Kimmie Meissner, 16, is only the second American skater to land a triple Axel in competition. It wasn’t just any competition; it was her first U.S. National Championships as a senior and she landed the bronze medal. She earned her spot to the 2006 Olympics by winning the 2006 U.S. National Championships silver medal. Winning her first national title as a novice in 2003, she finished first again in 2004 as a junior gaining a spot on the Junior World Championship team where she captured the silver medal.

Obviously these ladies are knowledgeable on their sport and are well qualified to give advice on what at times can seem impossible …

Reaching your dreams.

Tip #1: Search for knowledge.

“It’s really a process, a constant search for knowledge,” Cohen said. “You have to always expand outside your box, your realm and find out what is out there. I think that is why I moved to Connecticut, to New York and back again. It was never enough. I wanted to do more, to know more and that’s part of it.”

Tip #2: Search yourself.

“The other part is learning about yourself,” Cohen said. “Making the right decisions for yourself. That comes with experience.”

Tip #3: Need to have an unappeasable drive.

“You have to have that motivation and that drive where you get up every morning and you can’t see your day having purpose without going to the rink and have accomplished something,” Cohen said. “I take a couple of weeks off and it’s like ‘I have no purpose.’ I have to go back to the rink to kind of confirm that and know that I put in a good days work. And you feel a great sense of accomplishment and you are like ‘yeah, this is what I do, I have purpose.’”

Tip #4: Keep on keeping on.

“There are a lot of steps that you have to take to reach your goals,” Meissner said. “Sometimes they are not ones you like to take, but if you have to, don’t give up.”