I don't run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run toward it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your feet.
Nadia Comaneci
I believe that you should gravitate to people who are doing productive and positive things with their lives.
Enjoy the journey and try to get better every day. And don't lose the passion and the love for what you do.
Life is not easy for anyone. You have to have ups and downs. You can make mistakes. You learn and try not to make them again. That's pretty much my principle.
I know my life story sounds too extraordinary to be true.
I wanted to have a free life.
Hard work has made it easy. That is my secret. That is why I win.
Maybe that's why I like gymnastics - because I like to fly.
When I was 14, I had no pressure. I was a kid, and I didn't understand all the attention.
When you go out of your country and meet people, you get a wider perspective.
Of course I used to smile and laugh in 1976, but not when I was competing. Please show me somebody who laughs when they are concentrating; I always smiled.
You should also appreciate the goodness around you, and surround yourself with positive people.
I never thought I would be standing here, married to an All-American guy, living in Oklahoma. What a country.
Yes, gymnasts aim for perfection, but I never thought about the score. If that's what's in your mind, it will probably mess you up.
When I look back, I am happy that my mum took me to the gymnastics club. I didn't join gymnastics to become a famous athlete or celebrity; it just happened - I did more than I expected, of course.
I did not even look at the scoreboard when my routine was done in 1976.
Nellie Kim, an Olympic champion from the former Soviet Union, got a 10 right after me in '76, but nobody talks about that.
What can you know about life at 14? I have learned a lot since, but you learn slowly. You get hit by many things and try to make sense of it.
I come from a communist country. We learned nothing of lawyers, nothing about rights.
My marriage to my husband, Bart Conner in 1996 is my proudest personal moment.
People assume a lot of things about gymnasts - that the girls work too hard, it's way too much for them, they are too young to work so hard.
I made the cover of 'Sports Illustrated,' 'Newsweek' and 'Time' all in one week, and I didn't even know what that meant.
I always say I don't want to change anything in my life.
It's very hard to get to the top. It's hardest to stay at the top.
I don't think many people consider in their heart that they have two places that are home.
I like Oklahoma. It's a quiet place. You can work, and nobody disturbs you.
I cannot change anything, so I don't want to think about what I would have done.
I come from a wonderful country with wonderful people.
My message to the ladies would be, you can do all of the things, but not all of them at the same time.
I would love to be in 'Dancing With the Stars.'
I live in the moment. I can turn the page and move on.
Near the end of my career, I saw things that didn't make too much sense to me when I was a kid.
I think gymnastics was associated with the 10. I thought that belonged to the sport, and somehow we gave it way.
I basically have my life today as a result of what I did as a child. What did I miss out on? Yeah, I missed not hanging out at shopping malls, I guess, but that is not a big deal because you don't get a medal for that.
Scoring the first 10 in history was a big deal, but the fact that even an electronic scoreboard could not figure out how to put out a score, it made the story more historic.
You can't jump from little things to big things. It just takes time and patience.
I have a classic taste with a twist, because classic never goes away.
What makes me happy is the appreciation of people around me.
I like risky stuff.
We used to exchange leotards with gymnasts from other countries. I don't remember who I got my most prized leotard from, but it was one with a lot of stars on it.
I had a lot of energy, and my mom decided to look for a place where I can spend the energy, because I was jumping on the couch and furniture, and I was jumping on the top of the things in the house.
Romania doesn't have a big tradition of gymnastics as a fun activity. We were a little behind in this aspect.
I didn't realize that winning the Olympics at age 14 automatically put me in the category of being a celebrity.
I ended up in the US for a month or so, before moving to Montreal with some Romanian friends.
Ceausescu thought I had only a few medals, but I have a room full of them in Bucharest, between 150-200 in all. They needed suitcases to haul them out.
I like seeing advanced acrobatics, but I also like to see more than tumbling. It's important to combine the artistry of gymnastics with the tough skills. It's called artistic gymnastics. We should stand by the name.
If I was 14 or 15 again, I would do the same thing. I've done everything. I think I've accomplished more than I had in mind.
People ask me what the definition of perfection, I said it's none: there is no definition of perfection.
I always say, 'When the Olympics are happening, you shouldn't be in any other place in the planet - you should be here.'
I like to tell young people to work hard for your goals and live in the moment.
