" Maybe to you it seems arrogant or selfish to think of yourself on a podium. You were trained to hold the door open for others, to be kind, thoughtful, sacrificial, and helpful. You were taught that the last would be first. Nothing is wrong with any of that. And as an Olympic athlete, I can say with confidence that the best way to help people—maybe even the only way to help anyone—is to start chipping away at the part of you that worries you don’t have much to offer. Become someone who is worthy of winning, and you’ll have a wider, greater impact than you ever dreamed possible.
In addition to this idea that winners are selfish and losers are the good guys, we also have the idea that winners and losers are preselected, and that doesn’t feel fair. Yes, some of us are born with more resources than others, more access, more opportunities. But only one qualification makes someone more likely to win: they choose to win.
The number-one predictor for whether you will be a winner is if you decide to be one. It’s a choice only you can make. And once you make it, nothing will be able to stop you. "

― Scott Hamilton , Finish First: Winning Changes Everything