What losing the biggest race of my life taught me about winning at it.

It was going to be an amazing day.

The best moment of my life and one I'd visualized thousands of times in my mind.

Our craft cutting through the clear, calm water approaching the finish line, a sideways glance to make sure we'd won, a fist raised in the air and the rush of adrenalin from knowing I was a World Champion...it was something I'd dreamed of, and would never forget.

How fortuitously true that last part was in particular...

Years of 4:45am alarms, opening my eyes to see a note I'd written for myself on the beam of my red, metal, lower bunk bed - "Do you want to be a f...ing World Champion or not?!". The cold, dark training sessions on the lake at Narrabeen (Sydney, Australia), the aching muscles and the sacrifices.

But after all that, a cruel twist of fate meant that I walked away with nothing...or so I thought at the time.

My partner Nigel Hoschke and I, were odds on favorites to win the Junior World Championships after winning the World Cup weeks before, destroying our heat and semi-final and being the fastest qualifiers for the final by quite a distance. Even our teammates were convinced we'd win.

All that was required was to show up and run our typical race plan:

• Get out of the starting gates fast and powerfully to open up a lead
• Lengthen our strokes and find our rhythm
• Lift the stroke rate with 500m left to get the boat speed up
• An all out sprint with 150m remaining for the win

With a win at the World Cup just a few weeks earlier, our confidence was sky high. However, during our warm up, only minutes before the start of our final, my stomach dropped, and my heart raced as I started to realize something was wrong.

During our warm up, our craft kept pulling to the left, indicating the steering had started to malfunction, making it extremely difficult to keep the boat moving in a straight line. I remember in a panic, yelling something to Nigel like "Oh s@#t mate, there's something wrong here. The rudder isn't responding...".

Sitting in the front seat of our brand new, bright yellow, state of the art, carbon fiber racing kayak was a steering system that, with only moments before the biggest race of our lives, had begun to come apart. We frantically got out onto a pontoon to assess and try to fix what was happening, all while hearing the starter's announcements echoing in our ears.

"One minute to start...eine minute bis zum start...une minute au début".

We tried to get the attention of officials, thinking they may delay, but after the final announcement to approach the starting gates, we looked at each other and simply said "f@#k it, we've got to go!".

The race itself is somewhat of a blur to me now. However, I still clearly remember the panicked feelings, my right leg and foot holding the steering bar to the extreme right hand side, just to stay straight in our lane, the discomfort of not being able apply leg pressure to power my 'rights' and the final and painful view of our competitors pulling away to finish the race exactly the way I had envisioned us doing it.

As we crossed the finish line in 4th place (or as we saw it, the first crew to walk away with nothing to show for it), I was in shock and disbelief. Everything we'd worked towards, visualized and prepared for was gone. I remember thinking of my parents, who'd come all the way to Finland to see their son triumph, and the feeling that a gift I desperately wanted to give for their years of commitment, was ingloriously snatched from me.

Years later, I can look back on that particular moment in my life and all of the ones that led up to it, not as one of the biggest disappointments, but one of the best learning experiences I'll ever have.

So what did I learn? How did I grow? And what can you take away from my experience?

You'll remember the journey more than the destination

As I look back on that time now, I remember so much more than just that one race or the cold mornings. I remember the years of discipline, but also the beautiful sunrises over the lake after training that made it all worthwhile.

I remember the laughs and fun I had with my friends and the collective work we did together.

During that time in my life, I made some of the best friends I'll ever have. Friends who shared a unique experience and comradery that, only those who have traveled the world as part of a team like ours, can truly appreciate. There was so much more good than bad!

Adversity builds resilience and character

Anyone who hasn't failed, really hasn't tried hard enough, or taken enough of a risk in my opinion. Failure has been the catalyst of so many successes from Thomas Edison to Michael Jordan. From Oprah Winfrey to J.K. Rowling, the list of successful people whose accomplishments were forged from failed attempts or bitter tears is long and storied. The common theme amongst them all is to keep pushing forward, knowing deep down that you have it within you, but need to perhaps change your approach or press on despite setbacks.

"Check your rigging"

No matter how well prepared you think you are, check again. In the world of business, there can be a myriad of things that can go wrong with your plan, but having a structure where you check and recheck your strategy, process or product (be it 'Red Teaming' or quality control) is a must.

Make it an integral part of your go to market, product development or launch plans and continue to revisit it over time, even if you think you've got a 'brand new, shiny craft' to race with.

Put disappointment into perspective

I remember a long, walk towards the grandstands where I knew my parents would be eagerly awaiting me. As I walked along the bank, I remembered a not so famous Australian athlete by the name of Grant Davies. At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea (race link), "Grunter", as he was known in kayaking circles, came from nowhere in the outside lane to win the first Olympic gold for Australia in Kayaking...or so he thought.

Davies was initially told that he had won the gold medal, but 11 minutes after the race (or after 11 minutes of celebrating a monumental accomplishment), the officials declared that?Greg Barton?from the USA, had won the race by 0.005 seconds.

It was the narrowest margin of victory (or loss) in Olympic history.

Despite what I could only imagine was the most painful and disappointing end to a journey for someone in sport, Davies simply said "If that's the worst thing that ever happens to me, then I'll have a pretty good life". His story and character still inspire me today.

When I caught up with my parents after the race, still hurting and holding back a few the tears, I looked at them, shrugged and simply said "These things happen". There was nothing I could do or could have done differently and besides, I had another race to prepare for.

Reassess your goals and get going again!

I must admit, that watching my competitors receive their medals continued to gnaw at me below the surface. I took some time away, enjoyed myself (perhaps a little too much), before remembering that I still had goals and one disappointment didn't have to mean the end of them too.

Here's what I did:

• My coach and I sat down and mapped out what the next few years would look like in preparation for the 2000 Olympics and beyond. (A big, audacious goal was set)
• We talked about the milestones that would be necessary along the way (We established measures of success and progress, which kept motivation up)
• What would need to be true or would need to happen to achieve those goals (or my commitments for diet changes, training plans and technical changes)
• The changes I would need to make to put myself in a position to succeed (what I needed to hold myself accountable to as part of the process)

In the end, success in any goal is a process. Whether you're putting someone on the moon, launching a new product, or just improving your performance at work.

There are steps that need to be taken that build on one another and give you the best chance of success. By clearly outlining them and being accountable to them, you won't eliminate the risk of failure, but you'll go a long way to reducing it.

In August of 2001, I competed at the Senior World Championships in Poland, once again, in front of my amazing parents and my girlfriend (now wife) Valerie, to achieve my final goal. 10 years of effort, training and sacrifice and it was the highlight of my sporting career, shared with the people I love most in the world.

It may not have all gone exactly how I envisioned and there were goals that remained unachieved, but this part of my life was incredibly formative and set the tone for who I am and everything I've done since.

It taught me the values of discipline, hard work, perseverance, and introspection. It showed me the value of sportsmanship, teamwork, goals, milestones, metrics and above all...process.

No matter what the end result, the journey and the process, the loss and the disappointment prepared me for a future, that has brought so much more than a simple medal ever would have.

I hope this helps you!

Darren Webster

Below are a few more examples of what I've learned and achieved since then.

My 40 Years in 4 Minutes and key lesson's learned.

My background in business