GROWING UP IS TOUGH
Boy! Growing up is tough. We arrive in this world without a known script. We fumble around looking for the place we belong. We are provided a whole menu of things that are supposed to make us better people. We listen to them and we actually try to make these tidbits of experience and wisdom come alive for us.
We struggle with what we are all about. Many times we end up comparing ourselves with others who have super talents that seem to threaten our very being when we are up against them. We often come away from an encounter with a person of great talent feeling absolutely inadequate and defeated. This scenario has happened to all of us at some time or another.
TWO PATHS
Fortunately, there is another path to be competitive with those that clearly have all the tools to be the best people ever. It’s called “HARD WORK.” I have found in my life’s experience that “HARD WORK” is required of everybody to succeed….even those to whom massive talent has been bestowed. However, for us mere mortals that do not have great talent we must take the second path of “HARD WORK”….. there is no other way.
UNREALIZED DREAM
As I grew up playing multiple sports there is an example that stands out regarding squandered talent. Let me explain. This individual had it all. From the time he was a young kid he was a fantastic baseball player. He could pitch, hit, run, throw with the best of them. He was a natural. We played together for over 10 years on the same teams and sometimes against one another. We were the best of friends and we were both pretty good ball players.
Then, he got a scholarship at a very prestigious university to play baseball. He arrived at school and the coach told him that his grades were not high enough. There was another player that played the same position who had better grades there also. The coach dropped his scholarship and gave it to the player with the better grades.
Dejected, he returned to his hometown, found a job in a factory, married his sweetheart and lived out his days. The sad thing is that he had all the talent in the world to be a big league player. Instead of digging deep and “WORKING HARD” he let his God-given talent slip away and he settled for something far less than what he was capable of. To be honest, I don’t know if I would have done things differently had it been me. But, there is one thing that life has taught me is that “HARD WORK” is the common discriminator between those that win and those that do not win.
MY BODYBUILDING QUEST
As I took on this lifestyle called bodybuilding, I spent much of my time wishing I was bigger, stronger, and more defined than others around me in the gym. Oh, how I wanted to be able to be better than all those that seemed be ahead of me. I had to remind myself that I started this journey weighing only 150 lbs. and I was 58 years old. Nobody in their right mind, in the conventional sense, would take on anything of this magnitude in the twilight of their years. Everybody around me was younger and much more genetically gifted than me.
I literally had nothing going for me. So, I trained twice per day 6 days per week for 3 years. I had to face the hordes of talented and gifted and younger bodybuilders in the gym each and everyday. I was on a quest to hold my own. I kept my mouth shut, my head down, and I tried to work harder than anybody else training that day. I never took off my sweats, t-shirts, pants, or anything else for 3 years.
One day I had to take my shirt off because I was over heating. A guy close to me turned to me and said, “Bro, you should try doing bodybuilding.” My first response was to say, “No!” There was no way I was going to get up in front of thousands of people wearing only a “Speedo.” Besides, I didn’t think I was good enough. There were so many other guys around me who seemed to have it all and I believed that I didn’t have the natural talent required to be good.
MY WIFE SAID TO “GIVE IT A TRY”
I went home and spoke to my wife and she told me I should give it a try. The rest is history. I’ve competed 15 times and I have done well. My weight has been as high as 210 lbs. but I’ve mainly competed around 190 lbs. the last 3 years. I had worked so hard that my “HARD WORK” eclipsed many who possessed the natural talent to be great.
In fact, I’ve worked so hard that my coach, Justin Dees, has had to counsel me to dial back my work. He is always encouraging me to not overdue it so I do not get hurt. But, I am stubborn and I am constantly looking for ways to work to my max and —-“STOP.” Justin reminds me that “beyond exhaustion there is only injury.” Great effort is good. Overdoing effort is bad. I have never forgotten this simple truth. I have not had a major injury in 5 years. The basic truth here is that “HARD WORK” always trumps talent.
DECIDE TO “WORK HARD”
In closing let me reiterate that we can have anything we are willing to work for. Because there are others with greater acumen or talent is no excuse for us. The big deciding factor is whether I/you are willing to put in the work to make us better than the gifted and talented people that surround us and compete with us daily. We have to believe in the process and the premise that “HARD WORK” will always defeat raw talent that is not developed. We start every race behind and it is up to us to determine how we are going to win. Decide today that “whatever it takes” is our mantra for success.
Until next time I remain, Douglas E. Graham, Lt Col, USAF, (ret.), MHSM
Six Pack and Senior 