I pulled this story from Lewis Howes’ book, The School of Greatness. It is a great book that I highly recommend!
For most of us, it’s difficult to imagine becoming a championship wrestler, a football player, a weight lifter, a mixed martial arts fighter, or a mountain climber. There are so many obstacles that stand in our way of each of those goals: money, opportunity, coaching, talent and ability, confidence. Any one of them could derail these impressive dreams at any time.
Now imagine becoming all those things before you cut the cake on your 30th birthday. Kyle Maynard did and is one of the most impressive teachers I have ever met. When he was a young man, those physical feats I just listed were only a few of the goals on his bucket list—a bucket that would never go empty and would one day include inspiring others to do great things. Kyle wanted to achieve his goals as badly as any person who aspired to greatness has wanted something. And by the middle of 2012, at the age of 26, he’d accomplished all of them. He played football in middle school. He was a champion wrestler in high school and won 36 varsity wrestling matches during his senior year. He fought a full three-round mixed martial arts fight. He climbed the nearly 20,000-foot Mount Kilimanjaro.
On their own, these might not sound like particularly lofty goals. I’ve met many other people who achieved these same dreams at a much higher level, yet none of them did it the way Kyle did. When they did it, ESPN didn’t award them with two ESPYs for their accomplishments, the way the network did in Kyle’s case. Why? Kyle’s accomplishments stand head and shoulders above those of most other men his age—most other men, period—because Kyle himself stands only 3 feet 8 inches tall. He is a congenital amputee. A birth defect related to something called amniotic band syndrome deprived him of the fully formed arms and legs that most of us take for granted. “Basically, my arms end right where your elbows would be. For each arm, they’re both about the same length, and my legs end slightly above where the knee is, and I have two feet.
Growing up, Kyle did not just face the typical external obstacles all of us face at one time or another; he dealt with a whole unique set of struggles that were a part of his life from the day he was born. Yet he accomplished each of the things he had envisioned for himself.
Kyle went on to say when he was younger he used to cry himself to sleep some nights because he would just wish that he would wake up and have arms and legs. No matter how hard he focused on that it would never ever happen. We cannot focus on what we have no control over, it only leads to unhappiness.
One thing I personally have learned is your perspective is your choice. We can latch on to what people say we can or cannot do or we can understand that the road to greatness is rough. Use what people say to your advantage and prove them wrong.
Another great passage I have taken away from the School of Greatness is: You can go as slow as you need to go, but you cannot stop. You can never give up or drop out of giving your best in your life.
That is powerful.
Also here is an exercise Lewis recommends doing:
Step 1: Be Aware of the Adversity
Step2: Write It Down or Share It
Step 3: Acknowledge Yourself
Step 4: Express Your Gratitude
Step 5: Reconnect to Your Vision and Take Action
We have to continue to fight our own negative thoughts when it comes to reaching our goals and dreams in life. Also we have to remember to surround our self with people who support us. That’s where a team like Transformation Fitness and Wellness’ comes in. 90% of the reason people join programs like ours is because of our accountability.
We all have had our own bouts with adversity and some of us are still going through them each day. But I do encourage you to reach out for help and remember each day you need to be better not perfect!
Let us know if we can help by reaching out for a Free Consultation. Whatever adversity you are feeling we can help!
Today’s blog has been heavy on my mind. Last week was personally and professional pretty tough. I can’t help but share and I am hoping it helps keep you pushing forward especially when you feel like you can’t.
