If I Knew Then with 2008 Olympian Hector Cotto

Hector Cotto

2008 and 2012 Olympian

IF I KNEW THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW...

My greatest lesson has been that hard work pays off, and by hard work I mean impossible work.

If you are willing to go through the impossible, you will succeed. For many seasons, I tried doing less. It never worked, not even one time, ever. The seasons in which I did not die on the track, I did not win races. The seasons in which I did die on the track, I outperformed even what I thought was possible.

The seasons in which you win, you go through hell. Everything is going right, and then all of a sudden everything is terrible. Disaster, tragedy, end of the world scenarios. It does not matter if you’ve had 1,000 perfect days of practice in a row, when your world falls apart, if you quit, then you’ve lost. But if you persevere, magic happens. Avoid the impossible work and you will settle for 3rd and 4th place or not even making the finals. If you embrace it, you become a champion. It’s why Michael Jordan is the G.O.A.T., it’s why LeBron James and Tom Brady are so great. It’s not because of talent - we all have that - it’s because they persevered, and gave it 1000%, when so many of us didn’t.

Writing plans to set personal records is easy, but getting through the ups & downs is what makes or breaks you. Did you die on the track 5 out of 5 days of the week of training? Or was it only one time that week -the hard day? Once a week means you will never be champion, and that is real life.

Did you go out and have a few beers on Friday night? Saturday too? Awesome. You will never be champion.

Did you quit because you couldn’t find a coach? Or a track? You will never be champion.

There is always an excuse for the one who is not committed. They don’t have it in them to fail. It is too embarrassing so they never even try. Your success comes down to the choices you make. Hard work pays off, but really, it’s the impossible work that yields results. The circumstances that you do not believe you can endure? Make it through and you win.

My few wins in life have been thanks to sacrifice and persistence. If I had it in me to sacrifice more often, and stay strong through the challenges, I may have been Olympic champion or world record holder. It’s not the talent that holds us back, it’s the work. All that you think it will take, will only get you halfway there. If you choose to give it your all and stay focused through the difficulties, then you’ll win.

This is what I’ve learned about life thanks to track & field and those hurdles.

Hector Cotto is a 2-time Olympian from Puerto Rico. He competed in the 110 Hurdles at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and at the London Olympics in 2012. He also competed at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in 2007, 2009, and 2011.

Photo credit: University of Tennessee Athletics