Daily Quote: Pushing Boundaries with Babe

“All of my life I have always had the urge to do things better than anybody else.” – Babe Didrikson Zaharias

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was one of the greatest athletes to ever live – not just one of the greatest female athletes to ever live.  This gal was a phenomenon.  She could run, throw, jump, ride, play baseball, basketball, golf, and who knows what all!

In the 1932 Olympic tryouts, she won five first places in track and field. Five.  In the Los Angeles Olympics she placed second in the high jump, first in the women’s 80-meter hurdles, and first in the javelin throw.

Many people would have been satisfied with these achievements and simply lived out their life in the fame and glory that surrounded them.  I mean, why risk more?  If you’re on top already, why chance a slip?

Thankfully Babe didn’t think like most people any more than she played like most people.  She pushed the boundaries back even further by taking up the game of golf.

Preparation: Babe Didrikson  found herself a wonderful instructor and studied the game.

Practice: She worked on her swing until it was perfect.  She practiced on her long game and her short game.  She mastered the game by first studying the game, then practicing her mechanics until they were perfection in motion.  She spent hours on practice tees, sometimes hitting a thousand range balls in a single afternoon.

Push: Think about it.  Babe was known for her power and strength – but she pushed her boundaries with a game that now called for finesse.  Sometimes she would spend s much time hitting balls that her hands would become so red and sore that it hurt to grip the club.  She’d stop long enough to tape them up, then she’d push on. Determination is a beautiful thing, wouldn’t you agree?

Pay Off: Babe Didrikson won the U.S. national woman’s amateur and British woman’s amateur championships.  She became a symbol of courage all over the world, not just on the track and greens.  She faced cancer with the same gritty determination and courage.  She remains, to this day, one of our nation’s most beloved athletes.

Look at how they progress:  Preparation.  Practice.  Push.  Pay Off.  If we take any of the first 3 out, we’ll never see the 4th… and if we aren’t going to get to the 4th, why in the world bother?!?!

More Babe Didrikson Zaharias Quotes:

t has been argued that Babe Didrikson Zaharias was the greatest woman athlete ever. [u]More About Babe Didrikson Zaharias

Selected Babe Didrikson Zaharias Quotations

• You can’t win them all — but you can try.

• Study the rules so that you won’t beat yourself by not knowing something.

• I am out to beat everybody in sight, and that is just what I’m going to do.

• You have to play by the rules of golf just as you have to live by the rules of life. There’s no other way.

• The formula for success is simple: practice and concentration then more practice and more concentration.

• Before I was in my teens, I knew exactly what I wanted to be: I wanted to be the best athlete who ever lived.

• The more you practice, the better. But in any case, practice more than you play.

• It’s not enough just to swing at the ball. You’ve got to loosen your girdle and let ‘er fly.

• Practice, which some regard as a chore, should be approached as just about the most pleasant recreation ever devised, besides being a necessary part of golf.

• Good golf is easier to play — and far more pleasant — than bad golf.

• Before I was ever in my teens, I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. My goal was to be the greatest athlete that ever lived.

• As long as I’m improving, I will go on, and besides, there’s too much money in the business to quit.

And my favorite Babe Didrikson Zaharias quote? – – – -The Babe is here. Who’s coming in second?