7 things to learn from Abhinav Bindra

I recently finished reading A Shot at History: My obsessive journey to Olympic Gold. The moment I picked it up, I simply couldn`t put it down. It was so engaging.

Shoot, shoot, shoot, gold, gold, gold. That’s the only thing that matters.
Abhinav has been brutally honest and blunt about his journey to his Olympics gold. He had just no interest in anything other than shooting. He was so obsessed with it that he couldn’t care less.

7 things to learn from Abhinav Bindra :

1. Be willing to sacrifice for years to achieve something. In the end, nothing else will matter.

2. There are no shortcuts for success. Plan everything meticulously to detail including the setbacks. I really loved how he was so attentive to detail that he even was possessive about the heel of his shoes, the floor of the arena, his jackets, etc

3. Be willing to change and experiment methods. I liked how he changed his stance to be a better shooter.

4. Want to achieve something in life? Don’t be soft because the world is competitive, ruthless and harsh.

5. Small increments in life just like in shooting takes practice. A 599 and 600 may be a difference in a single point but that’s the difference between gold and silver. For such small improvements, deep study plus attention to detail is required.

6. As Abhinav himself has said in the book, he was lucky yet grateful that his family could afford the expenditure for an expensive sport like shooting. But what if he was born in a poor family? Being born in a well off family meant does he have the competitive juices flowing in him to win gold? Never take things for granted. Be humble and grateful for the things you have in life and strive to be better.

7. Be relentless, be obsessed, be attentive to detail.