"What It
Takes to Be a Champion?"
By Tom Venuto
Every so often you meet a bodybuilder who is
very different. They radiate a mysterious strength, power, and
charisma that is seldom seen. You may not be able to put your
finger on exactly what it is that is that makes this person stand
out, but something special is definitely there; they are a champion.
Skeptics would say that it is drugs that makes
these athletes better than the rest, but if you had the opportunity
to study a group of these exceptional athletes, you would find
that every single one of them has certain outstanding characteristics
in common that the losers do not. They all take specific actions
every day. They all have similar thought patterns and belief systems.
They all talk alike. They all have specific personality traits.
They all have certain habits. It is these traits that set them
apart from the failures.
What are these qualities that make these people
so exceptional? And why do so few have them while most do not?
This list of 12 traits will describe what qualities separate the
winners from the losers. If you cultivate these traits in yourself,
you too can become a champion and you will grow with an aura of
strength and power that will set you on the road to bodybuilding
success.
The 12 Traits of Champions:
(1) 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.
(2) 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.
(3) 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."
(4) Champions are 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,
champion’s have written out specific, measurable goals with
a deadline.
(5) Champions have a burning desire to
succeed.
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.
(6) 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.
(7) 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.
(8) 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.
(9) 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.
(10) 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!
(11) 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.
(12) 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.
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