Impossible dreams

[I]“When someone says you can’t do something, it shows that anything is possible. When you put your mind to a certain thing, it can happen. The biggest thing is nothing is impossible. All it takes is an imagination.” [/I]

—Michael Phelps, Olympic swimmer

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Last Sunday, during the Summer Olympic games in Beijing, millions of people witnessed an Olympian accomplish something that many thought was impossible. Mark Spitz’s 36-year record of winning seven gold medals at the Games in Munich was shattered when Michael Phelps earned his eighth gold medal in the 400-meter medley relay.

Not only did Phelps win the medals, but he also broke seven world records and one Olympic record in the process. Considering the17 times he had to swim in nine days and the intense competition from the world’s best swimmers—several of them world record holders—it makes his feat even more amazing. In his seventh swim for the medal, he was seventh to reach the 50-meter turn in the 100-meter butterfly, and he trailed the leader, Milorad Cavic, until the last stroke where he touched the wall to win by one hundredth of a second. During the grueling 192 hours of self-discipline, the 23-year-old from Baltimore did not once lose focus of his goal. There was simply no room for the slightest slip-up, and his concentration had to be intense.

What’s interesting is that a kindergarten teacher once told his mother that young Michael couldn’t sit still and that he would “never be able to focus on anything.” When he was about nine years old he was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Years later, a middle school English teacher humiliated Phelps by telling him that he would never be successful. Mother, Debbie, has said that it was a difficult time for her son, but that she never stopped believing in Michael’s ability to persevere through adversity.

Rather than dwell on the limited perspectives of others, their negative words became the fuel for Phelps to work even harder to reach his goals. His ability to dismiss the naysayers, and endure the grueling workouts that honed his skills is what helps distinguish his greatness.

Phelps is quick to credit Bob Bowman, his personal coach, for helping him dream big. It was Bowman that recognized his potential for greatness when Phelps was only 11 years old, and the two have continued to work together in a symbiotic relationship for the last 12 years.

Phelps said when one starts dreaming, he or she should dream big. “No matter what you set your imagination to, anything can happen. Dream as big as you can and anything is possible.”

What dreams do you have, and are they big enough to be worthy of you? Greatness comes to those who dream big and work to make it happen. Nothing is impossible, no matter your age, education, circumstances, or experience. You are only limited by your ability to see something in your mind’s eye, and stay focused as you endure the ups and downs to make it happen. Michael Phelps has become the new icon, not only for the Olympic Games, but for dreamers everywhere who still have something they believe in and know they can achieve.

Dreams don’t come easily, but powerful dreamers make it look simple. There were many obstacles that could have kept Phelps from gliding to eight wins. Cavic, the Californian who swam for the Serbia team in his seventh race, said: “Everyone on the planet is trying to make him work, giving him obstacles.”

There are some important lessons to be learned as Michael Phelps pursued his monolithic dream. Bob Bowman gives some insight into how he stayed focused on his dream even during adversity when he said: “The ups and downs, sometimes you have to have that. There will be bitter disappointments, and Michael dealt with those the best way he could. He handled it the right way. You just have to do that and have that support system around you. Michael has had that and he will always have that.”

That support system is the people he surrounds himself with, and it was evident that besides his friends, coach and other teammates, a big part of it was his mom and two older sisters. Even though his Herculean effort was to carve his name into the history books, there might be another lesson that Phelps learned: Sometimes it’s not all about achieving your impossible dreams, but its more about the people with whom you share them.

After Phelps received his eighth gold medal and as the final “Star-Spangled Banner” played in the background, he looked over at his mother and sisters in the crowd and he did something new. He broke down and cried.

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[I]Rik is a business instructor at NMC and Janel is a partner with BizResults, LLC (www.bizresults.org). They can be contacted at biz_results@yahoo.com.[/I]