At age 7, Simone Biles watched a cheerleader complete a standing back tuck, then confidently told her coach she could do one, too. She tried one and landed it, right on the spot, she said during a commencement address at Washington University in St. Louis on Monday. Success doesn’t just land in your lap. You build it, sweat over it, and sometimes cry over it. But if you ask Simone Biles, the greatest gymnast of all time, what set her on the path to becoming elite, she’ll tell you—it started with one powerful piece of motherly advice. In this article, we’ll unpack that advice, explore how it shaped her mindset, and discover how you can apply it to your life—whether you’re chasing gold medals or just trying to level up at work, school, or life.
Biles, now 28, is a 7-time Olympic gold medalist — but her mentality around success hasn’t really changed over two decades, she said. When Biles was young, her mom told her to focus on doing her best, rather than comparing herself to other people, and the advice fueled her to beat past versions of herself, she noted. “To be an elite student or an elite athlete or an elite anything, you have to be … the kind of person who is fueled by their own passion,” said Biles, adding: “All I ever wanted was to be the greatest Simone that I could be. My goal was to be the greatest Simone Biles of all time.”
Pushing yourself to be better — instead of trying to outdo the people around you — can be a healthy way to cope with pressure and advance your career. ″[As] human beings, we can’t help but to compare ourselves to others, and comparison is the deadliest thing we can do to ourselves because we will always come up short,” bestselling author and leadership expert Simon Sinek said in a 2021 YouTube video. “All it does is exaggerate all of our insecurities.” Sinek recommended viewing other people as sources of inspiration instead of competition, taking pride in your strengths instead of dwelling on your weaknesses, and leaning on your friends and mentors for support when you need it. “It’s healthy to grow our own strengths rather than be intimidated by the strengths of others,” he said.
Prioritizing your self-development can sometimes mean making difficult choices, like passing up a promotion because you don’t think you’re ready for it yet. In Biles’ case, doing her best meant making a controversial choice to withdraw from multiple events during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. A stress-induced mental condition — referred to by gymnasts as the “twisties” — was putting her at risk of physical injury, she said at the time.
Biles returned to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games three years later, winning her second Olympic all-around title at the event. And while most people who take Biles’ competitive advice likely won’t end up Olympians themselves, the mindset can help push anyone closer to success, she said on Monday. “The world doesn’t need you to be perfect. It needs you to be bold. It needs you to care and to keep going even when things don’t go as planned,” said Biles.
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