Union, a performance Sports Illustrated calls one of the top ten athletic achievements in history. Think about it: The Soviet team had thoroughly whipped the NHL All-Star team, so they were unquestionably the finest hockey team on the planet. Who were these American amateurs to think that they had a chance?
Eruzioine provides an inside view of the intangibles of that incredible team, discussing their desire, passion, commitment, faith, confidence, courage, and heart. It’s a great story, one he has obviously honed over the years, as he now travels the country as a motivational speaker for a number of corporations.
Reading through the various stories can provide inspiration and make the day go a little better. Some stories are more polished than others, and a few sound like typical positive thinking pabulum, but there can be no denying the success formulae of these athletes, whether they won Olympic gold or not. These athletes have “walked the walk,” so Awaken the Olympian Within is worth checking out what they have to say.
© Copyright ToxicUniverse.com 02/04/2002
