Just how far would you go to achieve your dreams? We tend to think we’re doing enough if we start with high hopes and good intentions and just keep at it for a while, but when the odds start to really start to stack up against you it’s just too easy to quit. I know I’ve been guilty of this, and I’m guessing you have too, at one time or another.

What would you be prepared to do?

So just exactly how far would you go to ensure success? If you were really determined to achieve your dreams, and you though it necessary to learn another language to do so, would you be prepared to do that? Would you keep coming back after being defeated again and again? Would you soak up one disappointment after another and use those experiences to become even more determined? Would you literally seek out the strongest opponent you could possibly find so that you could put yourself to the ultimate test?

Helen Maroulis did just that, and more. Every obstacle that appeared in her path, she dealt with. She simply would not be stopped, no matter what. In her mind she was destined for greatness, and she wouldn’t settle for anything less.

Helen Maroulis long dreamed of Olympic wrestling glory

She turned up at the Rio Olympics determined to win, and to defeat her greatest opponent, Yoshida. She faced the possibility of defeat … again. She took the risk. She accepted it. It takes someone with incredible self-belief and determination to keep going so long, when it seems almost impossible to triumph.

Watch this short video about Helen’s phenomenal achievement.

It’s not really about winning gold. It’s not really about becoming Olympic champion. It’s about her rock solid attitude and her never-say-die approach. With that kind of mental preparation, Helen Maroulis could probably achieve anything she ever set her mind on. There’s a famous quote by Picasso in which he remembers his mother’s words to him when he was just a little boy:

“‘If you are a soldier, you will probably become a general. If you are a priest,
you will probably become Pope.’ Instead, I was a painter, and I became Picasso.”

Helen Maroulis is like Picasso. She set her mind on being a champion wrestler and she became not just an Olympic champion, but (and probably more importantly, to her) the woman who triumphed over Yoshida. Saori Yoshida was the undisputed world champion, having achieved that rank an amazing 13 times! Three times she had been an Olympic gold medallist. And she had been undefeated since 2012. She seemed literally invincible.

What extent would you go to in order to achieve your dreams?

To everyone else, that is! Helen Maroulis viewed her as just another obstacle to be overcome, a bump in the road on the way to her eventual triumph. She studied Yoshida in hours of video recordings and she even studied Japanese so she could understand what her coaches were saying to her. She let nothing stand in the way of her quest to defeat her. Twice already Yoshida had beaten Maroulis, but she didn’t take that as final.

The moment of realisation … a dream come true!

She knew she would have to be stronger if she were ever to defeat her, so she worked with a strength coach to take her to the next level. She knew, if you want to achieve your dreams, you have to have every angle covered. And when she arrived at Rio she was ready. Mentally and physically she was fully prepared. She had done everything in her power to reach the pinnacle of fitness and strength, and she was prepared to face Yoshida once more. She fought her way through to the final, and of course Yoshida was there to face her.

This was crunch time! Helen Maroulis defeated Yoshida 4-1 in a legendary confrontation. Both women are extraordinary, let’s not forget that. But the mental fortitude and laser-like focus displayed by Helen Maroulis in this showdown was truly amazing, and quite inspirational.

It can’t help but make you think … just how far would I be prepared to go in order to finally achieve my dreams.