by Four-time Olympian Ruben Gonzalez
Most people, look at their obstacles and all they see is a reason why they can’t make their dream a reality. They look at the obstacle, get discouraged (they lose heart), and they quit. Winners look at the obstacles, get mad and then become determined to
overcome them.
When I decided to take up the sport of luge and train for the Olympics four years away, I knew I had two major obstacles to overcome. Two things that HAD to happen or else I would be watching the Olympics on TV: first, I had to learn how to luge (back then I couldn’t even spell luge) and second, I had to be ranked in the top 50 lugers in the world to qualify to compete in the Olympics. I would only have only two luge seasons to learn how to slide, because the last two seasons I needed to race internationally
to work on my world ranking. Most people would have looked at those obstacles and quit before they got started!
You can read the story of how I did it in “The Courage to Succeed.” What’s more important than the rest of the story is how YOU can develop the mental toughness to
look at an obstacle and become fired up and excited about the challenge ahead.
Many times all you have to do to overcome your roadblocks is to simply learn some new skills. Other times, you might have to refine some skills. You might have to enlist the help of other people. I did! Big time! You might have to create a team. Most of the time the roadblock is internal – lack of belief and doubt that you can pull it off.
The roadblocks are not a bad thing. They are simply road signs that tell you what you need to work on next. Where your focus needs to be. Your roadblocks help
define what your goals need to be.
What’s keeping you from realizing your dreams? What’s the one thing that’s slowing down all your progress? Your job is to identify the roadblocks and focus all your energy on doing whatever it takes to remove them. Once you do that, your dreams will be there for the taking.
Put it into action:
List the three main things that are keeping you from your dream. What can you do today to overcome those challenges? Who do you know that has had and has overcome those challenges? Call them up, take them out for coffee, and find out how they did it –
they’ll be glad to help. Successful people like to talk about their success.
Make it an Olympic Day!
Ruben Gonzalez is an award-winning keynote speaker and the author of the critically acclaimed book, “The Courage to Succeed.” His experiences as a three-time Olympian and as the owner of two businesses give him a unique perspective on how to conquer the corporate struggles of today. For his free 10-Part Success eCourse, visit www.StartWinningMore.com or contact him at 832-689-8282.
