Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez

Running with the Bulls in Pamplona

We stood for hours in the plaza trying to stay warm in the chilly Pyrenees Mountain morning. About 3000 of us. People of all ages from all over the world drawn to Pamplona by the mystique of running with the bulls.

You could feel the tension rise as the time got closer to 8:00 AM, the time when six bulls and several steers would be released to run through the cobblestoned streets of Pamplona. The half mile course is only 15 to 20 feet wide. There is no place to escape and since bulls can run much faster than people, in time, everyone will be overtaken by the bulls.

The bull run only takes about 3-4 minutes. The most dangerous and exhilerating three minutes of your life.

There are always injuries. So many injuries that there are emergency medical crews and ambulances every 50 yards. Someone will be hurt today. Occasionally someone will lose their life. In 1995 a 22 year old American was gored to death less than 30 seconds after the beginning of the run. His first…

What drives people to risk their lives running with the bulls? Some say you feel most alive when you are nearest death. Others run for the challenge. Personally, I just think it’s fun, exciting, and exhilerating.

Before going to Pamplona I took the same approach I take with everything. I seeked knowledge from the experts. I read three books about Pamplona - several times. I contacted one of the authors - a man who’s been running for 30 years, to pick his brain. Then, I spent many hours watching videos of the bull run to study the paths different runners took as they ran.

At first, the videos just looked to me like a horde of people running for their lives. After watching the videos over and over again, I started to see well defined patterns. All of a sudden, the things I had read about in the books started to make sense. I realized that there is a right way and a wrong way to run with the bulls.

I did my homework and that made all the difference.

What did I learn from all my study? I learned a handful of insights that drastically reduced my risk and turned a potentially deadly adventure into a science. Into a strategic challenge.

 Just like in business and in life, you find two types of people in the bull run. There are the amateurs who show up, wing it, and often get hurt. And there are the professionals. The experts who armed with knowledge and skill rarely get hurt.

 95% of the people are amateurs. 5% are the pros. The experts. The winners. Just like in business. Just like in life.

What did I learn from my research? I learned simple things that made a huge difference in my Pamplona experience.

First and most importantly, make sure to run sober and watch out for the drunks. There were lots of them out there. The drunks are more dangerous and more unpredictable than the bulls. The drunks trip, fall and cause human pileups that you have to hurdle as you run down the street.

Secondly, if you fall, cover your head and stay down. The bulls will jump over you. If you get up, you become a big target and you could easily get hurt.

Thirdly, tie your sash in a slip knot. Everyone in Pamplona dresses the same way during the Fiesta. White shirt, white pants, red bandana around the neck, and a red sash around the waist. If you tie your sash in a double knot (like 95% of the amateurs did) and a bull’s horn hooks your sash, the bull will drag you along the streets with your head bouncing off the cobblestones the whole way. Not the best way to spend your time in Spain.

Like I said, simple stuff that can make a huge difference.

Finally, where do you run?

The half mile course has five sections. Most deaths have occurred at the beginning and at the end. Most injuries and gorings occur at a sharp right hand curve in the middle of the course. Stay away from those three areas unless you have been running for many years.

The whole time you are running you are deep in a narrow canyon made up of 10 story buildings on either side of the narrow streets. You are in the shade the whole time except right before you enter “Dead Man’s Curve” or “La Curva” as it is known in Pamplona. Right before “La Curva” you are blinded by the early morning sun. The bulls are blinded as well and they slip on the moist cobblestones and slam into the retaining wall at the far side of the curve. Many injuries occur here when the runners get pinned by the falling bulls.

The experts told us to begin the run about 50 yards past “La Curva” on the right side of the street. Why? Because the bulls tend to run on the left side of the street after passing “La Curva.” By starting the run from the right side, you have a chance to gradually approach the bulls as you run down the long straightaway past the curve.

The top runners position themselves in the middle of the street and try to run right in front of the bulls’ horns for as long as they can before they are overtaken. We were happy to run beside the bulls. Close but not too close.

There is a bull run every morning for the 8 days of the Fiesta. I was there three days. I watched the first day and ran the second and the third. I’m still a beginner at this. Like everything else, practice makes perfect. I think it will take at least 2-3 years of running all 8 days to learn the basics. And then a lifetime to master the basics.

So what does all of this have to so with success? Everything! Whenever you are about to try anything new, something that looks too hard and too risky to be worthwhile, do what high achievers everywhere do. Don’t try to figure it out on your own. You don’t know what you don’t know and what you don’t know can hurt you.

Rather, find the experts. Learn from the best. Then give yourself a couple of years to learn the basic skills by taking consistent and persistent action. By doing that, in time you will become the expert others turn to for advice. By pursuing excellence in everything you do you will make your life a masterpiece.

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
Motivational Speakers
Motivational Speakers

Juval Aviv - Golda Meir’s Bodyguard, Anti Terrorism Expert

Note from Ruben about this posting:

What does this have to do with motivation? Everything. Hopefully it will motivate people to take terrorism seriously. As an Olympic athlete and professional speaker, I travel all over the world and have seen a lot of the things in this article first hand. Juval Aviv is 100% right. Most Americans are misinformed and have no clue about how serious terrorism really is.

Read on. This article is a major wake up call.

Juval Aviv was the Israeli Agent upon whom the movie ‘Munich’ was based.

He was Golda Meir’s bodyguard–she appointed him to track down and bring to justice the Palestinian terrorists who took the Israeli athletes hostage and killed them during the Munich Olympic Games.

In a lecture in New York City a few weeks ago, he shared information that EVERY American needs to know–but that our government has not yet shared with us. (Aviv’s bio is noted at end.)

(more…)

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit.
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint on the clouds of doubt,
And you can never tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far.

So, stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things go wrong that you musn’t quit.

- Anonymous

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
www.TheOlympicSpeaker.com

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?”

Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It is not jus in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

by Marianne Williamson

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
www.TheOlympicSpeaker.com

Ruben and his son Gracen at the FOX Business Channel Studio

A couple of years ago, Dave Ramsey, the author of the Best Seller “The Total Money Makeover” and I both spoke at a program in Phoenix. Dave and I hit it off and when he found out I had just written a new book, he invited me to his nationally syndicated show.

Dave is a great guy. He teaches people how to get out of debt and how to regain financial control of their lives by following solid principles. You owe it to yourself to read his book and to listen to his show. He’s a genuine guy who really cares about people.

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
www.TheOlympicSpeaker.com

Greg Reid and I in Ruthless Competition…

I’ve always been a good ping-pong player. But I wanted to take my game to the next level because I wanted to beat a friend of mine who beat me regularly - Greg Reid.

I decided to get some coaching from a lady that is in the Vietnamese National Ping-Pong team.

In the first 10 minutes she gave me two tips that made a huge difference in my game.

One of them was changing my stance by only 6 inches and the other was changing the position of the tip of my index finger by one inch!

Believe it or not, those two small changes made a huge difference in my game.

I’ll be taking lessons from this Coach for the next year. Imagine what a difference that will make! Greg’s going to have to get a coach or he will be toast! I know he will because he knows what it takes to be your best.

If a little coaching could make such a big difference in my ping-pong game, imagine what a difference it can make in your professional life.

You have no idea how good you can be!

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
www.TheOlympicSpeaker.com

Average people avoid risk. Successful people learn to manage risk. Managing risk is not that hard. All you do is ask yourself three questions:

What’s the best thing that could happen if I go for it?

 

What’s the worst thing that could happen if I go for it?

What’s likely to happen if I go for it?

If you are most likely to succeed by taking action and if you can handle the worst thing that could happen, go for it. Because if that is the case, the risk is worth the reward.

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
www.TheOlympicSpeaker.com

In the spirit of our new movie “Pass It On,” I’ve just written a book about what it really takes to succeed big in life and I’m giving away the eBook version to everyone who wants to take advantage of this information.

You can download your personal copy of “Becoming Unstoppable” by clicking here…

The print version of “Becoming Unstoppable” will be available this fall.

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
www.TheOlympicSpeaker.com

Â

“Pass It On,” the movie that will help you realize your goals and dreams…Â

If you liked “The Secret” you’re going to love “Pass It On,” the groundbreaking motivational movie that’s teaches you how to become more successful in everything you do.

We interviewed some of the most successful people in America and asked them “What does it REALLY take to become more successful in life?”

If you’d like to find out…click here.

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
www.TheOlympicSpeaker.com

Who are your heroes? Who do you look up to? It’s important for you to have heroes because heroes personify what you could be. They personify your ideals. They embody your highest values.

If you tell me who your heroes are, I’ll know what your values are. People who don’t have heroes have not yet identified their highest ideals. As you grow older and your values change, your heroes will change as well.

Heroes inspire us to greatness. They remind us of the greatness that the human spirit is capable of. They draw us to that greatness.

Many of my heroes are people who overcame great odds to realize their dreams. People like; Wilma Rudolph, who overcame polio to become an Olympic Champion in track at the 1960 Rome Summer Olympics, General Patton, who moved his armies faster than anyone thought possible, Louis Pasteur, who’s belief in bacteria’s role in causing disease led him to invent pasteurization and to discover a cure for rabies.

Some of my other heroes are; Thomas Edison, who personified persistence in his search for the best filament in his light bulb, the Wright Brothers, who worked for years in the face of other people’s ridicule before their airplane finally flew, Henry Ford, who built a single block engine when even his own engineers said it couldn’t be done, Abraham Lincoln, who overcame depression, bankruptcy, and seemingly endless political defeats before he won the Presidency, and finally, Scott Hamilton, who overcame a childhood disease that kept him from growing to go on to become an Olympic figure skating champion. Â

These heroes constantly remind me that greatness is possible if we will only believe and act on our belief. Seeing Scott Hamilton win the Olympic Gold Medal inspired me to pursue my Olympic dream.

Make a list of your heroes. But don’t just admire them. Admire the qualities that made them great, work hard to emulate them, use their greatness to fuel your belief that great things are possible, and use them as a springboard to greatness in your own life.

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
www.TheOlympicSpeaker.com