Bruce Fordyce is one the greatest athletes in the history of endurance sports, winning the Comrades Marathon a record 9 times (8 times in consecutive years) and is the current world record holder over 50 miles and the former world record holder over 100 km. He is now a Comrades coach and Professional Speaker and Sports Writer.
My Definition Of Success | Success for me means being “content and happy” but still having the drive to want to achieve more. Financial wealth has very little importance in my definition of success. Nothing has changed for me over the years.
What Drives Me | I am determined to be remembered and to leave a positive legacy. I would be depressed to think that I had made no contribution.
The Difference Between good And Great | Those who are great at what they do are able to handle setbacks and bad patches more effectively than those who are only good. Those who are great have great determination but more importantly they have “vasbyt”
My Key Talent | I have a very scientific approach to my sport I follow the training process logically and scientifically but on race day I am an artist and I create success based on the tactics of my opponents and on surrounding conditions. Since my events always took a long time to complete I had a very cautious approach at the start of every race and I still do this with every major challenge. I start slowly and cautiously and build from there. Finally I believe I am able to laugh at myself from time to time.
Performing At My Peak | I ensure that I am performing at my peak by understanding that it is impossible to “always perform at my peak” No one can do that. I ensure that I am at my peak WHEN IT MATTERS! The rest of the time it doesn’t matter. So I was able to race well at the times I needed to and I was fairly ordinary the rest of the time.
Resources I Use | I use every resource I can to inspire myself. I am particularly fond of music as a source of inspiration But I also read a lot of biographies and I am inspired by heroism.
The Meaning Of Life | Being happy, making a difference and hurting as few people as possible.
The Best Advice I’ve Ever Received | Was from a sponsor who encouraged me in the early days of my running career. He told me to get used to winning. “Win as often as you can” he told me “Win at small races, at short races and get used to leading. After that I was able to conquer the fear of winning and success that so many people have.
On Building Wealth | You are wasting your time and going about it in the wrong way. First strive for excellence in whatever it is you love and the results will follow. Those results may include wealth.
Watch The Famous Video From 1985 From The Comrades Marathon:
