From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
When you have good people, the culture naturally thrives on its own. Everyone in our team is remarkable, with strong moral values, which ensures everything runs smoothly.
Success for me has been the ability to change my life, change my family's life and help a lot of other people. Athletics has brought me fame and fortune and I enjoy using it to help those around me and those less fortunate.
God gave me a talent and I have worked extremely hard to fulfil this talent.
As the great baseball star Earl Weaver once said, 'Nobody likes to hear it, because it's dull, but the reason you win or lose is darn near always the same – pitching.'
I wasn't just fighting for myself. I was fighting for an entire country and millions of fans around the world who believe in me. That is why I will always give 100% in and out of the ring.
I fell in love with the process first – they sometimes call it the grind. I fell in love with movement, with training, with everything between the competitions – and falling in love with that was instrumental to me because now, when things don't go right, and I feel vulnerable or emotional, I can dip into that state.
The Olympics elevate this understanding; there, athletes' origins become secondary. You don't dwell on their life stories; their athletic prowess and the spirit of competition captivate you. The focus is on their dedication and the culmination of years, sometimes lifetimes, of preparation, free from the constraints of politics and geographical divides.
To achieve greatness means to maximise your potential at the highest possible level, and the highest possible rate. I don't really consider myself the best, but the fact that people consider me the best I take as a great honour and as testament to the hard work and what I was able to achieve.
Everyone has a little bit of warrior in them. We all grow up and have a little piece of us which wants to be a superhero, who goes and fights the bad guys. In real life, fighting is tough, you have to overcome your fears – nobody really wants to get into a fight! Escaping that fear is the reason so many people who get into combat sports.
I am not someone who puts a lot of pressure on myself. I love a challenge and live for the big stage of an Olympic Games or World Championships. Some people get nervous for the big events but I look forward to them.
When you're angry, you're in a frantic state of mind, you are not the best version of yourself. When you're fighting the very best martial artists on the planet, you cannot react out of emotion. You have to be cool, calm, collected and in the moment.
I often describe a Grand Slam as a marathon, not a sprint. It involves enduring extremely long matches, seven times over two weeks. In tennis, those who sprint don't make it to the finish line.