There Is Greatness All Around You - Use It

　　There are many people who could be Olympic champions, All-Americans who have never tried. I’d estimate five million people could have beaten me in the pole vault the years I won it, at least five million. Men who were stronger, bigger and faster than I was, could have done it, but they never picked up a pole, never made the feeble effort to pick their legs off the ground to try to get over the bar.

　　Greatness is all around us. It’s easy to be great because great people will help you. What is fantastic about all the conventions I go to is that the greatest in the business will come and share their ideas, their methods and their techniques with everyone else. I have seen the greatest salesmen open up and show young salesmen exactly how they did it. They don’t hold back. I have also found it true in the world of sports.

　　I’ll never forget the time I was trying to break Dutch Warmer Dam’s record. I was about a foot below his record, so I called him on the phone. I said, "Dutch, can you help me? I seem to have leveled off. I can’t get any higher."

　　He said, "Sure, Bob, come on up to visit me and I’ll give you all I got." I spent three days with the master, the greatest pole vaulter in the world. For three days, Dutch gave me everything that he’d seen. There were things that I was doing wrong and he corrected them. To make a long story short, I went up eight inches. That great guy gave me the best that he had. I’ve found that sports champions and heroes willingly do this just to help you become great, too.

　　John Wooden, the great UCLA basketball coach, has a philosophy that every day he is supposed to help someone who can never reciprocate. That’s his obligation.

　　When in college working on his masters thesis on scouting and defensive football, George Allen wrote up a 30-page survey and sent it out to the great coaches in the country. Eighty-five percent answered it completely.

　　Great people will share, which is what made George Allen one of the greatest football coaches in the world. Great people will tell you their secrets. Look for them, call them on the phone or buy their books. Go where they are, get around them, talk to them. It is easy to be great when you get around great people.

By Bob Richards From Chicken Soup for the Soul

多和成功者接触

　　其实许多人都有潜力成为奥运金牌得主，只是他们未曾尝试过。在我赢得撑竿跳冠军的那年，我估计过至少有500万人能打败我。体力比我好、个头比我大、速度比我快的大有人在，只是他们从没试着拿起竿子，加快速度往前冲，然后用力一撑，翻过横杆。

　　所谓"三人行，必有我师焉"，有了内行人的指点，常能达事半功倍之效。我常参加各种商业座谈会，感觉受益匪浅，因为各行各业的精英会现身说法，传授他们的技巧和方法。我曾见过一位经验老道的推销员，向年轻人倾囊教授看家绝活，其实我在体育界也有相似的经验。

　　那年我一心想打破德屈·渥门丹的纪录，但成绩总是少他一英尺。后来我打电话向他讨教："德屈，你能帮帮我吗？我似乎碰上了瓶颈，成绩一直无法突破。"

　　他很干脆地回答："没问题，鲍伯，我可以给你一点意见。"于是连续三天，我接受这位撑竿跳高手的指导，他毫不保留地跟我解说，并纠正我错误的动作。总而言之，我的成绩后来增加了8英寸，这全得归功于德屈的指导有方。

　　其实体育界还有不少提携后进，或是互相帮助的例子。像加大洛山矶分校篮球队的王牌教练约翰·伍顿就曾表示，他应该每天都让球员有所进步，这是他的责任。

　　乔治·艾伦当年在大学写有关足球的硕士论文时，曾向全国知名的足球教练发出一分长达30页的问卷，结果有85%的受访者给了完整的回复。

　　真正有成就的人，是不会计较于人分享心得的，这正是乔治·艾伦能成为举世知名的足球教练的原因。他们曾乐于提出成功的秘诀。我们应该积极和这些人接触，无论是打电话请教，或是阅读他们的著作，试着接近他们和他们交流。这些成功者的经验和指导将会使你受益良多。