Category: General

A bout 27 years ago I lost all that I had built and accomplished. I’ll spare you the saga. I had no place to go and others pursued my demise with glee. Somewhere along the way I stopped believing that what others thought of me was the measure of how I saw myself. The moment I decided that I didn’t want this dependence on other people’s opinions I was instantly free. Wow! I was the one who was to steer this damaged ship into a harbor to heal and take on new energy. During this quiet bit of planning came the assurance from God that I myself was sufficient for any of my needs and desires and aspirations. I, to the degree I could had to put all my losses in my rear view mirror and I started all over again.

This change of focus was then and continues today as the major motivator of my life. I have a very successful (purely my opinion) bodybuilding life, a business on the verge of great things, a stupendous wife who loves me and JUST LIKES ME. It’s not just a change of mind it is a purposeful and thoughtful determination that I am much more than what others know or believe that I am. Let me illustrate: In bodybuilding, we are constantly distracted by our family, our colleagues, our kids, our grandkids and, of course those who want you to fail. When we know our enemies are out there in the world and our champion lives inside of us, we are again able to believe in ourselves. Oh! Happy Day! You see!! nothing in this world is more important than what we believe about ourselves.

Let’s not belabor this! You can do what you believe you can do and all others can go to hell. Too long I’ve played with being a champion. Now it’s time to emerge as the “Great and Powerful Oz.” Next show for me will have to be in 2026. I’ll do more than one but I plan to win them all. You should speak to your champion and make plans to “win it all” this year.

Bottom Line: Believing in you is paramount. Listening to others is insane!

go to http://www.sixpackandsenior.com for all photos and posts

Sometimes we want to just stop what we are doing and go back. Turn back the clock. Unring the bell. But, that’s not the way life works and it’s not what is required to win in bodybuilding. Nearly every day my money, motivation, time, or plans seem to disappear. I am immediately faced with quitting and concocting a great bullshit story for consumption by myself and then by all those who are watching me, or I can plant my left foot and push off in the direction of my goal/dream. The old saying: “You can make excuses or you can win—but you can’t have both!” This is a harsh reality that many of us experience and the decision to push forward (despite any new obstacles) is way too hard.

In order to hit the stage at just the right time with all motivation and push we cannot be stopped to distracted by a problem that is seemingly insurmountable. This moment of hesitation can define us for life if we let it. This is where we define ourselves for life by choosing to “move forward.” This is the first step in becoming that which you are called to be. There is no satisfying second place finish. The only thing standing between you and being bhe best is your willingness to be in pain, embarrassed, out of gas, fear and a lack of self belief. “JUST KEEP MOVING FOWARD!” even when it seems ridiculous to keep going.

I’m looking forward to doing two shows this year and I cannot flinch. I’ve go to: “JUST KEEP MOVING FORWARD.” Nobody is going to do it for me. I want to destroy the youngsters at all levels. I have to arrive in the best shape of my life.

Bottom Line: ‘BE THAT PERSON WHO SEES NO OTHER ROUTE TO VICTORY EXCEPT STRAIGHT AHEAD AND “JUST KEEPS PUSHING FORWARD!” Lessers people quit—but not you or me…..Bring on the challenge! I am winning and defining my character.

go to http://www.sixpackandsenior.com for all my photos and posts

All of us has taken on a task or established a goal that is seemingly too big. But, even when the objective seems to disappear and discouragement is the order of the day we press on toward our goal undeterred. All of us have had those “defining moments” when we have to face ourselves and either put up or shut up. We go into cloistered psychological room that we shut the door ahd seal it behind us. This is a “hill to die on!” We set our course, we bragged about what we were going to do to all of our significant friends and colleagues. We bough the T-Shirt that had the logo on the front, “Winning is the only option!” Now, for some very personal reason we want to be released from our own promise to ourselves.—-ouch! But, how do we do it and not lose face? Let me give you an unsolicited, heartfelt, bit of advice from the annals of. personal experience…..for what it’s worth. I don’t give a damn about your excuses or the changing circumstances you are now enmeshed in. My advice is this, “Get your ass moving and do it.” The net effect of backing down from your personal commitment to excellence will have repercussions that will not only affect you, but it will damage all your friend’s respect for you and this will be part of a legacy that you do not want to live. The last part of my advice to all of us is, “Winning is a choice (and I don’t care what the job/game is) and my hardest lesson in life is that you can have, “Excuses or you can win!” But, you cannot have both.

I gave up on a very successful athletic career because I told myself that I had no support, I had no money, my heart was not in it—-The list of bullshit I fed myself took me to my predictable end. I became less than I could have been. So, I implore all of us to “STAY THE COURSE! BE PATIENT AND ENJOY YOUR JOURNEY!” After all, this journey is yours and nobody and make this journey except you. Only you can win because you choose to win…..

Bottom Line: “You started this……so finish it in style!

go to http://www.sixpackandsenior.com for all my posts and photos.

“TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE”–All of us have heard this refrain over our lifetimes. It’s so pithy and obvious that it is Jaw Dropping! But, let’s take this self evident quote and pull it apart a bit. First, we have to come to grips with our own mortality. Every person has an expiration date or a shelf life. The end of all of us in this world is not only predicted, it is guaranteed. Nobody gets out of this life alive. Harsh truth but is is unavoidable. It’s for this reason that we try to live each day as it is our last. As the title tot his article says, “YOU’LL NEVER GET THIS DAY BACK.”

So, let’s focus on us bodybuilders, professionals, parents, clergy, and just basic good people. Each day when we get up we are all given the same number of seconds, minutes, and hours today. We can choose to languish in bed or around the house wondering how to spend these precious moments OR!!! You can get out of bed and start to look for the things to do that lift us, motivate us, defines us and drives us to our next level of existence. You have to have a plan. An old saying that I picked up about 40 years ago says, “HE WHO AIMS FOR NOTHING—HITS IT EVERY TIME!”

Today has to be our best. We will never get a “DO OVER”. In bodybuilding we have to use the gift of time to be focused, consistent, advancing, and moving toward our next goal. If we miss workouts or defr our bet efforts then we will surrender tomorrow to nothingness by sheer neglect. The greatest lesson for us bodybuilders with this universal truth is that we cannot win if we give the victiory away by neglect.

My last contest I slacked off toward the day of the show. I got my ass kicked. A totally stupid self-inflicted wound….Never again.

So the reality I am espousing here is that we have no choice. We either seize each day with focus and purpose or suffer the humiliation of being unprepared. Life is like that in every endeavor.

Bottom Line: Spend what you have wisely (time) or regreat the idiocy of los due to self neglect and laziness.

This is your time…..Never back down. The night cometh……win now and be ready!

This is where we all begin. Now take a look around for anything that you can bring to the fight. Use what you have….Never look back! I often get questions about how to get into the game of bodybuilding. Too often there is a general lack of logic that is behind the question. The question is really is aimed at “WHY” do I want to do this thing called bodybuilding. In my world, this is the most important question a beginner will ask. Unless this question is satisfied and a clear answer is derived and fixed in the mind of the neophyte there will be no need to proceed. I encourage seekers of the wisdom of bodybuilding to get alone and think about “WHY” he should start and subject himself to these rigors. This first step is the all important step. It cannot be ignored, or stepped around or taken lightly. This is your moment of truth and only you can decide….Choose wisely BODYBUILDINGSON!! I’ve heard that “Today is the first day of the rest of your life!” Very pithy and self apparent but in many ways it is absolutely true when you decide you are going to enter the bodybuilding world. The most important thing to remember it is here and NOW where you start. There’s no place to go. There’s no special dispensation of angels that will move you forward. This room. This family. This gym. This garage is where it all begins. Today! I will start reaching for the person I imagine in my most private times. Grow where you are planted. Now get started right here and now. Take a look around! Do you see a “magic carpet?” I didn’t think so. But, you do have a few things lying around to use. First, you have you. Nobody can ever take this truth away from you. You can be pushed. You can be disciplined. Nobody use you better than you. Next look at the basic tools required. Some of them are right in front of you but you have never seen them. Chairs, benches, bicycles, calisthenics, motivational videos and a host of things you overlooked before. Now, arrange them in a logical sequence of uses designing everything to make you better. Be free with your thinking. Get creative in youre approach to betterment. There is always something that will propel you forward, higher, and faster….Don’t overlook the obvious by seeking or wanting a short cut. The final stage is: “Doing what you CAN do!” We all have jobs. Many of us have families that require tons of our time. Sometimes some of us are actually physically ill or very much out of shape. Some of suffer from acute discouragement from close friends, relatives, and knuckle heads. This is what you can do. Never talk about what you are attempting to accomplish. The weak people will mock you mercilessly. They will do all they can to get you to quit. Ignore them. Pick a time to work out that attracts the least amount of attention. Out of sight preferably. Never say to yourself that this is too hard. Nothing in life worth having is easy. But! I can assure you that this journey will be “worth it!” Find a gym. If you can afford a coach—get one! All items to help you are on the table….so them all. Nobody is looking for perfection but we are looking for us progress. In summary: 1.) Start where you are. 2.) Use what you have. 3.) Do what you can. I would also throw in the admonition: “NEVER GIVE UP!” Why start if you are going to quit just because it’s hard?

SPARTAN Series #273: “START WHERE YOU ARE, USE WHAT YOU HAVE, DO WHAT YOU CAN!”

SPARTAN Series #273: “START WHERE YOU ARE, USE WHAT YOU HAVE, DO WHAT YOU CAN!”

go to http://www.sixpackandsenior.com for entire article and all my photos, and posts

I often get questions about how to get into the game of bodybuilding. Too often there is a general lack of logic that is behind the question. The question is really is aimed at “WHY” do I want to do this thing called bodybuilding. In my world, this is the most important question a beginner will ask. Unless this question is satisfied and a clear answer is derived and fixed in the mind of the neophyte there will be no need to proceed. I encourage seekers of the wisdom of bodybuilding to get alone and think about “WHY” he should start and subject himself to these rigors. This first step is the all important step. It cannot be ignored, or stepped around or taken lightly. This is your moment of truth and only you can decide….Choose wisely BODYBUILDINGSON!!

I’ve heard that “Today is the first day of the rest of your life!” Very pithy and self apparent but in many ways it is absolutely true when you decide you are going to enter the bodybuilding world. The most important thing to remember it is here and NOW where you start. There’s no place to go. There’s no special dispensation of angels that will move you forward. This room. This family. This gym. This garage is where it all begins. Today! I will start reaching for the person I imagine in my most private times. Grow where you are planted. Now get started right here and now.

Take a look around! Do you see a “magic carpet?” I didn’t think so. But, you do have a few things lying around to use. First, you have you. Nobody can ever take this truth away from you. You can be pushed. You can be disciplined. Nobody use you better than you. Next look at the basic tools required. Some of them are right in front of you but you have never seen them. Chairs, benches, bicycles, calisthenics, motivational videos and a host of things you overlooked before. Now, arrange them in a logical sequence of uses designing everything to make you better. Be free with your thinking. Get creative in youre approach to betterment. There is always something that will propel you forward, higher, and faster….Don’t overlook the obvious by seeking or wanting a short cut.

The final stage is: “Doing what you CAN do!” We all have jobs. Many of us have families that require tons of our time. Sometimes some of us are actually physically ill or very much out of shape. Some of suffer from acute discouragement from close friends, relatives, and knuckle heads.

This is what you can do. Never talk about what you are attempting to accomplish. The weak people will mock you mercilessly. They will do all they can to get you to quit. Ignore them. Pick a time to work out that attracts the least amount of attention. Out of sight preferably. Never say to yourself that this is too hard. Nothing in life worth having is easy. But! I can assure you that this journey will be “worth it!”

Find a gym. If you can afford a coach—get one! All items to help you are on the table….so them all. Nobody is looking for perfection but we are looking for us progress.

In summary: 1.) Start where you are. 2.) Use what you have. 3.) Do what you can. I would also throw in the admonition: “NEVER GIVE UP!” Why start if you are going to quit just because it’s hard?

SPARTAN SERIES #272: “HUSTLE IN SILENCE AND LET YOUR SUCCESS MAKE THE NOISE!”

go to http://www.sixpackandsenior.com to see all photos and posts

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” I Cor. 13:1. This is where we start. To be real and truly authentic we have to be that very thing we profess to be……

I’m of the opinion that too often we spend tons of time trying to tell others that we are great rather than allowing them discover that we are much more than what meets the eye. When you impose yourself on others with a sense of how great we are, you have lost your audience…..We become proverbially the “sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” As a friend told me in my early Christian days, “you are so loud I cant see you or understand you.”

A little more: Be who you are right now. Determine what you want to become. Begin moving in that direction and do it smartly but silently. Work so hard that others will ask you how you do it. Silence in the pursuit of excellence always bears superb results because the results will be real and undeniable.

Arnold Scharzzeneggar one wrote an article he called loosely, “My struggle –Alone.” Hinting that what you see before you was forged by his own will and effort and ultimately –alone…They gym is an unforgiving crucible that demands our full attention as we labor alone. When we are alone we do not have the great friends and colleagues screaming in our ears to keep going, higher, harder, and faster. We retreat to a place that belongs only to us. I read someplace that Kevin Levrone who is an accomplished pianist plugs in Vivaldi or other great masters and he allows the workout to flow around him as he trains. The whole thought of his personal space driving him forward was an amazing motivator to me. I’m no Vivaldi but there are some great tracks to listen to.

Working in Silence strengthens the character and demands only that we are true to our efforts and our goals…Always remember, “People never judge us by our effort. They judge us by our results. So, let me admonish all of you/us to ‘SHUT UP, TRAIN HARD, EXPECT THE BEST FROM OURSELVES,—-AND THE WORLD WILL BEAT A PATH TO OUR DOOR!” Winning is everything but the silent refiners fire is that which prepares us for success.

Bottom Line: You are the love of your life and others. You are the Silent Champion that the world will judge by what we produce….in Silence, Alone, and Determination to be our manifest best.

go to http://www.sixpackandsenior.com for all articles and photos

“NOBODY IS GOING TO DO IT FOR YOU!” We all love to talk a great game because it costs us nothing to pontificate and bloviate with our chest stuck out. But in the real world there are no short cuts to success. I’ve had business associates talk about “hacks” that if discovered and applied to a problem then the effort will be truncated—and nobody is the wiser. Hacks can be useful but everybody knows that you either cheated or tried to get something for nothing. Fortunately, bodybuilding is so personal that any decreased effort will be noticed on stage. The first to know about your decreased amount work is YOU! You feel grumpy. You feel like you tried to cut a corner or two to get to the stage. but it’s not working. Secondly, All my friends are aware that I am not as sharp as in previous shows. It’s painful to know that others are clued into my personal laziness. Thirdly, Is my disappointment in the results of the show. Instead of finishing in the top 5 competitors, you have been reduced to ashes here. CONVENTIONAL WISDOM TAKE HOME—–NEVER cut corners, don’t miss workouts, and above all else, “WORK HARD”…in fact you have to work harder than anybody else if you want to win. Stop talking and get to work!

Bottom Line: You’ll never be good enough, but you can outwork them and win. Your will to win leaves them mesmerized mainly because they know nothing about the effort you expended to win…..

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This is a real “GUT CHECK” for all of us, especially me! Let’s just say that I am writing this article to me and you can just follow along and look in on the things I have to face in order to be better than I am today.

When there is a challenge ahead like, a show, an event, or some new clothes I want to fit into, I have to take sometime to get alone and decide that whatever is in front of me I have to decide it is worth it and get started. Let’s stick to a bodybuilding competition that is on the calendar. This date will bug me until I address what is required to be ready.

The choices at this juncture are simple but I dare not over look any of the steps. First, as I said, I must decide that this show is worth it. I have to make this show something that has all my attention and all preparation flows into the date of the show. This is where I have to decide that I want to to be better this time on stage than last time. I’ve got to reach deep inside my gut to create a “WANT TO” that lights the way. I have to believe that I can do it. A trade secret of mine is that I have to create a goal that forces me to be my best so that I never stop pushing myself. This is what makes me want to be better. I want to be better so badly I can taste the effort. I don’t naturally just “want” to be better, I have to create a requirement to be better. I want to better because my goal says I must be better. So, let’s break it down a bit more. I am weak but I want to be a winner and being a winner requires me to better. The show date forces me to give it my all. Nobody has to motivate me once the date for the show is set, I need self appointed goals to establish how bad I want to be better. my desire to better cannot occur without the goal. Crazy I know but it’s this process that defines for me how badly I want to better myself.

Each of us must first decide that we want to better ourselves then decide how badly we want it. Then, we have to set up the path forward. Pick something bigger than yourself that only you can attain. Never compare yourself to others. Just lower your head an plunge forward until your arrive at your goal attainment.

Thank you for listening in on my introspection. I know it sounds a little bizarre but then anything worth doing will require us to “think outside the box.”

Bottom Line: Decide you want to better yourself. Decide what tool or construct you must put into place to push your or attract you. Get started. Talk to nobody. This journey is yours and you share it with nobody. Arrive and see how many people notice your winning self. Unsolicited compliments are the best. Go for it and make sure you want the greatness that you set before you….and WIN!