Steve Backley

“If you want to continue to be the best in the world, then you have to train and compete like you are second best in the world.”

“It is true to say that the secret of a winning formula is the ability to accept that there is a vast area of unexploited potential beyond what you currently perceive to be your maximum.”

“If you remain static and wait for success to come to you it will certainly not happen.”

“Like everything in life, it is not what happens to you but how you respond to it that counts.”

“You have to create your self-belief by going to your core to find the probable reasons for the negativity in you, and then demolish them.”

“Compete like you cannot fail.”

“The thrust of continuous action is the firewood which fuels motivation.”

“Just identify the very first physical action you need to take, and do it.”

“The first step is the most important. It is the most crucial and the most effective as it will initiate the direction you have chosen.”

“Too often, people get stuck in a state of over-thinking, the result is that they never reach a decision.”

“The only test is what you see when you look in a mirror.”

“The sprint is like life ... blink and you miss it.”

“Act like a champion, and then become one.”

“Success is simply never giving in to failure - either in mind or body.”

“Nothing could be any worse than having to turn to your friends, your colleagues and your loved ones and say –‘I gave up too soon’.”

“If you are able to focus unswervingly on your goals, then all that you desire will become yours.”

“It is never about who is right or wrong, it is about what is best.”

“Mix with positive-minded people as a means to tap into your unexploited potential.”

“Share your aspirations only with those who will support you, not those who will respond with doubt or lack of interest.”

“It is one thing to know what should be done, it is another to do it.”

“If not now, when?”

“See it, feel it, trust it!”

“If not you, who?”

“It is action that creates motivation.”

“There are three types of people in this world. Firstly, there are people who make things happen. Then there are people who watch things happen. Lastly, there are people who ask, what happened? Which do you want to be?”

“If obstacles are large, jump higher.”

“Do you want to know what one of the secrets to achieving all of your goals is? You’ve got to be committed.”

“Your current apathy is simply your soul telling you that it is confused.”

“The challenge for you is to decide not what is important, but what is most important and then focus your attention on that.”

“Tell me your thinking, and I’ll tell you what your life looks like.”

“Look for solutions, instead of being difficult; be more thoughtful, instead of allowing anger to burn you out. Look at things from a different perspective, embrace change, look out for opportunities and you will feel much more in control.”

“The people and successes in your life mirror your beliefs.”

“Success is virulent. Once you get the bug then it’s in you.”

“When you think a positive thought, you become positive.”

“If you have positive energy you will always attract positive outcomes.”

“These are the people who will encourage you to go after your dreams and will inspire you to succeed. Stick to them like a barnacle to a rock.”

“To think is good. To obsess is bad.”

“Every time a champion makes a decision they have a chance to learn something new, regardless of the outcome.”

“A mind filled with negative thoughts makes you feel miserable and inadequate and will lead to failure after failure no matter how hard you try to succeed.”

“Success is a decision, not a gift.”

“Athletes who are able to stay completely focused in pursuit of their dreams are the ones that are most likely to become champions.”

“If you decide not to take action, you are going to fail, and even if you do take action, if you can’t keep up your motivation, you will simply end up back where you started.”

“Invest your energy in the things you can control.”

“See it first in your mind, then become it.”

“The way forward is to stop pestering yourself for answers and let it, the creative part of your mind, come up with the solution when the time is right.”

“For many, lack of achievement is more a consequence of fear of taking a chance and getting uncomfortable.”

“Although you can’t go back in time and alter your natural level of potential, you can determine how much of that ability you tap into, exploit and develop for the future.”

“Trust in your own beliefs or succumb to the influence of others’.”

“To deliver your own personal maximum, you’ll realise there are no shortcuts; if you want to be a champion it is all about rolling your sleeves up and getting stuck in.”

“They don’t give Olympic medals out for talking a good game.”