You have to go up there and jump high and clear whatever the bar may be. It's a competition within myself. That's how it was even before I was the best in the world, because that's the approach to every competition.
Armand DuplantisRead
If I go into years only thinking about medals I'm missing the whole meaning of what I've always been trying to do, which is trying to push myself and push the barriers of what is possible.
Interpretation
Focusing solely on accolades can divert attention from personal growth and pushing limits.
In this quote, Armand Duplantis emphasizes that mere accumulation of medals or achievements can distract an individual from the true purpose of their endeavors. The essence of pursuing greatness lies not in the external rewards but in the journey of self-improvement and the quest to transcend one's own limits, pushing the boundaries of what is achievable.
In practice
During a motivational speech addressing young athletes about the importance of growth over winning.
You have to go up there and jump high and clear whatever the bar may be. It's a competition within myself. That's how it was even before I was the best in the world, because that's the approach to every competition.
That's a pretty big advantage to this journey that I've been able to have, is that I was able to start at such a young age because my father built a setup and I was able to build a technique from 3 years up to now. Without the backyard, I'm not whatever I am today. I knew that none of my classmates were pole vaulting.
Writing careers are short. For every 100 writers, 99 never get published. Of those who do, only one in every hundred gets a career out of it, so I count myself as immensely privileged.
There is no hope of success for the person who does not have a central purpose, or definite goal at which to aim.
Greatness comes by doing a few small and smart things each and every day. Comes from taking little steps, consistently. Comes from a making a few small chips against everything in your professional and personal life that is ordinary, so that a day eventually arrives when all that's left is The Extraordinary.
Yes, winning the gold medal was undoubtedly the biggest day of my career - mostly because I won the way I had prepared to run it. It was a totally satisfying experience.
I am always interested in why young people become writers, and from talking with many I have concluded that most do not want to be writers working eight and ten hours a day and accomplishing little; they want to have been writers, garnering the rewards of having completed a best-seller. They aspire to the rewards of writing but not to the travail.
Outlier are those who have been given opportunities-- -and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them.
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