布莱尔演讲视屏_布莱尔辞职演讲( 二 )



Of course, it shows up in a strong competitive streak when in a race, be that in sport or a political campaign or anything else. But it is also an attitude that illustrates that the compe ***is as much competing with himself as with others in the same race.

Secondly, champions are creative people. They are innovative. They are always pushing to the new frontier. They don't accept the "givens" of any field of endeavour. They challenge them. They are non-conventional people. Anyone I have ever met in any field, who is successful, is creative. That applies, incidentally, to the lawyer or the banker as much as the artist or thinker. The creative process is always fascinating to behold. It begins with an*** ytical capability that is free, not hidebound; not shackled to what has gone before.

I always found in politics that people had an amazing predisposition to conduct a debate within very defined parameters. This is what to be left-wing meant. This is what right-wing meant. This is the way the state works. This is how public services or welfare systems operate. Within the parameters debate is lively. But the parameters themselves are rarely challenged. Creative people challenge the parameters. They go back to the first principles of a subject. They ask not the superficial but the profound questions.

Which brings me to the third quality. Champions are endlessly inquisitive. I begin every day, hoping to learn something new. I regularly contemplate the vast expanses of my ignorance. I was hopeless at science at school. I regretted it ever since. I would love to learn about it now. But even in my chosen field of politics I am always searching for new insights, for original thinking, for something that makes me think anew and afresh. This also means knowing you can be wrong. You may have to re-think, and possibly radically. The characteristic of a champion is that they are prepared to do so.

All of this takes application and hard work.The fourth quality is therefore self discipline. That is more than just the hours you put in. But it is the discipline to lay aside other pleasures and concentrate hard on your own development. It is about focus and single mindedness. I remember meeting a famous pop star once who you may have thought was just a good time rock and roller. I asked him: "how do you do it?" and before he could reply, his partner said simply: "he is the most disciplined person I know". It is not just about deciding to work rather than spend an extra hour in the bar. It is about absorption in your task, about deep not shallow thought, about getting down to the core of what you are trying to achieve. It is about not accepting second best; about knowing in your heart, when something is not good enough and can and should be better. Notice that this is self discipline. Past a certain point, you and only you can provide that intensity of will.

The fifth quality is courage. No champion is without courage. It may be physical, it may be intellectual. It may be of mind or body. There is no greater courage than that shown by the Paralympians. These are the people who have not just demonstrated the normal will-power of champions, but in doing so have overcome by their passion to succeed their disability. Their courage gives hope to all. Special salutations to them.

Courage is invariably found in a champion. Inevitably a champion is out in front. Championship is like leadership. When things are in the balance, when you cannot be sure, when others are uncertain or hesitate, when the very point is that the outcome is in doubt; that is when a leader steps forward. The soldier who comes to help his fallen comrade. The health worker who risks their life to save the lives of others. The political activist who stands up for what is right when what is right is not what is popular or expedient. This is the person who when the mantle of responsibility is floating free reaches out and puts it on. The courage lies not in acting without fear; but in acting despite fear.

Such people are the people who are prepared just to go for it; to back their instinct when their instinct is all the certainty they are going to get. Taking the uncalculated risk is just foolhardy. But a calculated risk is still a risk. Calculate too much and you miscalculate. You wait for the perfect moment when such moments rarely if ever exist. At a certain point you have to step forward, with an insecure terrain beneath your feet.

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