Michael Phelps and Personal Finance

[jeffrey]

I found this quote interesting about all the time and effort of practice that Micheal Phelps put in to win the 8 gold medals:

"Bob [his swimming coach] has a saying, 'Putting money in the bank,' " Phelps said. "When we train every day, sometimes there are workouts you don't like, don't want to do. Bob says you're putting money in the bank.

"I guess I put a lot of money in the bank over the last four years, and we withdrew pretty much every penny in the bank. After Bob and I both grab a little break, it'll be time to start depositing."

[SnoopyCool]

Very interesting.

[Broken Arrow]

I like that and if I may add something else, Michael Phelps' secret weapon is supposedly his "dolphin kick", a technique he uses to gain significant speed during turns. It started with a heady scientist in hydrodynamics studying the efficiency of Dolphins. He somehow got connected with the likes of Michael Phelps and his trainer on his dolphin theories, which eventually lead to Michael mimicking dolphin movements while turning underwater.

Michael Phelps supposedly also have very big feet, which is said to have helped him some more when executing this technique.

In short, I see the following conclusions:

1. Hereditary upbringing may make a difference. However...

2. Sheer effort and more effort is much more important. However...

3. Being surrounded by the brightest, studying the best, and utilizing the smartest, most efficient, and most effective techniques available to you-- even if you have to INVENT it-- is the most important.

Brains > Brawn > Genetics