My philosophy on achieving success was born out of my 11 years as a professional track and field athlete. During that time I learned a great deal from realizing my own potential and overcoming obstacles to dealing with the pressure that comes with success. Hard work, commitment, and dedication would only take me so far. Along my journey to become known as one of the most successful athletes in sports history, I developed a platform for success that helped me to achieve every single goal I set for myself during my athletic career. I learned how to set proper goals and how to go about achieving those goals time and time again. I learned how to overcome obstacles. I learned how to achieve my personal best while competing under tremendous pressure.

Success is specific to each individual just as winning is specific to each individual. Only the individual can determine what success means for them. For me, it was to be the best athlete that I could possibly be and that also happened to be the fastest man in the history of sprinting. And I pursued the goal, not of being the fastest man, but of being the best I could possibly be.

I believe that to be successful in anything an individual must start with a goal. It was my goals that motivated me to train hard everyday and commit to the plan that I developed to achieve the goal. The commitment to a goal is important but the commitment to the sacrifices and work involved in reaching that goal is the most important part.
I found that as I learned more about myself and my strengths and weaknesses as an individual, I became more confident in my ability to achieve my goals. Really knowing myself allowed me to develop a plan that took into account my strengths and my weakness allowing me to achieve all of my goals.

Hard work is obviously a very important component of success and I learned early in life that the amount of success I experienced would be directly related to my level of work effort. Throughout my career I always viewed the possibility of a missed training session or any training session in which I might give less than 100% as a missed opportunity to improve. This same level of commitment has proven to be beneficial to me in everything I do.

I learned many lessons during my athletic career and developed a proven successful philosophy on winning but I have also continued learning throughout my post-athletic career and my life. Continuing to seek knowledge in everything that I do, has always been an important component of my success, right up to my last season preparing for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney I was still learning how to train better and how to compete better.

I put to use all of the lessons I learned throughout my career and I now put those same principles and the same philosophy to work in all of my current ventures. I am still learning lessons and gaining knowledge, but the lessons I learned as a successful athlete at the highest level have allowed me to achieve success in all areas of my life.