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Post by masterschamp on Nov 19, 2009 19:07:14 GMT -5
This is a message I had posted somewhere else to a friend on another board who was dissappointed in a recent contest placing.I think the message is one worth repeating for the benefit of anyone who steps on stage:
Compete for yourself, compete to get better .....this whole thing is all about the journey. We put ourselves through so much more than most people can ever imagine, and for what?..........a trophy?....... A title?
Some might answer, yes........I think they are missing the bigger picture. This is really about comittment, hard work, sacrifice, and..... physically, AND mentally, challenging yourself to go beyond what you have done before. It is about personal growth forged in the flame of brutally hard work, the result being an aprreciation of what you can achieve when you give everything you have. This DOES NOT only lend itself to what we do with our bodies...these are lessons that we can apply in all areas of life.....
When I enter a show all I want is to be BETTER than I have been before....that's all that REALLY matters. I have over a dozen different titles and somewhere around ( I REALLY don't know) 30+ trophies.........and besides some involved in the sport, ( not a significant number!) no one outside of my family even knows!!LOL!!! And....that is just fine with me! .... Alot of peple in this sport take themselves WAY too seriously! The accolades of being a good man, a good father, FAR outweigh any a bodybuilder might get as a result of a contest placing, because they TRULY matter over the course of a lifetime, and can be measured in the success of those whose lives you have touched.
You'll NEVER hear me complain about a placing, in fact just the opposite......I just take it that I have to be better next time, even when others say I got shafted. It doesn't really carry alot of weight with me what the judges say............There are FAR more important things in life.
I am physically able to do this and that is a blessing in itself....remember I have a son who can't walk...how could I ever complain about a placing in a bodybuilding show when he has NEVER complained once in his life about not being able to walk.
You earned your victory by being in your best ever shape. Let the competition WITHIN yourself set your course and be that by which you measure yourself.
Keith
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Post by fit on Nov 19, 2009 20:52:12 GMT -5
Hell- I'm not a competitor and that motivates me!
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Post by mrbeefy on Nov 19, 2009 21:07:42 GMT -5
Keith...Thank You. Thank You for sharing that with us, and with me. For reminding me of what I so often forget. I will print this out, and put copies in my workout book, above my treadmill, and wherever I may need to, to remind me. I would like to share a few thoughts too, not as accolades for something I did, because only my wife and the people it effected are the only ones who might know. We once anonamously paid for a young families breakfast, because they looked like they needed a break that day. I know what I need to eat everyday. I was happy that they were sharing a meal as a family. I had a man, I had never met, thank me, because I prayed with him and his wife. His wife died the next day...and he sent me a letter thanking me for being his Simon of Cyrene, and helping him carry his cross that day. I have never felt like I could lift something that heavy, from someone else shoulders. I had a young (14) girl I taught a religion class too, thank me for teaching her, because she said the things I taught her (as she touched her heart*) touched her here*, and made her a better person. You never know the touch of your words, and the strength they carry. And lastly, I stopped a mounted police officer from givng a ticket to an illegally parked car. I saw the owner run into the electric company's office with her little boy, just as they were closing, probably to pay her bill so they wouldn't shut off her power. I told the officer, that I saw her and her little boy, and by the looks of her car..she probably couldn't afford that ticket. I asked him if he ever heard the saying, "What would Jesus do?" ...and I walked away. As the woman and the boy came out of the electric company...the officer tore up the ticket, and gave the boy a ride on his horse. We train to make ourselves better...in body...and in mind. Sometimes...we need a spotter. In life....perhaps we should "spot" for others too. Thanks Keith.... I think we need to make a thread for motivational wisdom. For our training, and for our lives. Perhaps these stories and thoughts would be a good start. Lift well my friends . . .,you know who has got your back  |
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Post by GerryT on Nov 20, 2009 12:28:43 GMT -5
Excellent posts, Keith and Frank. So true, Keith. And this is what I try to instill in anyone I coach.
If you bring your personal best to the the stage then that is the victory.
Example, one guy I know did a show a few years ago, and was not in his best shape. He won the class really by default, because the others all had weaknesses too.
About 10 months later, he pulled it all together and did another show. It was an incredible class of 10 guys, all in shape. He came in 4th. But I was prouder of him for that trophy, and it eventually came to mean more to him than the 1st place trophy.
You are the competition. It comes from within. And if you keep improving, that is the victory and the motivation.
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Post by RUBICON19 on Nov 20, 2009 14:55:15 GMT -5
Good stuf Keith. Thanks
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Post by intenceman on Nov 21, 2009 18:54:21 GMT -5
Keith, wow! And thank you! What I love about you guys here is not ghow huge or ripped you are, but your attittude, you devotion, and your perspective. You're all good men, to a T, and you all keep a balance in your lives that I aspire to. This post only reinforces and proves my point. I love sharing this journey with you, and I'm HONORED to share it with you, and have you as fellow travelors. There's a greatness here that I suspect, exceeds even Pro IFBB competitors. They are bigger, more ripped than many if not all of us, but they don't have bigger hearts- and THAT, my dear friends, is what matters in the end.
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Post by intenceman on Nov 21, 2009 19:01:12 GMT -5
Mr Beefy, you just proved my point. Thank you for that! That was more impressive than powelifting record, you can set (and I'm a strength nut, so those just knock me out.)
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Post by intenceman on Nov 21, 2009 19:04:25 GMT -5
One more thought, then I'll stop (I promise). Although Tim has been kind of awol from here the past months, what he started, has become something very special. Something not often seen online. I think that its some seriously good karma, and I hope he reaps the rewards tenfold in his own life.
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Post by mrky03 on Nov 23, 2009 18:59:21 GMT -5
One more thought, then I'll stop (I promise). Although Tim has been kind of awol from here the past months, what he started, has become something very special. Something not often seen online. I think that its some seriously good karma, and I hope he reaps the rewards tenfold in his own life. Well said James! |
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Post by mrky03 on Nov 23, 2009 19:04:21 GMT -5
Words of wisdom Keith, worth more than any trophy we could ever hope to win. You are so right, training for competition is a journey, a labor of love. If it isn't a person really shouldn't do it because a single day of competition after months of training and dieting is very short lived.
Totally agree a person should seek balance in his or her life. We take things for granted and life is too short. We are truly blessed to have our health and the strength to continue what we do.
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Post by mrky03 on Nov 23, 2009 19:06:20 GMT -5
Frank, so true! We don't know the extent of our influence on other people's lives. Very touching post.
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Post by mrbeefy on Nov 23, 2009 20:31:50 GMT -5
Thanks Guys...I don't see the things I do as anything special.
What was special to me, was some of the things I heard at my VERY first bodybuilding contest. I had NEVER considered myself a "bodybuilder". I just kinda went to the gym and worked out...until I did my first contest..and when I walked off the stage with a 3rd place trophy...my 3 year old grandson walked up to me and said very proudly... "MY PAPA IS A BODYBUILDER!". That was the first time I thought, "Well... I guess I am a bodybuilder now!"
Gunther Shlierkampf(sp?) was the guest poser. He watched my night routine to music, which had the whole place rocking. As I walked off stage, He was standing there, and gave me a "high-five" and said, (In German Accent) "Man, Dat was REALLY Cool!"
It's all the small things we do. It's the differences we make in peoples lives. It's not the metal trophy, but the trophy we wear in our hearts, through forging our body, mind and souls by what we do.
AND...you get to be known by "who you hang with". I have always been proud to be a member here. I've met a few of you, and hope to meet even more. I have talked with some of you on the phone, and have watched some of you compete. I've offered advice, and so many of you have helped me, even when your words were hard on my ears and ego!
Keith, thank you again...just for being you.
AND thank all of you for allowing me to be part of this community....YOU all make this place the best on the web!
I do cherish my friendship with all of you, more than you know!
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Post by SCYankeeJay on Nov 24, 2009 11:23:37 GMT -5
Great thread masterschamp! Very motivating
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