World-Class Athlete Read His Olympian Swimmer Michael Phelps is a household name for Team USA. He was known to have an insatiable appetite for being the best which was demonstrated in his career as he became the youngest man to join the U.S. Olympuc Swim Team since 1932 at the age of 15.
However, despite his swimming achievements and popularity in his field, he hit bottom in year 2014 where he was charge with DUI and was allured to do drugs.
"I was like a time bomb, waiting to go off. I had no self-esteem, no self-worth. There were times (when) I didn't want to be here. It was not good. I felt lost," Phelps said.
"Six months before the Olympic trials in 2008 I broke my wrist. Two days later I had surgery. I was always doing stupid things that held me back," he added.
"I thought the world would just be better off without me," Phelps told ESPN. "I figured that was the best thing to do - just end my life."
He admitted that he really went through a dark period in his life as he tried to figure out his worth outside the swimming pool.
In late 2014, Phelps entered the Meadows, a psychological trauma and addiction treatment center in Arizona.
It was when one of his good friend, former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis had given him a book by Rick Warren entitled "The Purpose Driven Life" and his own life began to change.
"I don't know if it was, like, afraid of just letting go and showing who I am or what it was. And, and I finally was just, like, 'You know what? Screw this. I'm not, I'm not hiding behind anything anymore. I am who I am. And, and you don't like it, it's really not my issue and it's not my problem,'" he told NBC's Today in a recent interview.
"I'm happy to turn the page to the next chapter. I'm happy to move on from my swimming career and go out how I wanted to," he said.
According to ESPN, the world-class athlete became known as "Preacher Mike" in the rehab center and would regularly read excerpts of "The Purpose Driven Life" to his fellow patients.
"It's turned me into believing there is a power greater than myself and there is a purpose for me on this planet...it helped me when I was in a place where I needed the most help," he said during his ESPN interview.
Knowing this, megachurch pastor and best-selling author responded by rooting for the 31-year-old swimmer posting in on his official Facebook page.
Since the book was released in 2002, it has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling Christian books.
