In Our Adversities, We Can Find A Champion With-In Us

                                                                Danny Wuerffel is A Champion

Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I'll show you someone who has overcome adversity ~ Lou Holtz

 

                                                                         Lou Holtz is A Champion

Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters, man can win when things go his way, it's the man who overcomes adversity that is the true champion. Have you ever read the CHAMPION'S MANIFESTO ADVERSITY? True CHAMPIONS are made, not born. CHAMPIONS are made in adversity. Bad days, problems, heartaches, and losses are all necessary elements in molding CHAMPIONS. Character is built in the storm. It is not built in prosperity; it is built in adversity. You develop strength when you are in trouble. Learning to handle opposition rightly will make you a CHAMPION. CHAMPIONS don't let their circumstances affect their character. Bad games, bad plays, bad breaks do not change their will to prepare, their will to strive and fight for excellence every chance they get everyday all day long. Have you ever watched a sports champion in action and found yourself envying their ‘natural’ talent?

Have you ever thought that the sports star was lucky to have been born with the skills to succeed? If you have, don’t worry It’s actually a common misconception that successful people are born with some kind of natural talent that allows them to succeed in life. Winners in sport are often referred to as ’born winners’ or ‘natural’s by sports commentators, but what we perceive to be a natural talent is in fact the result of hard work and dedicated training. Natural Talent Champions are made, not born. Champion athletes might be born with great genes but think of it this way, being born to Olympic champion parents doesn’t guarantee you’ll ever win an Olympic medal. Think about the sports champs you admire. Are the soccer players born to score goals, the UFC fighters born to become champion in their weight division, the sprinters born to run, the basketball stars born to play and the pole vaulters born to vault? You see what I mean? ‘Naturals’ in sport work really hard to become naturals “Nobody’s a natural.

                                                                          Paul Coffey A Champion

                                                                                         
You work hard to get good and then work hard to get better ~ Paul Coffey 10,000 Hours by Malcolm Gladwell who is the author of Outliers: The Story of Success. He has made a study of the habits of successful people and it is his belief that anyone can become an expert in anything if they dedicate 10, 000 hours of practice to it. So, let’s do the math: If you practice doing something for 1 hour every day, that will add up to 365 hours in a year, so in just over 27 years you’ll be an expert at doing that something. Not a particularly motivational thought perhaps, but, the point Gladwell is really making is that no one is born an expert; successful people become successful because they dedicate themselves to practicing their craft. There really are no ifs or buts about it. The only ‘but’ is to talk about people who get lucky, but that’s like saying the way to become wealthy is to win the lottery. Nature or Nurture? Golf champion Tiger Woods became the youngest player to win a Masters title at the age of only 21, so does that make him a natural talent; a born winner? He began playing at the age of 2 and by the age of 8 he had won the Junior World Golf Championship, so if we apply Gladwell’s theory and say that Woods practiced golf after school each day and then played all day on the weekends, a rough estimate is that he played an average of 3 hours every day in childhood, working out at just over 9 years to accumulate 10 000 hours of dedicated practice. Woods started playing at age 2 and won his first professional tournament at age 21. That’s 19 years of dedicated practice. Born winner? How about Brazilian soccer superstar Ronaldo? At the age of only 20, he became the youngest player to win the FIFA World Player of the Year. He was 17 years old before his career in soccer began, but how many hours of dedicated practice had he put in before then?

Do What You Love and Love What You Do Okay, I’m certainly not suggesting that 10 000 hours of practice will make you a Woods or a Ronaldo, but it will make you a very skilled golfer or soccer player! Successful people do what they love and they love what they do. Sports players become successful because they love their sport. They get involved in their sport because it gives them a ’buzz’ and it’s that buzz that keeps them involved and keeps them putting in the hours of practice that leads to their success. The key to finding your own success in life is to find something that you love. You don’t have to be a ’natural’ talent to succeed in the area you love; you just need to be doing something you love to do. When you love what you do, you keep doing it, and it’s that dedication to practicing your craft that will bring you success. CHAMPIONS realize that sometimes they fail...maybe often and over and over. But they know that is what makes them strong. The "Mark" of a CHAMPION is how they respond each time they fail. The CHAMPION chooses to forget their failures and fight on again. Their motto is "knocked down seven times, get up eight!" COMPETITION the CHAMPION'S theme is "Competition Breeds Excellence"

                                                                                         Webb Simpson is A Champion

A CHAMPION lives above pressure, but thrives on it. CHAMPIONS love competition - the challenge of becoming more disciplined, more intense, and more prepared. They realize the harder the battle is, the greater the adversity - the stronger they'll become and the quicker they'll achieve their goals. CHAMPIONS relish the battle. They are driven to excel. CHAMPIONS thrill to the joy of the struggle! CHAMPIONS never desire their opponents fail or get injured. In fact, they actually want them to play well; because the better the opposition plays the greater the CHAMPION is challenged to perform! It is a double win! FOCUS A CHAMPION is single-minded in purpose. “Champions are made from something they have deep inside them a desire, a dream, a vision” ~  Muhammad Ali

                                                             "The Greatest" Muhammad Ali is A Champion

A CHAMPION lets nothing interfere with their priority becoming the best they possibly can become. A CHAMPION is not sidetracked by distractions or by things that do not help them reach their goals. CHAMPIONS never worry about things they can't control, they realize they can only control themselves and their attitude. CHAMPIONS never quit. They don't even know what the word "quit" means. They only know to keep working, to keep striving... regardless of circumstances. CHAMPIONS don't care whether there are 5 or 50,000 people at the game, or even it's a game or practice. They only know that each and every situation is a chance, a chance to improve. Scoreboards or team records do not affect CHAMPIONS. Whether the score is 50-0 or 0-50, whether they are 0-10 or 10-0, they play the same and practice the same All Out! DESIRE CHAMPIONS are interested in learning all they can, mastering skills and responsibilities, acquiring every characteristic that helps them gain the edge.  A CHAMPION is willing to pay the price whatever it takes! A CHAMPION knows that winning is a by-product of being committed to excellence – winning takes care of itself. CHAMPIONS are never satisfied with their performance, but are always content with the fact that they are continually striving to get better. CHAMPIONS realize that some days, even most days they don't "feel" like working, striving, paying the price to becoming a CHAMPION. But then they remember, or another CHAMPION reminds them, that being a CHAMPION is a choice they make over and over and over each day...and so they make that choice again CHAMPIONS never make excuses, grumble, complain, point fingers, or talk about other people. They only talk about how they can get better.

CHAMPIONS are uncomfortable with imperfection always pursuing perfection, while knowing it can never fully be reached, but loving the battle of trying to reach it. They Fight For Excellence! CHAMPIONS are committed to Excellence always only. CHAMPIONS ARE MADE, NOT BORN (1 SAMUEL 17:21-49) what makes a champion? Here are some quotes: A champion is a person who can achieve a difficult goal or overcome challenging obstacles. A champion is a person who has earned the right and respect to be called a winner through an endless effort and desire to achieve a common goal. A champion is a person who wants to be the best. They won’t give up until they beat the rest. A champion is a person with passion to achieve one who stands on principle and works hard every day to produce and accomplish. A champion is a person that has the dedication that it takes. A champion is a person who can put the whole season together. A champion is a person who improves his strengths in battlefield irrespective of whether he wins or not. A champion is a person or team who defends, supports, or defeats something. A champion is a person who works the hardest and dedicates him or herself to doing the best job possible.”

A champion is a person that gets up even when they can’t.  Hockey’s Great One, Wayne Gretzky, was asked, “What is it that separates great champions from the near great?” He replied, “My goodness, I don’t know. If I did, I’d bottle it up and sell it.” (“What do Jeff Gordon, Martina Navratilova, Bob Knight and Mariano Rivera have in common?” USA TODAY 9/22/06) Leonard Ravenhill tells of a group of tourists who were visiting a picturesque village. One person turned to an elderly man sitting nearby and asked, “Were any great men born in this village?” The old man replied, “Nope, only babies.” (Preaching, Jan-Feb 1993) People are not born champions; they are made champions. They have dreams, they work hard and they overcome failures. Goliath was the reigning champion but David was the real champion. Goliath was naturally big, tall, strong, but David cut him down to size.  What makes a person a true champion? A champion trains in his spare time; he is tenacious in the course and his trust is in the Lord.  The Ball is in Your Court 32 David said to Saul; Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him. 33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.34 and David said to Saul, Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. Saul said to David, Go, and the LORD be with you.” (1 Sam 17:32-37)

According to a question posed by the University of Chicago to 1,400 respondents over the last 30 years, most Americans think adulthood begins at age 26, not when one is old enough to vote or drive. The study said that most people do not consider a person grown up until they finish school, get a full-time job and start raising a family. The categories ranked from “least important” to “extremely important” in achieving. The difference between CHAMPIONS and everyone else is very simple. CHAMPIONS are always willing, as the title reads of my second book “Just Do The Little Things”. That's the simple difference. CHARACTER A CHAMPION is not an individual star necessarily but a team player that knows how to function with others. CHAMPIONS know they have to learn to serve - before they will ever know how to lead. Being a CHAMPION has nothing to do with being #1, or the amount of playing time a person gets. In fact, being a CHAMPION is not exclusively a characteristic of athletes - there are CHAMPIONS in all facets of life: students can become CHAMPIONS, parents also... anyone can! We're talking about character, not winning and losing CHAMPIONSHIP CHARACTER!  

CHAMPIONS will inspire their teammates to play harder, more intensely, by their example. They walk their talk. CHAMPIONS hang around other CHAMPIONS because they want to be influenced by each other's character. Nothing hinders them from their goal. CHAMPIONS know that to be a CHAMPION they must be committed to excellence in everything they do, in every situation - whether at home, at school, at work, or at play. They realize that it is impossible to be committed to excellence in one thing and not another, because being a CHAMPION is not what you do but WHO YOU ARE, IT'S CHARACTER! Being a CHAMPION has nothing to do with success and failure on the scoreboard, it has to do with choosing to have a CHAMPIONSHIP CHARACTER every moment of every day. Above all, it’s being. BECOMING A CHAMPION is a CHOICE YOU MAKE EACH DAY. What Will You Choose?

                                                                                       Tim Tebow is A Champion

What does it take to be a Champion?

Champions are positive thinkers; they believe in themselves

Undoubtedly the most important quality that all champions share is an unwavering belief that they will succeed. Champions always look for the good in every situation. No matter what obstacles they encounter, they always continue to think positive. Without confidence, faith in your abilities, and positive mental attitude, you've defeated yourself before you ever step onstage.

Champions visualize their successes.

Champions understand the importance of positive mental imagery or visualization. Champion bodybuilders visualize exactly how they want their bodies to look, they see themselves standing onstage accepting the first place trophy, and they mentally rehearse every workout in vivid detail. They do this over and over in their minds hundreds or even thousands of times before it becomes physical reality.

Champions surround themselves with positive people and avoid negative influences.

Champions keep themselves in a "positive shell" and do not associate with negative people, places, or things. Arnold Schwarzenegger put it this way: "I have nothing to do with negative relationships. I stay away from negative influences. I have no time for negative thinkers and pessimists. Such people will suck you dry until you have become as pessimistic as they are. Then you'll have not just one but two losers."

Champions are goal getters, not only goal setters

Champions realize that if they don’t know where they're going, that is exactly where they'll end up; nowhere! Champions consistently set long and short-term goals. From day to day workout goals to long term career objectives, champions have written out specific, measurable goals with a deadline.

Champions have a burning desire to win

Champions not only have goals, but they ardently desire them. Robert Collier, summed up the idea of desire beautifully in his 1926 self-help classic Secret of the Ages." He said, "Very few people know how to desire with sufficient intensity. They do not know what it is to feel and manifest that intense, eager, longing, craving, insistent, demanding, ravenous desire which is akin to the persistent, insistent, ardent, overwhelming desire of the drowning man for a breath of air, or a desert-lost man for a drink of water, or the famished man for bread and meat." Champions have burning desire. They want it and they want it badly.

Champions are disciplined and consistent

Champions live and breathe the bodybuilding lifestyle all year round. They are committed and disciplined in training and dietary practices. They know that in bodybuilding there is no off-season and success does not come overnight. Champions never miss a scheduled workout and never miss a meal. Champion bodybuilders are probably the most dedicated athletes in any sport.

Champions are persistent

Champions never, ever quit. Thomas Edison was the epitome of persistence: He conducted 10,000 experiments before finally finding a filament that would burn in the electric light bulb. Champion bodybuilders approach their vocation with the same diligence of an Edison. They know that if they persist long enough, eventually they must succeed.

Champions learn from their failures

Champions don't view losses as failures; they see them as learning experiences. When asked how it felt to fail 10,000 times, Thomas Edison replied, “I didn't fail, I learned 9,999 ways that wouldn't work." Champions know that they haven't failed until they quit; but once they quit, then they have failed. A champion finds a lesson in every apparent loss and finds ways to grow from it.

Champions have incredible powers of focus and concentration

Champions set goals and then maintain a laser-like focus on them. They have the ability to always keep the long term objective in their sights while focusing 100% on what they are doing at the moment. If you watch a champion train you will notice that they are completely oblivious to their surroundings. 100% of their focus and concentration is on what they are doing. They almost appear to have slipped into a hypnosis-like trance. This peak physiological and psychological state has often been referred to as being in "the zone" or being in "flow." Champions can access this state instantly at will. When it comes time to train they turn everything else off and zero in on what they are doing.

Champions have a deep love and boundless enthusiasm for the sport

To a loser, training and dieting is work and drudgery. To a champion, training and dieting are a love, a joy, and a passion. Champions are enthusiastic about what they do; they can’t wait to train each day. Motivational speaker Tom Hopkins once said, "Work is anything you're doing when you'd rather be doing something else." Champions are doing what they love, so to them it's not work at all, its fun!

Champions strive for constant and never ending improvement

Champions are never satisfied with the status quo; they never rest on their laurels. Champions aim for small improvements every day in every way. Champions are open-minded and are always looking for a better way to do things. Although champions are always striving for more, they also realize that success is a journey, so they enjoy each moment and savor every step along the way.

Champions are hard workers; they are willing to go the extra mile

Positive thinking, goal setting, visualization, desire, persistence, and enthusiasm are vital, but without action and hard work, these traits are all worthless. Edison said, "Success is 98% perspiration and 2% inspiration." Champions are hard workers. Champions take consistent action and they are willing to do the things that the losers are not. Champions make themselves go to the gym when they don’t feel like going. Champions stay on the bike another 15 minutes, even when they are exhausted. Champions do 5 extra reps after the losers have stopped. Champions are steadfast with their diets when the failures break down and cheat. Champions have the willingness to train through the pain barrier while the failures quit when it starts to hurt.

In short, champions go the extra mile.  These are not in any particular order, one is not more important than any other; they are all important and vital in my opinion. So here they are below, the core traits or qualities that is the key; in defining the champion mindset.

                                                                               Chipper Jones is A Champion

Determination – Firmness of purpose. It is making a decision then pushing and seeing that decision through; refusing to see any sort of stop or barrier.

Endurance/Persistence – This ties right in with determination. It is keeping going… until (you get to your goal). Approximately 80% of sales are made after the fourth or fifth attempt!

Dedication – Complete devotion to a task at hand. Your passion will help drive your dedication.

Vision – You have to see where you are headed; see the path out in front before you have walked it. Can you see what’s coming?

Goals – Simple, Champions have clearly defined goals and continue to put effort into achieving them.

Preparation – Plan your work; work your plan! More than just a plan in your mind, a clear definition of strategies and tactics to get to your goals.

Adaptability – The overall ability to move and change to respond to any circumstance. Achieve the unexpected!

Focus/Alertness – Your thoughts lead to your actions. This is the uncanny ability to create results from your thoughts; your focus turns to instant action.

Timing/Punctuality – be on time. Professional athletes, successful business people, champions – they don’t just show up, they show up early ready to perform!

Confidence – this is the gained through knowledge and the other traits on this list. It will transform you, the way you carry yourself and the way you think.

Honesty/Integrity – produced by balance in all areas of your life. It comes from having no fear; you should not have to bend your integrity to fit different situations.

So there it is, go be a champion, go have success, and go chase your dreams ~ Donnie Bolena