Persistence.

I would never want to be the one to admit this, but maybe its easier to be mediocre. To be average. Unspectacular. Unfortunately, this is not a path i choose for myself, however, some say that there is nothing wrong with mediocrity. Those people are quitters, people who are so scared of failure that they resign themselves to the gutter of society, and why? Simply, because their afraid. Not afraid of finding out their own limits and testing their own boundaries. Not overly scared of hard work. They're a little scared of what they could be. But mostly, they're scared if the best they have is not good enough. What if they put the most of themselves out there, not hold anything back, and still fail?

Before i make my point today i want to bring to light the career of possibly the greatest middle distance runner of our time.

Hicham El Guerrouj (comp number 2469)

Olympic career campaign :

1996 Atlanta Olympics. 1500m.

Fell with 400m to go.

2000 Sydney Olympics. 1500m.

Undefeated since his fall in 96, he was found crying in the alley way of the stadium because he knew he hadn't done enough to win. Despite being the world record holder in the event, he was ran down only meters from the line.

After the race he was in tears.

2004 Athens Olympics.

He chased that olympic dream for 8 years. through 3 olympic games. Finally he won his Olympic Gold. His games didnt end there. a couple of days later he ran the 5000m.

Which he won in impressive form. A few days earlier he had no olympic golds. he didnt accept failure. He was not content in his defeat. He came back stronger then ever. Smarter. Determined. He laid everything on the line. And he won. He the 1500m. He won the 5000m.

He now had two golds.

So, it doesnt matter if you fail. As long as you get back up, dust yourself off and try again. No matter how long it may take. Every failure leads to victory if you have the heart, courage and patience to persist, work hard and strive to be the best you can be.

Im not going to lie. It wont be easy.

there will be heartbreak.

failure.

disappointment.

Pain.

There will be times when you will struggle, and be mentally defeated.

Times where you will feel it would be easier to quit.

In those times you need to remember what it felt like to fail.

What disappointment tastes like.

You'll fail a million times. But when you succeed i promise you there will be no greater feeling in the world. it will be worth every second of pain and sacrifice.

There is nothing different between you or me, or Hicham. We are nothing but mere mortals. We we're born the same and we will all die.

He is not superhuman.

He is a dreamer.