After 10 wonderful days in Acapulco where I caught up with friends who are more family than friends, I flew back to San Antonio yesterday. It had been close to 6 years since I was last in this city (and over 4 years since I was last in Mexico). (During the last trip to Acapulco I attended one of my friend’s wedding. Now they have 2 children – time flies!)

One of my favorite events in Acapulco is watching the famous divers perform at the Quebrada. What a nice surprise to find that Pastors Juan and Dina (who are like son and daughter to me) presently live close to this area in the city. In fact they are so close that I could walk down to watch the waves crashing against the rocks and enjoy the sea air every morning.

We went down to watch the divers one afternoon and once again I was reminded of the training that champion athletes go through. These young world champions (15-24 years of age) do intense training in the gym and the pool most every day.

The day we watched them the sea was very rough. Five young men dove into the rushing waves and swam across the narrow stretch of water to the other side from where they would make their dives. At least they tried to swim across.

The waves were so strong that it took them two attempts to reach the other side.

During their first attempt they were dragged back to where they started by the force of the current.

Once they did reach the other side, they scaled the cliff, some to reach the 25 meter level and one was to dive from the 35 meter level. The video shows the 35 meter dive.

As we watched these young men perform, I was struck by one major key to their success and safety as they made their dives.

This dangerous, yet spectacular dive requires laser focus.

They need to be focused on:

Timing. Their focus gave them the exact time to make their dive. For the current of the sea to be in their favor, precise timing is absolutely imperative.

Positioning. There is a very small area of water where it is safe to dive into. It takes laser focus to aim at this area where it is deep enough as well as far away enough from the rocks to be safe.

Overcoming Fear. Do these young men experience fear? Of course they do (and they will admit it). What enables them to overcome all fear and make the jump? Their focus is FIXED on their goal.

You will probably never dive off of a 25 meter or 35 meter cliff in order to achieve your dreams, but nevertheless you DO need to stay focused to reach your goals.

Are you training every day to achieve your dreams and goals? Are you staying laser focused?

Acapulco – Divers from Jill Rapley on Vimeo.