´óÏó´«Ã½

Someone who goes out there and gives his or her best performance in any field is inspirational. Look around you and take from the best and learn from them.

I was very fortunate to be inspired by many greats of the sport - Daley Thompson was an inspiration to me. He was a champion, and I enjoyed the fact that he did something that the whole world could appreciate!

Don't be afraid to learn from others. Look at those who do well and find out what it is that gives them the edge. If there is someone who works in domestic service as a cleaner and they polish the glasses the best, learn from that. It will teach you something about standards. Take the best from people. Don't be afraid to look, to see, and to ask.

As an established athlete, younger members of the sport still inspired me. I could see what they had - the grit, the determination and the focus, and that always gave me a slap to remind me what you need to do to be successful in your sport. You need to have focus, you need to be dedicated and switched on to what you want to achieve.

You should always have goals set. Map out the route that you need to take. If it's raining outside, but you know you want to win an Olympic Medal... you just have to get out there and train! The final target is your motivation factor.

There are always demotivators. There's always negativity around you. So work with it! I think the key is to take whatever positive you can find from them and remember it's your goal - they don't need to achieve your goal. Your motivation and your goal is within - you know what you want to achieve - ignore the rest.

The key thing is enjoyment. Be positive in what you want to do. Be sure of what you want to achieve and look forward to trying, and everything else will just flow.

I think motivational tips are good if that's what you need to keep you going, whether it is post-its on the fridge, on your cupboard or exam timetables on your bedroom wall. They're key targets that you can physically see. If you can physically set those targets and think about them, it's a good way to focus. For me, as a hurdler, I already had a barrier in front of me - 3 foot 6 inches of wood - a bit of a problem to get over!

I was told to dare to dream. Do it! Believe you can!