Issue 2: This Woman Is A Hero

I want you to remember this quote for the rest of your life:

Don’t put an age limit on your DREAMS.
—Dara Torres, Olympic Champion

Dara is truly one of my heroes.

Not too long ago Dara Torres did the unthinkable: She dared to enter the 2008 Olympics and swim a “kids race”: The 100 Meter Freee.

It’s an all-out sprint. One length of the pool. Winner takes the gold-medal.

Dara lost the gold by 1/100th of a second. That’s almost too short to measure.

She won silver.

She beat the American 16-year-old who was swimming just a few lanes over.

She beat her personal record set when she herself was a teenager.

She smashed the American world record.

She bested her last Olympics, and the one before that, with a time that, except for a slight start mistake would have won her a gold-medal.

Dara is 41 years old.

Let me put that into perspective: Dara lost by 1/100th of a second to a girl young enough to be her daughter.

In fact ALL the racers were young enough to be her daughter!

It staggers the mind, doesn’t it?

It shouldn’t.

Dara is not “old”. She’s not even “middle- age.” These are all terms we create to limit our ability to achieve.

Dara is simply an athlete. A mom. A true woman of power. Someone who lives in the present.

Dara is a champion, and there is not an age criteria required to be labeled “champ”. Even Olympic champ.

The New York Times article had it right: “Getting Older, Swimming Faster.”

That’s right: She beat her personal best at the age of 41, set almost 20 years prior, and did it in the toughest arena the world has ever created.

If you are fed up with putting an age limit on your dreams, I encourage you to read or re-read my book, “Fit Over 40″ –

Fit Over 40 no age limits!

I devote an entire section of the book to champions between 40 and 80 who simply refuse to buy into the rumor that says, “I’m too old to…”

So what do you think you’re “too old” to do?

Be an Olympic champion perhaps?

Oh, just for your information: Dara was not the oldest Olympian this year. John Dane III was 58. He crewed a Star boat for the Olympic Sailing Team.

Libby Callahan, 56, became the oldest U.S. female Olympian of all time. She competed with the shooting team.

So, I’ll ask you again: What do you think you’re too old to do?

Think again.

The Power of a Master Plan

A huge portion of “Fit Over 40″ covers the power of the mind and the importance of having a “master plan” — an outline that spells out clearly what you want to achieve…

… and, more importantly, WHY you want to achieve it.

While we’re on the subject of the Olympics, I want to share with you something I read just this morning:

“Audacious goal made real in gold!”

National headlines, mind you.

The story: How Michael Phelps, now the greatest Olympian in history, planned his eight gold-medals a year before it ever happened.

Phelps wrote out his goal of winning an unheard-of 8 golds a the 2008 Olympics and handed the piece of paper to his coach — something he does every year.

This year the goal was… well, “audacious.” Crazy. Nuts!

Goal accomplished.

If you do not write down your goals, you are doing yourself a huge disservice. And, if you do not know WHY you want to achieve them, you will never find true fulfillment, even if you make them happen.

You can read about my own goal-setting success story in my first book –

Fit Over 40 Mindset Rules!

There’s also mini-chapters called “How I Think” for every person I interviewed. There’s 52 total — all 40 to 80 years old.

I think it’s crucial to know what winners think. Sure, there’s physical factors, but this Olympic games showed us example after example of the MIND being the key factor in winning.

From Michael Phelps to Dara Torres to every other champion.

Where your mind goes, your body must follow. Master that principle of success and you too will be a champion in life.

Conclusion

Sports fan or not I truly hope you will take these Olympic highlights to heart and apply their lessons to your own fitness goals.

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