I am 18 years old and one could
argue that I couldn’t offer much advice due to a lack of life experiences. I’d
say they’re probably right. That’s why I want to help others learn as I learn
myself. I’m constantly striving to obtain knowledge from whomever I can and if it
is useful to me then it must be useful to others. To help illustrate my
reasoning I offer this silly yet valuable analogy. Recently, I was explaining
how I felt about sharing knowledge with some friends. I proceeded to tell them
about how knowledge is like a Hot Pocket. I bit into a Hot Pocket and was
completely consumed by the delicious flavors that it contained. I then thought
“I need to share this with everyone!” so I immediately started running around
telling people about my delicious Hot Pocket. So, as I learn I want to share it
with others. Its sort of like we are on a journey of self learning, together!
Here is one of my valuable life lessons that I hope you find entertaining as
well as informational.
It all started when I asked a
friend if he wanted to join a competitive swim club with me. He responded with
a not so enthusiastic “sure.” Little did we know that we had just found our
passion. We went to the first workout and I had fallen in love with the sport
of swimming. Swimming made me feel free and weightless. It helped me clear my
mind of the happenings of that day. What was interesting about that day was I
had fallen in love with this sport and I was the slowest person on the team.
Although I wasn’t very fast I was having the time of my life.
After 2 years of hard work and
sacrificing sleep and friends in order to be in the pool before the sun came
up, I began to rise up in the ranks of swimming. This put me at the end of my
junior year where I had a somewhat disappointing state meet. I failed to meet
my goal times and fell short of the coveted “A” Final or the top 8 qualifiers.
So, I shrugged off defeat and started working harder than I ever had before.
I had another year of training
under my belt and my senior year was at hand. My school had a tradition of
winning my best race, the 100 yard breaststroke. Now that I was a senior and
team captain, it was my time to shine. I was having the season of a lifetime.
Every time I got out of the water I was walking off the pool deck with personal
best times and constant attention in the aquatic community. People I didn’t
know would ask me “how do you do it?” or “do you have any advice for me?” I was
making a name for myself and my goal of swimming in college was in my sights,
but for now I was out to become a state champion.
My specialty, the 100 Breaststroke,
was the catalyst of all the attention amongst swimmers and college coaches.
After the qualifying rounds, I was ranked 2nd overall in the state
of Arizona. This meant that I’d be in the top 8 and I’d be right in the middle
of the pool. Everyone knew that the race would be between the number one seed
and me. After a good nights rest I was ready to compete.
Finally, the day was upon me.
November 5, 2011, was the finals of the Arizona State Championships. You could
feel the intensity in the air. During warm ups, my freshly shaven legs gliding
through the water told me I was ready to perform. I knew that college coaches
from all over the country were there, watching specifically for the fastest
swimmers. Throughout that entire day, my coaches were telling me “watch what
you eat!” and “stay off your legs, you’re gonna need em!” This just reinforced
the enormity of the task that now faced me. The tension was building. The outcome
of this race would determine if I’d be swimming in college or not.
At last, it was time for what could
be my final race. Naturally I needed to do something spectacular. Running these
thoughts through my mind forces me to relive the intense emotions I felt. The
mere thought of my name being announced throughout the stadium made my palms
sweat. I knew that behind me was the jumbo-tron where all my movements were
being broadcasted to thousands of spectators and college recruiters. We stepped
up to the blocks and were called to our marks. The sound of the starting beep
pierced the Saturday afternoon air. Without hesitation we leap from the blocks,
the cold water shocked me as I entered the pool.
On lap one
I felt the speed I got from the jump off the blocks. I began to swim as hard
and as fast as I could, knowing that everyone in the pool was out to beat me.
Lap two, my stroke felt fast and I feel myself getting into a rhythm. Lap three
I knew I was going have the race of my life; my heart rate was off the charts.
My breathing was heavy. The final lap and I could see the others out of the
corners of my eyes. “They are gaining on me” I thought. It came time for the
final lunge towards the wall to stop the time. BAM! I touched the wall. I
glanced up towards the timing board for the results. I saw a red flashing “3”
next to my name… I had finished in third place. The meet was over. We did well
as a team but the bitter sting of my third place finish still left a bad taste
in my mouth.
For months
I viewed this as my biggest defeat, my greatest failure. I had let down my
family and more importantly I let down my teammates. There wasn’t a day that
went by that I didn’t revive the pain I felt from losing that race. After
speaking with a mentor of mine I realized I had been interpreting my failure
incorrectly for too long. My mentor said “in business, you don’t always have to
be the richest man in the world to be considered successful.” Immediately, I
realized the profundity of his words. I didn’t win first place, I didn’t get a
college scholarship, and I didn’t even get mentioned in the school newspaper.
What I had achieved wasn’t something that I could see; it was something far
greater than that. I had stumbled upon the most important lesson of my life up
to this point. I had learned that my failure and any failure for that matter
could be a blessing. I learned that in the aftermath of defeat I can look back
at the journey that got me there and see the vital lessons I learned. It’s
important to work hard to be successful, but if you fall short of a goal its
not the end of the world. During my high school swimming career I learned what
its like to work hard. I learned how to form relationships with other people.
As captain I learned how to lead. Probably the most important lesson that I
learned was how to lose. When you fail don’t focus on the failure itself, focus
on how you got there and the principles that you learned to apply.
Leading up to the State meet I had
the notion that I must win in order to have had success during my career. This
experience has molded my life and my vision of success into something totally
different. I know now that I’m not going to be a highly paid, professional
swimmer. I now have a different approach to how I’m going to look at my life and
my college career and I am confident that I can be successful according to my
own definition. Success is a relative term. What do you consider success? How
will you achieve it?
