I blew this lift 1000’s of times. In this competition I nailed it and qualified for
the Olympic Weightlifting world championships in New Zealand.
I “failed forward”.
Lemme explain! This morning, while working out at the gym, I glanced up at the weight room’s flat screen TV on the wall. It was showing a special documentary on Olympic athletes.
OH GOOD! (I love the Olympics.)
In between bicep curls I watched clips of former Olympic athletes performing incomprehensible athletic feats…. and then crashing, falling, getting crushed by other athletes.
OH MY GOD. NOT GOOD.
They showed athletes falling on their heads, athletes crashing into spectators and athletes flung into the air, going 98 MPH.
t was terrifying.
Most got up and walked away.
Some suffered broken bones or head injuries.
Watching Paris 2024, I had forgotten about this side of sports. This morning’s documentary reminded me of one very important truth that all Olympic athletes and all successful people too, understand:
Winners fail 1000X more than they win.
Are you watching the Olympics? There’s so much to learn from these emotionally fit athletes.
They understand that there are no straight lines to success, that winning is a journey fraught with failures and intense emotional ups and downs.
Sometimes it’s two steps forward, six steps backwards. Sometimes it’s three steps forward, and then an accident sidelines them for a year or … maybe for good.
They have learned how to “fail forward”. They never quit. They get up, dust themselves off, assess what went wrong in a positive way and then keep going.
THIS IS KEY WHEN ASSESSING A “FAILURE”: Winners never self-condemn: I caused my team to lose. I should not be on the team. Instead, they assess positively: I will be sure to keep my head down and not allow my back to arch next time.
I have been applying this Olympic – style “failure mindset” for 24 years. It has helped me to get off all processed sugar for good, start a business in my spare bedroom (that was Oprah endorsed!), win a gold medal in Olympic Weightlifting at age 64, and become a successful confidence coach for women.
I want you to have a gold medal mindset too!
What podium do you dream about standing on? What “gold medal” do you want to win in your life?
Maybe you want to:
- Discover your purpose and change careers at age 50.
- Set effective boundaries and learn to speak up for yourself.
- Overcome social anxiety.
- Figure out how to retire and practice winning strategies to live 20+ fulfilling, healthy years.
Here’s my confidence strategy for you this month: Accept that failing is part of your journey to the podium. Go out there today and fail. Then get up, assess (positively!) why you failed and then go do it again. Never quit.
Failing forward means you are in the big arena doing your daily training session. Not every day will be your birthday. Not every day will you be a rock star. You will fail 1000X more than you win. Don’t fear failure. Embrace is. Leverage it. Every time you blow it say, “Go me. I am one failure closer to a win.”
Truth.