What's up, everybody? This is Drew, and I want to welcome you back to Learn How to See Better. It's the only podcast out there that'll improve your vision the longer you listen. Today, I want to talk about big aspirations. I mean, big ones like reaching for the stars. At the time of this recording, the Olympics are going on. So, I'm getting the opportunity to observe some of the finest athletes from all around the world, all shapes and sizes, all sorts of performances. It's impressive, fascinating, and amazing to think that everyone out there is, in their own way, reaching for the stars.

You may be saying, "I've never competed in the Olympics. I maybe don't even have an interest in sports. What's this got to do with me?" Well, I think to some degree, we all have aspirations in us, and in some way, we're all kind of reaching for the stars.

One way that I'm learning how to see better, which I want to share with you, is how watching the Olympics can help me see things through a different lens. How can we apply what we observe in the Olympians' competition to our own lives as it pertains to aspirations? How are we actually aspiring to reach towards the stars? What sort of gold medal game plan do we have for our own lives?

As I started to observe this from a different perspective, because my little ones are getting into sports now, they have a whole lot more interest in the different level of competition and the amazing way that human beings can move their bodies with speed, agility, strength, and stamina. It's amazing to watch. Some of these sports they're seeing for the first time through new eyes, and they wonder why people swim that way or why a certain motion looks funny. Through watching, they get to observe the common theme: the aspiration and drive behind all the athletes.

What's the common theme that everybody has? Is it just desire? Because you could have pure desire but not be willing to do what it takes to actually get it. Even if you have a white-hot desire, does it last long enough to get through all the different seasons? You need reasons to last through all the different seasons. That's where you realize there are three pieces that I saw come out of this that led to these amazing performances. The three P's are passion, persistence, and patience.

Passion: Everybody out there was passionate. There was a whole lot of heart in all of these competitive athletes and their spirits. The passion was definitely there.

Persistence: You could see it in their performance, the preparation, the way they would go through their practice moves. You could see how prepared they were. They've been putting in the hours and the time. Whatever the stat is about 10,000 hours to become an expert, I'm sure they all have this knocked over many times over.

Patience: Thinking about the patience element, you're talking about the Olympics and some of the best in the world. The four-year time span between these events requires a lot of patience combined with persistence and passion. Some of these individuals have been to multiple Olympics, got the gold in one, and four years later, got the gold again. It's amazing.

We've all had an experience at some point where we wanted something really bad and felt like we'd be willing to do anything to get it. In our lives, as we aspire towards whatever it is—maybe it's a health goal, a money goal, or even having a big social media following—there has to be passion. If you want to be a professional athlete, actor, or anyone famous, you need passion to do things most people won't do to perfect your craft. You need persistence and the ability to put yourself out there to make that discovery happen.

For all of us reaching for the stars, it's important to consider that many have high passion but may not be persistent enough. They won't keep after it, won't have that stick-to-it-iveness. Even if they're persistent, how long can they last? Did they stop three feet from gold? That's a question for all of us to ask ourselves.

Do you have the patience to see it through? Or was it just one of those half-baked desires? Watching and observing these athletes, you can see they're all in. There's no turning back. They burnt the boats. Thinking about the adversity they faced, from preparing to traveling halfway around the world, adjusting to new time zones, food schedules, and sleep schedules, everything needs to be perfect on that one day.

Imagine all that preparation culminating in a single moment, a single set of events that can make or break the whole experience. Some people go from a no-name to a household name, from feeling like a nobody to becoming a hometown hero. We all know now there was passion, persistence, and patience involved in reaching that pinnacle of performance.

If you're a goal setter, goal getter, or achiever, you might be able to learn a little from the Olympics. Look at it from a different viewpoint. Yes, it's entertaining and inspiring, but they're humans like we're humans. We can use that to tap into our own greatness. Greatness is within you. Go get it and let it out. Find something you're passionate about as a starting point. Experiment with how you might persist with the activity. With enough patience, the formula comes together. Add time, and it'll be your moment to shine.

These are my words of motivation in this season where it's the dog days of summer, and everyone's trying to get through. For some, it's back to school, getting ready to change gears, transitioning back to the school year, a whole new routine and structure. Take time out to look at the environment around us. Our environment is there to teach us. As you learn how to see better, make a solid observation of these events. Use them to launch into the closeout of the third quarter of this year or the season you're in as you shift into the next one. Apply these principles of passion, persistence, patience to kickstart your goals and momentum for the next season of life. Something you typically see as just a little bit of entertainment can now be leveraged as inspiration.

​So, that's a little life hack, a different perspective on things. Until next time, I appreciate you listening. Once again, it's your host, Drew Davis. Learn How to See Better. It's the only podcast out there that'll improve your vision the longer you listen. Check out the next episode.