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Reflect: Quick Thought
The fire has to come from within.
If you look at the research on prodigies and phenoms who eventually become standout adult performers, a deep intrinsic drive is a requirement.
Success often pulls us away from this inner drive and toward external rewards. But it's important to keep that inner flame lit with joy, mastery, and love of the pursuit.
For all of its flaws, the Olympics are special. We get to see real people, most of whom aren't paid very much money, step into the once-every-four-years spotlight. It's a chance to change their lives, cement their legacy, or just walk away knowing that they gave their all to chasing the dream.
I want to highlight just a few stories and lessons I've pulled from this year's games. Feel free to share some of your favorites by replying to this e-mail (or let us know on social media).
Be Yourself and Go All the Way
Noah Lyles is a showman and mad talker. Last year he put the entire NBA on blast with his "World champion of what?" comment. He's brash, confident, and goofy. And, after winning last year's world championship in the 100 and 200 meter races, he had the weight of the world on him. Then, unexpectedly, he got beat in the heats and in the semi-finals. And yet, as he stepped out onto the stage for the biggest moment of his career, he was himself. Fired up, brash, and goofy. And he ran his race: last place at 40 meters, 7th through 50 meters, then holding top speed far better than everyone in the field, to out-lean his competitors by .005.
Love him or hate him, Lyles shows us to be ourselves and go all the way. He showed up as himself. He didn't do anything different. Sticking to his pre-race with Zen, and ending by screaming into the camera. The 100m may be the most difficult race to prepare for mentally. You need full confidence before the gun goes off, an enormous expression of power, but also to be completely relaxed.
Redefining Striving for Greatness There was Simone Biles, entering the meet with the memory of her body failing her in Tokyo. Yet, there she was, redefining what we think about performance. First, there was the controversy with a former teammate who said that the US team had lost some of its toughness because, bizarrely, they didn't have a tyrant as a coach. Simone, Suni, and the team showed us that you can be the best in the world while having fun. They showed us that the damaging notion of decades past—that gymnasts needed to look like pre-pubescent girls—was wrong, as a group of strong 20-somethings dominated. And there Simone was, cheering on her biggest rival while competing against her for the gold.
We All Need a Helping Hand
There was the battle of friends, triathletes Yee and Wilde, going at it once again for the ultimate prize. After nearly an hour and a half of racing—including through the questionable Seine river—Wilde threw down the surges of all surges: a drastic bid for glory, that seemed to be working as he built up a 100-meter lead. Behind him, with a bit over a mile to go in the race, Yee was feeling the 85-degree weather. He was 14 seconds down, and doubts had started to take over. But then he heard a voice, prior Olympic champion and fellow countryman Alastair Brownlee shouting, "Anything can happen mate, anything can still happen." Yee found some hope, clawed his way back, and overtook his friend, Wilde, for gold. It's the essence of competition.
Respectful rivalry, throwing everything you've got at the wall, and the need for a helpful teammate to remind us to never give up hope when our brain is screaming at us to settle and slow. We all need that helping hand, that person to help remind us that there's a path forward. A reminder that the battle isn't over yet and we might have a shot that we can't quite see yet.
Perspective to Deal with Heartbreak
Tere's also heartbreak. There are people like Akani Simbine, a man you've never heard of unless you are a track fan. He was 4th in the 100m final, just 0.01 seconds off the podium. But this isn't his first time in that spot. He was 4th in Tokyo, and 5th in Rio. He's missed a medal in the Olympics three times by .01, .03, and .04. But that's not all. He was 5th, 4th, and 5th at the 2022, 2019, and 2017 world championships. Meaning, that out of the 7 championships during an eight-year period, Simbine was 4th or 5th in all of them but one, by less than a second cumulatively! The only championship he wasn't in the final was when he false-started in the semi-finals. If the fates turned a little differently, we're talking about him as one of the greatest sprinters in history. Again, this is less than one second over four years! Through it all, a disappointed Simbine put things in perspective, "I might not be getting the medal, but what I am doing is changing how sprinting is seen in South Africa and motivating a lot of kids.”
Redefining Greatness
The Olympic Games aren't quite done yet. We've still got some amazing races, and no doubt more stories to come in the final days. But one that will be fun to watch is the zen master of running, Eliud Kipchoge. The man who has redefined what's possible, both in record-setting days and consistency over time. On Saturday, he goes for an unprecedented 3rd straight Olympic Gold in the marathon. A feat that, dare I say, would cement him as the greatest athlete of this century. He's been at the top of running since 2003, when, as a teenager, he stole the 5k race at the last minute from two of history's greatest runners, Kenenisa Bekele and Hicham El Guerrouj. Now, decades later, he'll strive to defy time and gravity and to cement an unprecedented combination of dominance and longevity in a sport that often leaves you beaten down and broken after not too long. And, for the first time in a long while, he's not the favorite. Over the years, Kipchoge has delivered some of the best quotes and advice on true competition. He's not brash and bold like Lyles, but calm and stoic. He reads self-help books, including ours, which he once said, "It moulds you as a human being to achieve great things." Of all the athletes, Kipchoge might encapsulate the Growth Equation vibe the best. He strives to see what's possible, to get the most out of himself, and to do it in a thoughtful, self-reflective way.
There were so many stories and lessons during the 2024 Olympics. From the 'race of the games,' in which 1500m runners Kerr and Ingebrigtsen focused on one another so much that the American Cole Hocker could sneak up the inside to capture the gold, to the cyclist who only took up the sport after doing spin classes in her 20s and is now an Olympic champ.
One of the reasons the Olympics captures our hearts and minds is because it focuses us on something real. Sports may not be a perfect imitation of life, but it can help us see bits and pieces of the struggles and challenges we go through. It encapsulates striving with a purpose and also having our dreams crushed. We get to see people at their highest of highs, and their lowest of lows. And much of it we won't see: the breakdowns in the warm-up area, the deep long stares, realizing that a career of chasing glory is over, or what comes next, after the crowd and attention retreat, and you head back to the track or trails or gym or court for four more years of work to see if you are lucky enough to get another shot. Because these Olympics have been so inspiring, we're opening up our 40% off link for the for the Academy. It will be full price once the games are over, so if you aren't already, join over 300 members and sign up today!
Performance Tips from One of the World's Premier Violinists
Hilary Hahn has been playing violin for four decades. She started at three years old (!), made her major orchestral debut at 12 (!!), and knows a thing (many, many things actually) about performing at a world-class level. Below are just a few takeaways from my conversation with her. If you want to get much more, check out this week's episode of The Growth Equation podcast, FAREWELL:Episode 63: A World-Class Violinist's Tips for Peak Performance (with Hilary Hahn)
On practice: “A lot of practice is peaking for the right moment. Expertise is putting out only enough effort, at only the moments you need it, to be able to do what you're trying to do.”
On motivation: "If you’re threatening yourself with the possibility of a bad performance as motivation, the performance carries a lot more scary weight. But if you can figure out a way to improve, become the musician you want to be, and become the technician you want to be, without all of the threatening pressure, you understand that you can get the same place many different ways.”
On performing: “My first teacher told me that performing is like giving a gift to the audience. You welcome them in, like to a party, and they thank you with their applause.”
On meeting the moment: “You can’t change what you can’t change. So how are you going to work with what you have in that moment? If you’re trying to force yourself to do something that doesn’t want to happen, you’ve lost valuable moments, you’ve lost valuable problem-solving pivots, you’re directing your adrenaline to be afraid rather than creative.”
Discover: More Good Stuff
Behind the mental preparation work Noah Lyles goes through.
Sister Acts: Nature versus Nurture in athletic success.
Perform at your best at the things that matter most to you. At the Growth Equation, we are dedicated to bringing you pragmatic, no-nonsense information, tools, and practices to help you cultivate sustainable and fulfilling success and excellence.
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