4 Lessons We Learned From Simone Biles’ Life’s Story & Amazing Success

Remarkable 19-year-old US gymnast, Simone Biles’ dexterity at what she does is just as inspiring as her life’s story. Born in Ohio to drug-addicted parents who met as teenagers, her early years were far from enviable.

Her father had abandoned them, and her mother, who couldn’t take care of them either, owing to her alcohol and drug addiction, gave her and her three siblings up for adoption. The renowned Olympic medalist, through sheer hard work, however rose above all the odds to become one of the world’s most celebrated athletes.

Find 4 lessons we learned from her life’s story and amazing success so far…

1. Your background only influences your future as much as you let it

It’s not uncommon to hear people nag, listing a lorry load of how their parents’ shortcomings, certain childhood experiences, and so on, jeopardized their future.

Simone’s mother, Shannon Biles, then had four of them – her older siblings, Tevin and Ashley, and her younger sister, Adria. Like their father, who had abandoned them, she battled drug and alcohol addiction, making Simone and her siblings spend their early years in and out of foster care in Ohio.

At 6, Simone’s maternal grandfather, Ronald Biles, and his wife, Nellie, adopted her and her younger sister, Adria, while Ronald’s sister adopted their older siblings, Tevin and Ashley.

As a young child, we can only imagine how devastating her mum’s addictions and their consequent separation, which legally turned her grandfather and his wife into her ‘dad’ and ‘mum’, must have been, but she rose above all of that.

Now, Simone has reconciled with her 44-year-old ex-addict biological mum, who is bursting with pride and hoping to discuss the past with her superstar daughter at the ‘right time’, as she tries to build a close relationship with her.

Simone’s biological dad, Kelvin Clemons, is also now proud of his daughter’s several accomplishments. Shannon revealed he is a die-hard fan of his daughter, though he is yet to contact her.

2. You never know how far your child’s early skills/talents will take them

Simone’s success story reemphasizes the need to spot a child’s talents/skills from an early age and promptly help develop these skills and sustain their interest.

Simone biological mum told DailyMail, “Simone had always been ‘running and climbing and jumping. From the time she was a little (girl), she was climbing the monkey bars.’

Simone was enrolled in gymnastics at age six by her adoptive parents, after they discovered her keen interest and zeal for the sport. They perhaps didn’t imagine how much opportunity creating that foundation would bring her then.

Her fearlessness, zeal and talent soon attracted Aimee Boorman, who’s been coaching her since she was 8.

3. Find what you love and have fun doing it

Revealing one of the reasons she’s very successful is that she’s doing what she loves and having fun while at it, Simone recently told NBC Olympics, “It’s good for me to cheer and distract myself. I think what sets me apart is how bubbly (I am) and how much joy I find in it, because it really does come all from inside whenever I go out there on the floor. Everyone is so serious out there and then I’m like ‘Hey guys!’… That’s how I have fun doing what I do and it’s how it works best for me and how I get my success out there.”

She added, “If anybody has a bad day they’ll just come to my room because they know I’ll bring out the positive in everything or I’ll make them laugh or I’ll be just crazy. I don’t know, I just try to find the good in everything and try to have a positive outlook on [competitions], so that we all have a good time and a fun time and we compete to the best of our ability.”

4. Setting your own standard is the dream

Following her senior debut in 2013, among others, the 19-year-old won five gold medals at the recently concluded Rio Olympics, is the first female gymnast since 1974 to win four consecutive all-around titles at the U.S. national championships, the first woman ever to be the all-round world champion consecutively for three years, and has been dubbed the best female gymnast ever.

It’s needless to point out the roles her admirable hard work, confidence and determination have played in all of these, and it’s clear even more breathtaking milestones await her in the near and distant future. She’s carving her own niche and is not in the field to replace or replicate any other.

Affirming this recently, she spilled, “I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. I’m the first Simone Biles.”

Photo credit: Getty Images/DailyMail/Facebook