Kids and I had an opportunity to meet the US Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer Aaron Peirsol last summer in an event organized by Auro-Dri, and meeting him was very inspirational for all of us. When I watch the Olympics and see the athletes and their dreams coming true, I feel so inspired to work towards my own dreams too. Do you feel the same way? I wanted re-post a few things I wrote inspired by meeting the Olympic Gold Medalist Aaron Peirsol last summer, and share some of his tips for achieving your dreams. Many of these tips are meant for aspiring Olympic athletes, but I think they apply to many of those big dreams we want to come true. Aaron Peirsol’s best tip how to live life to the fullest and he said “find something you love, then it doesn’t feel like work, just have fun with it”. As anyone knows, it’s not as easy as it sounds, and Aaron said that you have to work hard for your dreams, and he for example started training daily when he just 11 years old. Are you working hard achieving your dreams? I think we tend to think other people’s dreams come true easier than ours. Sure, sometimes people get lucky, or they have money, or know right people, heck, sometimes even all of them and that helps them succeed. But some people can also have the right settings for success, and they never make it. Success starts from within. You have to know what to do with the money, know how to act when opportunity knocks, know how to work with the right people you know. Success starts with YOU. Take control of achieving your dreams and follow these tips inspired by Aaron Peirsol’s swim coaching tips.

Tips from Olympic Gold Medalist

Work with your teammates to challenge yourselves on a daily basis.

You need a team around you – none of the Olympic athletes made it there alone, and most likely you can’t achieve your dream alone either. You need a team around you to support and challenge you. Good teammates are not just “yes-men” who agree with you on every step, they challenge you to become the best you can. Aaron Peirsol always has had an amazing support group supporting and helping him, but also other swimmers in the Olympic team have been very supportive to each others.

Believe in your coaches and your training regimen.

Trusting your “training regimen” or anything important when it comes to your dream to someone else’s hands is scary. We just have to trust and believe in people and systems that are built to help us.

What you do outside of the “pool” counts!

What you do when you are not working on “your dream” matters. You can not focus on building something important for you and take the next day off from it and doing something potentially taking your steps away from your goal. You need to be able to walk the walk all the time, and keep focus on your dream also when you are outside the settings where it’s done. Olympic swimmer’s time in the pool isn’t the only thing that makes him achieve his dreams – it’s every step he takes outside the pool too.

Use starts and turns to your advantage.

Use starts and turns to your advantage. Think of turns as something to perfect and get ahead, not a place to rest. While this tip may sound too much like a swimmer’s tip – I love it! When you get a big break or succeed and get to a turning point where you could potentially have a little breather and maybe even pat yourself in the back for getting to the turning point, don’t. That’s the point when you should add fuel and amplify the moment and success by working even harder to really get ahead in the game. And find those turning points when many people “take rest” and learn to excel in those. If you are thinking when you have time to work on your “dream” – these “turning points” may be your answer. What is your dream that you want to accomplish? Are you working towards it with the same dedication as Olympic athletes work towards theirs? GET INSPIRED, interview, live life to the fullest, olympic gold medalist