Shoot for the Stars by Danielle Brown
Para Olympian Danielle Brown shares some insights into her career as an athlete and inspires young athletes to “Shoot for the Stars”!
Shoot for the Stars
Danielle Brown
I started archery on my fifteenth birthday and fell in love with it instantly. It wasn’t because I was brilliant at it (I couldn’t hit the target to start with!), but because I loved the calm focus it gave me in training and the adrenaline rush I got in competitions. This passion and persistence led to a successful career, where I represented Great Britain, travelled the world and won lots of shiny medals. I became a double Paralympic gold medallist, five-time World Champion, and the first disabled athlete to represent England in a non-disabled event at the Commonwealth Games, where I won team gold.
People often focus on my achievements, but the real story is full of setbacks, doubts, early mornings, and failures. Success in sport is not handed to you. You earn it through working hard and learning to trust yourself, especially when things don’t go to plan.
Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way:
1. Success starts by showing up: The athletes who make it to the top aren’t always the most talented, but they are always the ones who put in the work and don’t give up, no matter how tough it gets. They show up on the bad days as well as the good and keep going when everybody else throws in the towel.
2. Confidence is the most valuable gift you can give yourself: I used to feel really nervous, and I second-guessed myself all the time. I had to learn how to believe in myself and stop my inner critic from taking control. Confidence grows when we see the positives in every situation and notice where we’ve made progress, no matter how small. The best part of this attitude is that it spills over into other areas of our lives and helps us feel braver at school and in social situations.
3. Don’t be afraid of failing: Failure doesn’t feel nice at the time, but it helps us to learn, grow and come back stronger. I’ve learned more from the times when things went wrong than from everything went to plan. I hear a lot of young people say they’re nervous to try something new in case they fail, but if you give something a go, even if it’s a bit scary, you’re building the kind of resilience that helps you improve and move forward.
Sport has given me so much. It has given me confidence, community, and the belief that I can handle whatever life throws at me. I wrote Shoot for the Stars because I believe that everybody can achieve great things, and I wanted to share some of the tips and techniques to success that I picked up along the way. I particularly wanted to help girls lacking in confidence in sport and in themselves. Each chapter focuses on a different challenge, from self-doubt to body image to fear of failure, demonstrating to readers that they are not alone and that they have more power than they think.
Shoot for the Stars is a practical, honest, and positive guide to sport, confidence and self-belief. It gives girls the tools to stay in sport, enjoy it, and discover what they are capable of. Because shooting for the stars is not just about chasing medals, but having the confidence to show up, give things a go, and find out what you can do.
