What's the difference between bluffing and actually doing and lip service and genuine commitment?
It doesn't take much of a leap of imagination to realise the possibilities for Trinidad and Tobago to establish itself in the global sport world. It's no secret that T&T has the talent and potential to be a genuine and consistent performer on the world and Olympic stage. We have potential for sport excellence and elite performance.
T&T can win gold medals on a regular and consistent basis and not merely by luck. We aren't best of the rest but equal to the best and can stand on the winner's podium with the best of the best.
Success means different things to different people. In the world of elite or high performance, sport success for many is defined as winning or put another way the goal is gold.
Whatever one may define it as, every human being wants success. Everybody wants the best this life can deliver. No one likes feeling second class or being described as mediocre.
There is a difference between believing you can achieve success and wishing for it.
Those who believe they can do and those who believe they can't don't.
Belief triggers the power to do.
Most self-improvement pundits claim that if you believe you can succeed and you will.
Think doubt and fail. Think victory and succeed. But is it that simple?
Positive thinking experts say that we are all products of our own thoughts.
So thought management is important.
Unsuccessful people suffer from a disease called excusitis.
The more successful the individual the less they rely on excuses.
Overcoming the barriers to success is achieved by making no excuses.
The goal is gold.
How do we overcome the hurdles and obstacles?
If for example we look back at the London 2012 Olympic Games, it's safe to say that London 2012 will always be special. But don't be fooled, there is a lot of unfinished business to take care of.
Anytime you represent your country, it is important. There is no room for complacency.
If the goal is gold, the bridge that leads to achievement is discipline, belief, passion and perseverance.
Success in the past does not guarantee success in the present or future, it simply fuels expectations.
Progress isn't success. At the elite level of sport it's a never ending process–the bar is always going up. You reach one level and the bar is always raised higher. Complacency will stifle consistent achievement.
Once you fall back into business as usual or rest on your laurels, the chasing pack will hunt and run you down because everyone is fighting to achieve the ultimate goal which is the gold. Reconditioning for success starts with raising the bar and going after more major accomplishments.
Ten or more Olympic Gold medals by the year 2024 or put another way ten or more Olympic champions by the year 2024 will be achieved if we believe that it can be accomplished.
Our sportsmen and women have what it takes, they are equal to the best and are world class performers.
It's not about luck but planning and preparation.
We have to create the strategy and the structure that will allow our sportsmen and women to deliver on their potential and to motivate them to have the singular focus and hunger that will inspire in them the will to push themselves to the limits of their ability.
The Olympic Games are the ultimate in most sports. The ultimate quest is gold.
Brian Lewis is the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee http://www.ttoc.org.
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