@jaynitx: Michael Phelps on how to accom...
@jaynitx
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Jan 09, 2026
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Michael Phelps on how to accomplish big things:
"When I said I wanted to win eight gold medals, basically half the people in the swimming world thought I was absolutely crazy and nobody could ever do something like that. But for me, I was somebody who believed in it and somebody who believed in the process of getting there."
Michael knew it wouldn't happen overnight.
As he puts it:
"Every little small thing that we did was a small stepping stone in order to even be able to have that chance and that opportunity to do what I did in 2008. From 2002 to 2008 was basically trial and error."
On managing pressure during the Olympics:
"Winning a gold medal is absolutely incredible, but I knew that I had seven other events after the first day. So I have to throw that in the back of my head, throw that race out. I broke a world record, won my first gold medal, cool, things are starting really well. I have to put that behind me to get ready for the next race."
He continues:
"On top of that I have to make sure I'm eating the right amount, I'm sleeping the right amount, my body is as fresh as I can possibly be. That means sitting in an ice tank, getting massages, getting stretched. All of these small things end up adding up to the major end result."
His daily approach:
"We would call it putting money into the bank. At the end of the year when we had a major international competition, we could withdraw that money that we had saved throughout the year."
On motivation:
"I'll be the first one to tell you there were a lot of days where I did not want to get out of bed. But if you have those little small goals, those little small things that get you excited when you don't want to, it's going to make it even better and even easier at the end."
The difference between good and great:
"If you look at the greats in any walk of life, the greats do things when they don't always want to. And that's the separation for me."
Small daily deposits create Olympic results.
"When I said I wanted to win eight gold medals, basically half the people in the swimming world thought I was absolutely crazy and nobody could ever do something like that. But for me, I was somebody who believed in it and somebody who believed in the process of getting there."
Michael knew it wouldn't happen overnight.
As he puts it:
"Every little small thing that we did was a small stepping stone in order to even be able to have that chance and that opportunity to do what I did in 2008. From 2002 to 2008 was basically trial and error."
On managing pressure during the Olympics:
"Winning a gold medal is absolutely incredible, but I knew that I had seven other events after the first day. So I have to throw that in the back of my head, throw that race out. I broke a world record, won my first gold medal, cool, things are starting really well. I have to put that behind me to get ready for the next race."
He continues:
"On top of that I have to make sure I'm eating the right amount, I'm sleeping the right amount, my body is as fresh as I can possibly be. That means sitting in an ice tank, getting massages, getting stretched. All of these small things end up adding up to the major end result."
His daily approach:
"We would call it putting money into the bank. At the end of the year when we had a major international competition, we could withdraw that money that we had saved throughout the year."
On motivation:
"I'll be the first one to tell you there were a lot of days where I did not want to get out of bed. But if you have those little small goals, those little small things that get you excited when you don't want to, it's going to make it even better and even easier at the end."
The difference between good and great:
"If you look at the greats in any walk of life, the greats do things when they don't always want to. And that's the separation for me."
Small daily deposits create Olympic results.