Besides Phelps athletic ability, something really impressive is how he has handled life. We've read in recent articles about how his father left the family when Michael was young and how his dad has not had much communication with him. In many young men, this could seriously result in self-doubt. Isn't it impressive how Michael has maintained a belief in himself yet been so humble?
He also has ADHD, at least he did as a child, so is it not extremely impressive how he has been able to overcome this and keep his focus? I read somewhere that he asked his mom to take him off his medication when he was only 11.
Michael has had to overcome things in life that some people might use as an excuse for their misbehavior or as an explaination for their failure to succeed. In light of all of this, aren't the 8 golds all the more impressive?
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Former Member
Most of the elite swimmers I knew ended up not being as successful at anything else after college.
By whose metric: yours or theirs?
It's all too common for Joe to say, "Well, Ralph and I both went to Harvard, but I became a success and he didn't" when in fact Ralph has a happy family and a decent job with a 40-hour work week while Joe is a CEO who works 80 hours per week and whose wife is screwing the gardener. Maybe both of those guys are successful by their own measures, which is really what's important.
My own metric is how happy I am, not how much money I make or how many people I can boss around.
And, really: not successful in anything else? :eek: What did they do, set world records in the pool and then climb out of the pool and go drool in the corner? Again, it sounds like they're being judged by someone else's definition of success.
Most of the elite swimmers I knew ended up not being as successful at anything else after college.
By whose metric: yours or theirs?
It's all too common for Joe to say, "Well, Ralph and I both went to Harvard, but I became a success and he didn't" when in fact Ralph has a happy family and a decent job with a 40-hour work week while Joe is a CEO who works 80 hours per week and whose wife is screwing the gardener. Maybe both of those guys are successful by their own measures, which is really what's important.
My own metric is how happy I am, not how much money I make or how many people I can boss around.
And, really: not successful in anything else? :eek: What did they do, set world records in the pool and then climb out of the pool and go drool in the corner? Again, it sounds like they're being judged by someone else's definition of success.
