Month: February 2023

It seems like we have spent our lives trying to impress somebody. That somebody has been the reason we think we have to prove something to. Here’s a little secret from me, “THE OLD GUY.” The person who haunts you and makes you nuts to defeat or to impress doesn’t really care anyway. He is an nothing but a self generated “HOLOGRAM” that is constantly before us to humiliate us and make us feel inferior or a failure. Now, operationalize my secret by dismissing the “HOLOGRAM” and turn your attention inward. Imagine what you want. Imagine what you want to look like. Savor your own win with no guilt or fear of shame from some external force.

The greatest insight we bodybuilders must get is to know that nobody cares more about us/you than ourselves. In the end, we set the goals, we lay out the plan, we suffer the pain and inconvenience required to win. Imagine, if you will, a large stage and an arena with 5,000 screaming fans and you up on stage given it all you got. Imagine the exhilaration of competing against some of the best athletes in your division that day. Imagine the trophy, the medal, the applause. Finally, imagine grabbing your wife when it’s over, giving her a great big kiss and asking—-“WHERE ARE WE GOING TO EAT TONIGHT SWEETHEART?”

Nobody cares about you except you. Never forget that little secret. We march to our own drummer for all the best reasons. Life is like that no matter what we set out to do but for us muscle heads it is a quest to keep our heads down and our work on track. Do not look around the room….The others in that gym have their own demons to deal with. Their goals belong to them. Let them be. As the great Branch Warren once said, “JUST LOOK AFTER YOUR OWN SHIT.”

Bottom Line: Torture and pain is good when judiciously applied to ones self to gain or win that which has been chosen to accomplish. Our effort is ours and cannot be driven by a demon of our own making. We win because we have chosen to win, not because we are trying to measure up to a “bogey man.”

This is our time…..Let’s not waste it….Go Suffer and win—-alone!

All of us, at one time or another, has gained some undeserved fame by association. That is we talked to a celebrity, a person of stature in the community, a war hero, or spectacular commentator, a sports luminary. or the winner of some event. By aligning ourselves with these champions we too derive a sort of osmotic bit of their aura and notoriety. We may tell somebody after shaking hands with a great person, “I’m never going to wash my hand again.”

No matter what you or I choose to do that requires a significant amount of commitment and work, the “boo birds” and “naysayers” or the “jealous ones” will begin to gather and circle your predicted demise. They long to see your defeated carcass to be on public display so they can crow loudly for all to hear, “I TOLD YOU SO! or “I TRIED TO TELL HIM BUT HE WOULDN’T LISTEN.” It’s as if they have to have you defeated so they will be seen as wise and all knowing and somehow virtuous.

Then, if we press on in the face of abandonment by friends, relatives, associates, and of course known enemies we set the stage to correct the narrative. My advice is to be sure of what you want, especially in bodybuilding, plan carefully, ignore the opposition, and work as hard as humanly possible. This mindset and your effort cannot be taken away from you.

But, there is nothing like standing on stage and having the judges hang the first place medal around your neck and handing you the greatest trophy you have ever seen. Suddenly, in a nano-second you are catapulted to the head of the class. Suddenly, you are somebody of great repute. Tons of media and congratulations are sent your way. Handshakes, back slaps, Atta Boys, and looks of admiration belong to you. Mission accomplished and a job well done.

Now! Remember all those people who doubted you and discouraged you. In the near future, as you gather your “spoils of war” these people will be telling many a listening soul how they know you and when they became your best friend or your best fan. This! is the moment when all is right with the world. We don’t brag nor do we apologize. Be gracious! Thank the naysayers.

NOW! GET YOUR BUTT BACK TO WORK! THE STAGE AWAITS YOUR RETURN….WIN, LOSE OR DRAW! SET ALL THINGS RIGHT AGAIN AND AGAIN.

The central idea behind self improvement is that we are actually getting better at something in particular and ourselves over all. How many times have we lived through the daily routine of waking up, going to the bathroom, eating breakfast, taking. shower, selecting and putting on our clothes for the day, departing for work, arriving at home after a tough day on the job and not remembering much about the day just completed? Then repeating this sequence daily for an entire year and having the same meaningless assessment of what we have accomplished. In fact, when we try to recall the major things we conquered over the year we draw a complete blank. Ouch!

This is the point at which we must determine, right up front what we want to accomplish in the year ahead. I would suggest you reduce your goal to paper. Take pictures of it or, in BIG LETTERS hang it on the fridge. It must be kept always before your eyes as a reminder of what this year is meant to be. I am totally on board with the notion that if we don’t progress in an objective way from year to year we are probably, at best stagnant in our growth or backsliding as we surrender our previous gains. Like Terry Bradshaw, MVP Quarterback for the 1970s’ Pittsburgh Steelers said, “MY ONLY JOB IS TO ADVANCE THE FOOTBALL.” Our jobs are diffuse but each of us has something we really want to get better at or to win at.

In bodybuilding we make it a point to measure things. Even in the off season or between shows we settle into a measured or understood existence to keep what we have earned through hard work. By the time we reach “SHOW TIME” we have measured twice and cut once every possible area in preparation for the contest. I have three things I try to accomplish with each show, 1.) Be in the best shape of my life. 2.) Do not make any disastrous mistakes on stage. 3.) Move up or finish higher this time than last time. (i.e. third last time, 2nd this time). If I do this then the whole experience has been worth it and I chalk it up as a success. This process will be repeated as many as 3 times in any given year, so I’m very aware of my progress or lack thereof.

Life is like this in all aspect. The purpose for objectivity in measuring improvement in any given area is that we them have something to hang our hats on. We know the world is getting better and we can prove it. Unrelated to bodybuilding you may want to keep a daily record of how many days in a row you told your wife you loved her. This exercise is guaranteed to improve a vital aspect of your marriage. Other areas to measure that will definitely improve your self mastery is Daily Scripture Study, Daily Cardio, Genealogy Study, Journal writing and so many others. You must decide what you want to be faithful at over a year. Establish the reason and let that reason drive you daily to a successful change in who you are.

Bottom Line: Set the Target. Develop a plan to hit the Target. Execute the plan. Measure each step toward the Target. Treat yourself and your wife/husband to a celebration after winning. Self Mastery really can be measured and will keep you motivated to move ahead. This will never allow you “TO BE FEARFUL OF BEING THE SAME PLACE NEXT YEAR S YOU ARE TODAY.”

Have at it and the best you “MOVING FORWARD.”

This concept of being above the norm is part and parcel of my personality and my efforts. I have a T-Shirt that was produced by the great Branch Warren that says on the front, “MOTIVATED BY THE FEAR OF BEING AVERAGE.” It’s interesting that we want the best but we are not willing to exert the required effort to get the things we say we want most. Conversely, I read a book and listened to the lecture from John MacArthur who is a Pastor and Lecturer entitled, “Living Below the Level of Mediocrity.” Indicating and discussing in great detail how and why people (Christians in particular) refuse to rise to the challenge of simply being better than they are and the bigger question as why they don’t do better than the average person.

I submit that all us, especially bodybuilders with whom I interact, need to forget being a best friend. We have turn our motivation into a personal whip that causes us to leap over the crowd entrenched in the daily grind. We should set our goals so high that touching down only occurs when there is “goal accomplishment” on the horizon or in the bank. This small adjustment puts us head and shoulders above the average person who settles only for what they have.

Train like there is no more tomorrow. My ex-coach, Justin Dees used to say we should always be about the business of “perfecting our craft.” I don’t care if you are a mathematician, a coach, a bodybuilder, a wrestler, a pastor, a theologian, a policeman or anything else. If you are satisfied with who you are and what you have become then your goals are too small.

Bottom Line: Losing is never and option. Being average is another form of death. Being better is the only goal worth striving for. Let being less than you are scare you. This is one time it’s ok to be afraid.

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I’m betting that nearly every body builder or anybody who set out todo something greater than themselves has faced these two monsters….1.) Motivation and 2.) Discipline. All of us has been living our lives like normal human beings and suddenly like a “THUNDERBOLT” an image or an inspirational thought hits us. This “THUNDERBOLT” has the term “life changing” written all over it. The idea that we should make a change and go in a brand new direction is both frightening and exhilarating at the same time. Somehow, we know that this possibility needs to be addressed. It haunts us day and night. For us bodybuilders the decision to start down this path is loaded with tons of reasons NOT to do it. It is here that we need to get alone. Decide you are going to do it. Then make that plan and get going. Getting started is a minefield for all of us who have made the commitment to head for the stage. Let me submit, at this point that getting started is the first valiant step. It takes tons of guts to begin something that is new and different. We set ourselves up for gratuitous derision for those who are closest to us. They see us as the guy or girl that they grew up with and they refuse to see us in any other light. We, on the other hand have been hit by the “THUNDERBOLT” and we have to respond and get going or reject it.

I just got this quote from a good friend of mine that is perfect for what we are talking about: “Cowards Never Started, the weak died along the way, and then there was US!”–Phil Knight, Shoe Dog.

Please note that “STARTING” takes real bravery that nobody can see. We have to put on our game face with every step we take to get onto the playing field. the “THUNDERBOLT” (epiphany) is where we start. It serves as the ‘MOTIVATION” to get us to “fix bayonets”and charge. To get after it. Amazing how a little hint from our world or our psyche or the Spirit can get us to do things we never dreamed of.

After we have responded to the ‘MOTIVATION” to “START” and we are on our way to the gym we have to develop a personal trait that will carry us to victory. That thing that will carry us is “DISCIPLINE.” We who train know exactly what we are talking about. We don’t miss workouts, we eat strangely, we take supplements, we do cardio, we practice posing, all with an eye toward the stage. Nothing gets in our way.

When I was 19 and in the Navy we got a patient onto our service at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He was a Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer and he had a nickname and they called him Gunner Wall, he earned this nickname in WWII when he was a door gunner on a bomber. During a single attack on the bomber by Japanese Zeros (fighters) Gunner shot down 11 planes from his position in the door of the bomber. His colleagues called each shoot down a “smoker.” Thus, was born Gunner Wall.

Gunner got me aside one day in a stairwell. I had told him that my older brother was a lifer in the Marine Corps. He stared at me for a moment as I told him about my brother whom I have great respect for. Then, he says with wide eyed enthusiasm, “Your brother should get out of bed every morning looking forward to doing his job. While standing in front of the mirror shaving he should get so excited about getting out there to do the job he’s been given with so much energy that he nearly cuts his own throat. After he gets his uniform on and squared away he should check himself in the mirror and again get so cranked up that he kicks the door open and leaves his quarters on fire to do his job.” I’ve never forgotten that blast of over the top “MOTIVATION.” Wow! This is how we should start.

The next level is to find that thing that keeps us going after we have burned through “MOTIVATION” is “DISCIPLINE!” We have got to recreate the path to the stage or whatever we choose to do in life on a daily basis. “MOTIVATION” get us started…..“DISCIPLINE” keep us going. It will carry us when we have the least amount of “MOTIVATION” to continue. Sometimes training will feel like we are just sleep walking but continuing is the order of the day.

Bottom Line for all of us is that we dare not be “Cowards and not Start at all when we know we should. We have to stay strong and avoid weakness during the journey and die. We have to remember that when the COWARDS and the WEAKLINGS fail to go on there will only be us left to win.

“MOTIVATION” gets us started. “DISCIPLINE” keeps us going — to move on to the stage and the win. In other situations these two principles will pay off by accomplishing the degree, getting the job, marrying that special guy or girl. Get Started and never stop!