Written by: Kristine Pratt
kristine.pratt@abc4.com
No one would question that it takes a big motivation, and an even bigger dream to make it to the Olympic Games. But for Nikki Stone, another dream has come true. Nikki won gold in Nagano, Japan back in 1998, and has now written a book called,
When Turtles Fly, secrets of successful people who know how to stick their necks out.
"It's something that I put my whole heart and soul into," Stone said. And it took five years to fully put it together. "It's all based around something my mother taught me when I was a little girl." You have to be like a turntle, soft on the inside, hard on the outside, and be willing to stick your neck out."
At one point, Nikki had a back injury and was told she'd never ski again. Recovery was incredibly painful, and she really had to build up that "outer shell, like a turtle" to come back from that. A quote that kept her going said, "Success is how far you bounce back after you've hit rock bottom." So during recovery, Nikki bought a superball and would bounce it to keep her going. In her book, she highlight this saying everyone is going to have that tough day, tough part of the month, but you've got to bounce back.
"I don't care what your sport is, I don't care what your profession is, everyone is going to have hard times."
Its that same mental toughness that athletes must carry with them into the Olympic Games, Stone says.
