What It Takes to Achieve Greatness: Lessons from the Paris 2024 Olympic Silver Medalists

 

I was energized and inspired by being able to witness athletes achieve such feats that many said were previously unachievable.

 

This led me to contemplate the high-performance habits we follow and teach at the Amplified Life Company, so we dug in a bit to research some of the best athletes showcasing their skills in Paris.

 

CASE STUDY:

 

 

 

To achieve a silver medal in women’s synchronized diving, both Cook and Bacon had to overcome multiple challenges, including devasting injuries that set them back multiple times from achieving their goals.

 

However, they both persisted, but that persistence would not have happened without three things:

Bacon attended the University of Minnesota as part of the elite diving team.  During her 4 years with the team, she was able to dramatically change her physique. Because of this significant change in her physique, she took her diving to the next level, spinning faster and making dives way easier, with her entries being even cleaner. 

 

This change was thanks to her coach, who sat her down her freshman year and told her that if she wanted to be exceptional at the sport of diving and reach her full potential, she was going to have to change something.  With that advice, Bacon committed to cardio every day, lifting heavy weights and diving three hours a day.  Read that again: she worked 3 hours a day on her craft.

 

 

After watching and listening to Cook and Bacon speak and reading multiple interviews, it became extremely apparent that they each hold a deep sense of intrinsic motivation and a drive and determination to do the mundane, small steps required daily to achieve greatness.  They are willing to go for it all, fail, go back to the drawing board, do things differently, and go all in repeatedly.

 

“It’s 90% mental, 10% skill is what I would say. If your mental game isn’t strong in this sport, you’re gonna fall apart and crumble,” Bacon said.

 

“It was that moment when all your hard work comes to fruition. Sometimes that doesn’t always happen. You don’t always get the result you want, and that’s happened to us before,” Cook told USA Diving.

 

 

Key in on what Cook told the reporter here, “You don’t always get the results that you want….” 

 

Isn’t that true with just about anything in life?  Unless you’re simply going through the motions of everyday life, cruising by and not ever challenging or stretching yourself.

 

 

What did you notice? 

 

Their coaches? 

Their family, friends, and other team members that were there cheering them on? 

 

That’s what I noticed right away!  

 

When asked about mental resilience, Cook recently shared this, “It’s been hard mentally,” the Indianapolis native said. 

 

“I remember having a conversation with my boyfriend before I decided to go to the Olympics. I just asked him, ‘Is it all worth it? What happens if I come back and end up not making the Olympic team.’ 

 

… And he looked me in the eyes and said, ‘No, you’re going to go back. You’re going to dive, and we’re going to make your dream happen.’ So happy that he talked me through that and pushed me to come back.”

 

I am still in awe.

 

I am next-level inspired, which is the true definition of aspirational!

 

 

In closing, the three themes that continued to be presented time and time again that amplified athletes from good to great, from skilled to exceptional were:

Here’s to discovering greatness in your journey of life and business.

Need some direction, tools or resources on your journey?