Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.
‘I can’t’ are two words that have never been in my vocabulary. I believe in me more than anything in this world.
Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose.
My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.
When the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble too difficult to overcome.
Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.
No matter what great things you accomplish, somebody helps you.
Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle.
I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up, no matter what else happened.
The triumph can’t be had without the struggle.
I knew that whatever I set my mind to do. I could do.
I had a series of childhood illnesses… scarlet fever…. pneumonia…. Polio. I walked with braces until I was at least nine years old. My life wasn’t like the average person who grew up and decided to enter the world of sports.
The potential for greatness lives within us all.
I loved the feeling of freedom in running, the fresh air, the feeling that the only person I’m competing with is me.
The triumph can’t be had without the struggle. And I know what struggle is. I have spent a lifetime trying to share what it has meant to be a woman first in the world of sports so that other young women have a chance to reach their dreams.
I tell them that the most important aspect is to be yourself and have confidence in yourself.
It doesn’t matter what you’re trying to accomplish. It’s all a matter of discipline. I was determined to discover what life held for me beyond the inner-city streets.
My mother taught me very early to believe I could achieve any accomplishment I wanted to. The first was to walk without braces.
The feeling of accomplishment welled up inside of me, three Olympic gold medals. I knew that was something nobody could ever take away from me, ever.
I would be disappointed if I were remembered as a runner because I feelthat my contribution to the youth of America has far exceeded the woman who was the Olympic champion.
I believe in me more than anything in this world.
I know black women in Tennessee who have worked all their lives, from the time they were twelve years old to the day they died. These women don’t listen to the women’s liberation rhetoric because they know that it’s nothing but a bunch of white women who had certain life-styles and who want to change those life-styles.
When I was going through my transition of being famous, I tried to ask God, why was I here? What was my purpose? Surely, it wasn’t just to win three gold medals. There has to be more to this life than that.
I don’t consciously try to be a role model, so I don’t know if I am or not. That’s for other people to decide.
Sometimes it takes years to really grasp what has happened to your life.
