There’s a lot that athletes can learn from Lance Armstrong, no matter what sport they are competing in. In many respects, it doesn’t matter what the sport is; as the determination demonstrated byLance Armstrong would propel anyone to success.
Lance Armstrong is known throughout the world for his multiple Tour De France wins (seven consecutive times), but is also known for his hard fought battle against cancer.
In this article we will cover eight things that every up and coming athlete can learn from Lance Armstrong.
8 Keys To Lance Armstrong’s Success
1. No matter what the cards are that life deals you, you have to make the most of it.
For all of Lance’s athletic prowess. One thing that he could not control was the fact that he developed testicular cancer. This cancer later spread to his brain as he developed a brain tumor.
For awhile, it looked as though Lance was losing the battle against cancer. Yet he kept fighting. At the same time, he kept winning. Many people would have given up in those circumstances. Yet, not only did he not give up, he triumphed against adversity, winning races while suffering from cancer.
2. Every race starts with a single rotation of the wheel.
To achieve great things, you have to first achieve the little things. A long-distance race victory doesn’t just happen instantly, it has to begin somewhere and from those many rotations of the wheel, victory followed. Each rotation of the wheel played its role in the race, and each rotation was difficult in a long race.3. Preparation.
For a race that would last days, he would spend all year round training hard and competing in other events. He was known to push himself to extremes in training, more-so than most endurance athletes.
4. Do not doubt yourself when others doubt you.
For a large portion of his career, Lance had to put up with doping allegations made against him, many of them made by former team-mates. Some of these allegations could perhaps be attributed to jealously.
Whether Lance Armstrong ever did engage in any drug use, only he and his doctors will know for sure, as the court cases have now been dropped without any charges. But he must have been under immense pressure at the time. Being accused of something, particularly by former friends, can be quite upsetting. Much speculation still remains on whether or not Lance took performance enhancing drugs, and it’s likely to follow him the rest of his life.
5. Family is important.
Winning is important. But it’s not everything. Despite his hectic training schedule, Lance Armstrong still found time to father five children. Although he has had several partners over the last decade, including singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, he is widely believed to be a doting father to all five children.
6. The determination to succeed.
His drive to become the best was phenomenal. It’s all the more incredible to have succeeded so often in an endurance sport. Unlike many other sports, endurance sports are not won with one play, or a short period of maximum effort. They require maximum effort over a long period of time.
To win one Tour de France title is incredible, to win it seven times is something else.
7. Do not get complacent.
Once you have achieved your goals, there’s always the temptation to sit back, relax and enjoy your success. After the first few Tour de France wins, you would forgive Lance for slacking-off training a little. After all, he had accomplished great feats. Yet Lance wasn’t happy with just one or two wins, he wanted more. Even as he was rapidly approaching middle-age and suffering from a terrible disease, he kept going.
He put the same amount of determination into his last victory as he did his first one.
8. If you have succeeded at your sport, there’s always more to do.
Lance is not only a great champion, but also a philanthropist. In 1997 he started the foundation which bears his own name, The Lance Armstrong Foundation. This charitable foundation was set up by Lance to help those suffering from cancer.
So to sum up Lance Armstrong.
No matter what life throws at you, with the right frame of mind you can overcome. Even when life is cruel. And when all others doubt you, you can go that extra mile and become the best in the world.
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