“"I think it’s better to attempt something and fail than it is to not even attempt it, so I’m glad that I’ve been prepared to put myself on the line there."”
"Remember to do the things you enjoy away from swimming, regularly."
- Ian Thorpe
Balance
"For myself, losing is not coming second. It’s getting out of the water knowing you could have done better. For myself, I have won every race I’ve been in."
- Ian Thorpe
Self-awareness
"I swam the race like I trained to swim it. It is not mathematical. I just let my body do it. It is a lot easier if you let your body do what it is trained for."
- Ian Thorpe
Focus
"I’ve enjoyed training again, I’ve enjoyed pushing myself in the pool and I’ll keep on swimming until I feel I cannot get any more out of myself."
- Ian Thorpe
Determination
"People ask me ‘what was going through your mind in the race?’ and I don’t know. I try and let my body do what it knows."
- Ian Thorpe
Mindfulness
"You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute."
- Tina Fey
Taking Risks
"You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind. To begin, begin."
- Gordon B. Hinckley
Taking Risks
"Do not wait for the perfect time and place to enter, for you are already onstage."
Taking Risks
"If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more."
- Erica Jong
Taking Risks
"If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever."
- Thomas Aquinas
Taking Risks