Currently the Olympic Games in Rio 2016 show us that the world is full of incredible athletes and incredible people. Within each chosen sport, the best in the world compete for Olympic Gold.

Every time the Olympic Games are held records fall and new champions emerge.

Most of the population sits comfortably in a lounge chair watching the events unfold. Watching other talented exceptional individuals in their moment of glory. We see an event that may last less than 10 seconds such as the 100 meter sprint. Other endurance event last several hours such as the marathon race. Whatever the event, and especially when the highlights are replayed, we only see a small representation of the actual event.

What we do not see is the days, weeks, months and years of gruelling struggle that these athletes go through in order to prepare their bodies and minds for this level of competition. The countless hours of dedication to their chosen sport. The sacrifices made to private and personal life in order to even make it to the competition. The iron will, and determination to be number one.

Earlier this week I delivered a motivational message to a small group. I posed the question, “what’s your Olympic gold?”

I then gave the following suggestions as to what might constitute a personal Olympic gold. I would like you to consider that this question is personal. You and I are not necessarily competing against another person, rather we are competing against ourselves. Therefore, when you and I work out what our Olympic gold is, we could simply see this as a metaphor for never ending improvement and progression.

Perhaps your Olympic gold is your marriage. Maybe you have dedicated yourself to be the very best husband or wife that you could possibly be. Perhaps you spend hours focussing on this, your most important relationship with the person you love most in all the world. Perhaps you regularly think about what you could do each day to bring joy into your partners life. What small acts of service you could render. What small sacrifices that you could make and what you could do to brighten their day, each and every day. Think of the kind words you would speak, the love you would and the happiness that would result from the determination to be the very best husband or wife that you could possibly be. If this was your Olympic Gold, what lengths would you go to to ensure that your partner had their needs filled. What sacrifices would you make and how dedicated would you be to ensuring that they are happy and fulfilled. How committed would you be to ensuring that your companion had wings to fly.

In life coaching one client I asked him about preparation for conversation with his wife. He had come to me with the concern that he would like to have deeper and more meaningful conversations with his beautiful wife. In other words he wanted to have his partner meet his communication needs. I sent him away with the assignment of meeting his wife’s communication needs. We discussed all of the topics that she loved to talk about, and then topics that she did not like. His assignment was simply to research and study those topics that she loves, and then to prepare for conversation. He is a gifted teacher and presenter. I asked him how long he generally took to prepare a lesson or presentation. He explained that he focuses on preparation and can spend an hour to prepare a lesson plan that lasted 40 minutes. I then asked how long he spent preparing to have a deep conversation with his wife.

His response was a perplexing look. He was silent. I then went on to draw up a comparison. I said words to the effect of “You are teaching or sharing with students an you prepare for that. Yet in your most important relationship, your beautiful wife, your help meet, your eternal companion, your lover you don’t do any preparation!” I then gave him the task of preparation for conversation. I also instructed him to talk about her favourite things. To prepare himself to fill her communication needs.

Perhaps your Olympic gold is your relationships with others. You can spend your time telling people how great you are. Or you can show people how great they are, or how great they can be. It has been said many times that in order to have a friend you must first be a friend.

How then does one be a friend? Friendship is more than familiarity. It is more than knowing someone’s name or star sign. True friendship is an investment into then life of another person. Unless you are willing to venture beyond your own interests, desires and needs, it will be difficult to make and keep friends. The truth is that you and I really are not that interesting. Telling others about ones own life serves a valuable purpose. You see conversation is not predominately about words, or language. It’s about feeling. A true friend is one who lifts and lightens the emotional journey of another.

When we learn to manage our emotional state we really can become a true friend. We really can influence other people in a positive powerful way.

Once you and I begin to really focus on controlling the emotional states that we operate from, life can change considerably. Friendships can also change. A highly positive person tends to attract other positive people into his circle of influence. A negative person often gravitates toward negativity, and often surrounds themselves with other negative people. The choice becomes yours and mine.

If your desire was to win Olympic gold as a friend you might focus on the others to the extend that look after the people in your life. You will be kind in your language, service oriented in behaviour and invest effort into your relationships. You will be lavish in your praise and hearty in your approbation. You will look for opportunities to show this person that they are important and special.

Perhaps your Olympic gold is having a tremendous body. While you may not be a world class athlete, let’s face it most of us are not, there is still space for us to have a healthy functional body. With all the information available today about nutrition, exercise and health, it is very possible to have a great body. Furthermore to have a good body does not have to take many hours every day at the gym, or the will power to resist every single sugary substance. Yet if you want a great body it comes at a cost. If you want an Olympic gold body there must be a sacrifice. What will you do to commit yourself to having a great body. How important will this be In your life and how much focus and energy are you willing to invest in this direction. Will you eat a plate of broccoli for breakfast, and have a cucumber lunch. Will you alkalise your body to neutralise unwanted acid and toxins in your body. Will you drink 3 or more litres of water each day and take time to breath deeply and fully. Will you have a ritual that includes a posture workout, wheat grass, pelvic floor exercises or whatever it is that you need to move your body in a powerful way toward that Olympic gold standard.

Perhaps your Olympic gold is success in your chosen career. For some success is making a tremendous amount of money. For others success is the individuals who have been helped and the lives that have been changed. For others success is a feeling of accomplishment inside, knowing that your work has been of value. Whatever your version of success in the world is, creating an winning attitude and a determination to blast through obstacles that threaten to impede you, and having an effective plan will enable you to capture Olympic gold.

Perhaps Olympic gold is your ability to live the celestial life you have dreamed of. Having a high level of Spirituality could be your Olympic gold. As we consider the upper most tip of the pyramid in Ivan Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the highest level being self actualisation. For some this is concerned with the direction or individual purpose of ones life. For others it is all about their relationship with God or the universe. For others it is all about their relationship with the self. Those who plan to make spirituality a real focus of life, should not be content to just do a little here and a little there. To grow in this area of life requires consistent determination and total conviction. To gain Olympic Gold means that one will endeavour to nurture the internal conditions of life, and seek harmony with the ‘higher self’.

Whatever your Olympic gold is, whatever your goals dreams and aspirations are, it will require you to possess the attitude of a winner. The winning attitude is one that believes in possibilities. One that believes in the impossible, and one that believes in miracles. The first step toward victory is to believe that you can and will achieve victory. I mean to really believe it, not just with the conscious mind. Rather to feel it inside, like an inward knowing. To have the unconscious mind, your higher self adopt the belief as a fact. Once both parts, the conscious and the unconscious, know that it is possible, and know that you can create the material manifestation of that which you want through consistent action, your success is assured. When you are fully integrated and in rapport with the unconscious part of yourself, you will be surprised at how easy it is to move toward your goals.

Why do athletes have a coach? The short answer is they need a coach. A coach will help them win Olympic gold.

An exceptional life coach does three things. First, an exceptional life coach is trained to assist a person to discover their “WHY” and develop a winning psychology. Second, an exceptional life coach is able to assist an individual to bring their unconscious mind and the conscious mind into rapport with each other. This allows a person to move forward without self sabotage and without unwanted resistance. Finally an exceptional life coach works to ensure that the strategies the individual is using to further their life are effective and productive.

All of these elements are necessary if it is Olympic Gold we seek. I hope to see each of you one day with that metaphorical golden medal between your teeth, tasting victor.

Why wait? Why not ask you life coach how to feel that way right now?