The road to the Olympics, leads to no city, no country. It goes far beyond New York or Moscow, ancient Greece or Nazi Germany. The road to the Olympics leads — in the end — to the best within us.
Jesse OwensRead
I wanted no part of politics. And I wasn't in Berlin to compete against any one athlete. The purpose of the Olympics, anyway, was to do your best. As I'd learned long ago from Charles Riley, the only victory that counts is the one over yourself.
Interpretation
The true essence of competition lies in personal growth and self-improvement rather than external victories.
Jesse Owens emphasizes that the Olympic spirit is about personal excellence and self-challenge rather than merely winning against others. He reflects on his experience and the wisdom imparted by Charles Riley, stressing that the most significant achievement is conquering one's own limitations, which ultimately defines success in any endeavor.
In practice
During a motivational speech at a school assembly, one might quote this to encourage students to focus on personal goals.
The road to the Olympics, leads to no city, no country. It goes far beyond New York or Moscow, ancient Greece or Nazi Germany. The road to the Olympics leads — in the end — to the best within us.
If you don't try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody's back yard. The thrill of competing carries with it the thrill of a gold medal. One wants to win to prove himself the best.
A lifetime of training for just ten seconds.
In the end, it's extra effort that separates a winner from second place. But winning takes a lot more that that, too. It starts with complete command of the fundamentals. Then it takes desire, determination, discipline, and self-sacrifice. And finally, it takes a great deal of love, fairness and respect for your fellow man. Put all these together, and even if you don't win, how can you lose?
When I came back, after all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country, and I could not ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn't live where I wanted. Now what's the difference?
Only by God?s grace have I made it to see today and only by God?s grace will I ever see tomorrow.
Frankly I've never really subscribed to these adjectives tagging me as an 'icon', 'superstar', etc. I've always thought of myself as an actor doing his job to the best of his ability.
I get a lot of letters from people saying, 'How do I get into radio, how do I get into telly?' and I wish there was an answer, because there's no ladder. There are no parameters. You've just got to go in wherever you can, make the tea, and slowly make your way up the ladder.
...so remember: great achievements take time, there is no overnight success.
What has made me successful is the ability to surrender my plans, dreams and goals to a power that's greater than other people and greater than myself.
The Olympics meant everything to me. Going through them is like nothing else you will ever experience. For those few weeks, you are in another world. At that point, I couldn't see how there could ever be anything better.
You gotta keep the ball off the fat part of the bat.
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