Why would anybody in his right mind want to jump on a sled and hurl himself down an icy mountain at over 80 mph? At the age of 21, Ruben Gonzalez took up the sport of luge and started training for the Olympics. Four years and at least as many broken bones later, Gonzalez made his Olympic dream come true.
That was just the beginning. He kept training, kept working and kept luging and now he has his sights set on becoming the oldest Winter Olympian ever. If he makes the U.S. team in Beijing in 2022, he’ll be 59 years old. In the meantime, he’s written his fifth best-selling book called The Courage to Succeed.
He shares the lessons he’s learned throughout his long Olympic career, despite possessing what he calls “limited athletic ability,” and explains how those lessons can apply to anyone’s life.