Bob Knight won 3 NCAA basketball championships, an Olympic gold medal, and a total of 902 games. Nearly all of his players graduated from college. He coached for many different teams, with players of a variety of skill levels. The key to his long-standing success and basketball Hall of Fame status? Preparation, worry, and constantly striving to produce excellent work. Knight has never fallen prey to the lures of unbridled optimism.

People tend to tell each other not to worry, that everything will be alright, that they will do better next time. However, inaction never produces superior results. People only improve when they develop and execute more effective strategies. Anxiety helps spur individuals to improve.

In coaching basketball, Knight chose the unconventional approach of focusing on defensive maneuvers. Perhaps not the flashiest move, but this strategy has produced amazing results. He constantly asks his players what will happen if they do not engage in "X." He flips traditional wisdom on its head. He imparts in his students ways to think through plays he does not have to call constant time-outs. With careful planning and preparation, Bob Knight-coached teams have been able to consistently win in the ultra-competitive world of basketball in the United States and abroad.

The Power of Negative Thinking: An Unconventional Approach to Achieving Positive Results by Bob Knight, 2013
 

I love the focus this author has on realistic goal attainment.

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Laurie Hernandez was a dramatically energetic toddler. She could not stop running, leaping, and tumbling. When she was six years old, Hernandez saw a gymnastics event on TV and declared that she wanted to be in the Olympics. Her mother found her a gym and a movement class.

Laurie loved the Excel gym, but was advancing faster than her classmates. She eventually had to pack up her things and move to a more intense, focused gym. By age eight, Laurie began homeschooling because she was traveling back and forth to Texas to train at the Karolyi ranch.

Kids are groomed at a young age to be potential Olympic contenders. As a youngster, Laurie was chosen for the United States women national gymnastics team. At age 12, she became a junior elite gymnast, and was a senior elite gymnast at 16, the youngest age for that top category.

Laurie's first international competition was in Japan, where she managed to perform alright, suffering from the sleep deprivation caused by the time change and the jitters associated with competing abroad. Apparently, securing a first international competition is only the harbinger of more opportunities to come for gymnasts. 

In 2015, Laurie struggled with a leg injury that threatened to interfere with her ability to compete in the Rio Olympics in 2016. Not surprisingly, this tenacious girl persisted with the pursuit of her lifelong dream. Not only did she and four other girls make up one of the most culturally diverse women's gymnastics teams in history, they also secured a team gold medal in Brazil! Laurie also won a silver medal individually on the balance beam.

Marta Karolyi insisted the girls stay focused on gymnastics at the Olympic community, and would not allow them to leave the grounds. The team even skipped the opening ceremony in order to preserve their energy for the competition. 

Laurie was thrilled and elated to see her passion for the sport of gymnastics translated into the achievement of her dreams. She could not have been prouder to stand with her teammates—"The Final Five"—and receive accolades and medals for a fantastic performance in Rio de Janeiro. She loved trading pins with athletes from other countries and discussing their experiences in the Olympic cafeteria, which catered to many tastes and diets. Laurie was thrilled to be a part of something so big.

Despite the struggles and impossibly difficult days when she feared she could not continue, either mentally or physically, Laurie got where she wanted to be.

I Got This: To Gold and Beyond by Laurie Hernandez, 2017
 

As a kid, I loved watching women's gymnastics and figure skating on TV. Their routines are so creative, artistic, beautiful, and amazing. Laurie has such a positive, optimistic attitude towards life and her favorite sport.

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