Five Tips to learn from Michael Phelps.

1. He went after his dream. Go for the gold. The silver or the bronze are good, too. Remember there’s a whole world out there between winning the gold and declaring that you’ll never win the gold so why even try.

2. He worked hard. He did those laps. He counted there and back, there and back. And there and back. We have to put in those countless hours.

3. He was his own cheerleader. Even when no one was looking or applauding or clapping for him. He was pushing himself on.

4. He had a coach. A mentor. Someone in his corner. And he got support from others.

5. He had a daily program. Each day he did something to get closer to his goal. All his medals are a result of a string of days.

Do the laps. Be your own cheerleader. Find someone to be your mentor. Make a commitment to yourself each day. Go for the gold. (Or silver or bronze or even last place.) This is it. Your life is your own Olympics.

Yes, these are perfect things to do to live our best chapter. It also gives me a good excuse to put a photo of half-naked buff men on my blog.