This week’s Success Tip comes from Lauren Burns. Lauren was one of only three females to win an individual gold at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games (the other two were Cathy Freeman and Susie O’Neil). As one of the contributors in ‘Secrets of Inspiring Women Exposed’, in this short extract below Lauren shares a very important life lesson and proves once and for all, every setback is opportunity in disguise.

Have you ever experienced a low point in your sporting career? Can you tell us what happened?

It was during the 1999 World Championships in Canada. I was ready – training better than I ever had before. Having been to the last three championships, and with plans to retire after the Olympic Games in 2000, this was my last shot to reach my long-term goal of winning a world championship. It was my time and I was sure of it.

My first fight went well – I won 12-1. My next fight was against the current world champion, Shu Ju Chu from Chinese Taipei. The fight was close and ran at a draw for most of it with the tension and concentration thick between us. Each time one of us scored a point the other would score straight away and with a few seconds to go in the last round it was still a draw. Attempting to seal the decision and to show aggressive match management (a factor taken into consideration by the judges in case of a tie), I attacked. She countered and scored. The decision went to Chinese Taipei which then went on to win the tournament.

Even at world championship level, Taekwondo is not seeded so the draw can have a huge impact on results. Because I fought Chu in the second round I walked away from that competition with no medal, no ranking, and some shining bruises. Feeling at a complete low after the fight I mustered up the strength to sit in the stands, recording Chu’s fights throughout the day. Dejected and miserable I had no idea how handy those tapes would be during the course of the following year.

When I got back to Australia I watched those videos hundreds of times. I picked her apart, studied her every move, and simulated her in training. She became my focus. If I could beat her, I could beat anyone. As fate would have it, my first fight at the Olympics was Shu Ju Chu. It was a close fight but this time I came away the winner. Looking back I know that if I hadn’t lost to her at the World Championships I probably wouldn’t have had the tactical skills to beat her at the Olympics.

Every challenge we have leads us on a different path. We are human beings and we will all have events in our lives that continue to challenge us. Some challenges are bigger and more difficult than others but I believe that it is the way we deal with them that makes us who we are and gives us the ability to move forward and grow. Often it is the challenges that we face or the mistakes that we make that change us, give us clarity or allow us to look at our life from a different perspective.