Even though it may seem counterintuitive, a comfort zone is a dangerous place to be.

You give up your childhood. You miss proms and games and high-school events, and people say it's awful... I say it was a good trade. You miss something but I think I gained more than I lost.

I'm very determined and stubborn. There's a desire in me that makes me want to do more and more, and to do it right. Each one of us has a fire in our heart for something. It's our goal in life to find it and to keep it lit.

As much time as you put into it, that's what your achievements are going to be when you come out of it.

I love her attitude, but as much as I'd like to bring my medals to a speech or appearance, I never do.

Training for the Olympics was much easier than balancing my life now! When practice was over, there was time for me. But with four kids and a career, I have no downtime. When I'm not on the road, I finish my workday at 2:30 p.m. Then I pick the kids up from school and they get 100 percent Mommy, not part Mommy and part Mary Lou Retton.

Erase the word "failure" from your vocabulary. No case is ever truly closed, and no challenge is ever over.