Fear is part of the process. If you weren't scared, you'd be in trouble.

If I die... I'd be so mad at myself that I didn't explore that side of me.

Realize that the reason most people fail isn't because of the competition but because of the limits they place upon themselves, allowing defeat to take over. Take responsibility for your destiny. You can come up with a performance, if you can reach down and dig deep enough into your competitive soul. You can overcome tremendous obstacles.

I'm kind of more on the conservative side.

When the time comes for your brain to process the information, the second word comes up faster than the first one. So when it's in your head, all of a sudden, it comes out backwards and you think of the word backwards.

I'm the type of guy who fails and fails and fails, and then, as if failure has become sick of him, succeeds.

Waving the flag at the 1976 Olympics wasn't my idea. It was too much apple pie and ice cream. Not that I don't love my country, but I felt it was my victory up there, I put all the time into it.