Karoly Takacs was from Hungary. In 1938, he was working with the Hungarian Army. He was the top pistol shooter in Hungary. He was going to participate in the 1940 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Every person in Hungary expected that Takacs was going to win the gold medal. Nobody had any doubt. Because Takacs had a mind-blowing capability of pistol shooting with his right hand. He proved it many times in his country. He had many years of serious practice of pistol shooting. The family members of Takacs and all Hungarians were waiting for the grand success of Takacs in the Olympics.
But unexpectedly a tragedy happened. While training with his army squad, a defective grenade exploded in Takacs’ right hand. The flesh, nerves, and bones in his right hand were scattered on the ground. He became unconscious.
After one day, he woke up on a bed in a military hospital. He understood that his right hand was removed. He saw a bandage at his shoulder.
Takacs spent a month in the hospital. He lost his right hand. He lost his Olympic dreams forever. He depressed and cried silently. His family members, relatives, and colleagues came to him, showed sympathy and gave him many suggestions. They told him to forget the Olympics.
But after one month, Takacs took an unbelievable decision. He decided not to quit. He decided to learn how to shoot with his left hand. He started practicing with his left hand. He started from the zero levels.
He stopped focussing on what he did not have - a world-class right shooting hand. He started focussing on what he did have - a healthy left hand
For months Takacs practiced by himself. No one knew what he was doing. He did not tell anyone about his practice. Because he knew that people would discourage him if they had seen his practice.
In 1939, he came to the Hungarian National Pistol Shooting Championship. Other shooters approached Takacs to give him their condolences. They congratulated him for having the strength to come and watch the competition. Takacs said "“I didn’t come to watch, I came to participate.” They were surprised when he said that.
In 1944, he qualified for the London Olympics. He participated. At the age of 38, Takacs won the Gold Medal and set a new world record in pistol shooting in the London Olympics. Four years later, once again, Takacs participated in Helsinki Olympics in 1952. He won the Gold Medal again. Takacs became a superhero in Hungary.
Takacs was a man with mental toughness. He could bounce back from anything.
Winners in every field have a special quality that helps them to become unstoppable. It is a very special quality that allows them to survive major failures on the road to success. Winners recover QUICKLY. Bouncing back is not enough. Winners bounce back QUICKLY. They take their hit. They experience their failure. But they immediately recover. Right away they FORCE themselves to look at the bright side of things – ANY bright side, and they say to themselves, “Past is past. That’s OK. There is always away. I will find away.” They stand up again and start trying to win.
Takacs lost his well trained right hand in a bomb blast. Definitely, he had a right to stay depressed and to ask himself for the rest of his life “Why me? why did this happen to me?”
He had the right to stop trying. He had the right to quit his dreams of the Olympics.
He had the right to say "I trained myself well with my right hand. But I lost it. Circumstances did not co-operate with me. It is my bad luck. It is my fate. So I quit".
He could have become a heavy drunkard and said "I lost my career. I'm a loser. To forget my depression, I'm drinking alcohol".
But Takacs did not say this kind of excuse. He did not behave like that. He made the DECISION to dig deep inside and to find a solution. He made the decision to pick himself up and to learn to shoot all over again. Winners always search for a solution. Losers always search for an escape.
Next time when you face a failure, DECIDE you will act like a winner. DECIDE to act like Takacs. Get up quickly, take action, and surprise the world!
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