Become A Champion - A Day At A Time

By Greg Arnold

To become a champion you must listen and learn as much as you can about your craft.  You must also be committed to following your own desires and hopes and dreams wherever they may take you. You must be willing to awaken the champion that lives within all of us and follow that champion through thick and thin, through all-time highs and all-time lows, through triumph and tragedy all the way to the ultimate victory you are seeking. You must, through self-discipline, take control of your self-image, your time, your weakness' and your life. Human nature dictates that all of us are looking for strong leaders, people who know where they're going and are committed to getting there. To get to the top you must first become that strong, committed leader to yourself.

You might be asking yourself, 'Am I strong enough? Can I do it?' The answer is: You can. You can! The thing to remember is, everyone faces problems and challenges and stumbling blocks that adversely effect his life. From time to time, we all experience heartaches, disappointments, failures and pain. We all live with not being as strong as we would like to be. No one has ever achieved greatness without experiencing strong, almost overwhelming, self-doubt. I often say to myself, what right do I have to lead these people, why should they listen to me? Why do they follow me? What is so important about my goals and dreams?

Champions aren't strong all the time, either. In the beginning, they are only strong minutes at a time, later maybe hours at a time and eventually, through self-discipline, days or weeks at a time. I've never seen anyone go more than a few weeks at a time before plunging into the depths of despair, questioning everything they are doing and everything they are about.  The difference between champions and average people is when champions are down and hurting, they, through self-discipline and character, replace their image of a defeated person with the image of a positive, vital, strong crusader and go out and do it again, even though they are hurting inside.

Is it possible for you to act like a champion? Again, the answer is: You can! Let's take a time out because it is important that you take a minute to visualize yourself as a champion, as a leader, as an empire builder! Go ahead, do it now. Close your eyes and visualize how a champion might be sitting in that chair, how a champion might be planning his day, how a champion might be thinking right now. Take on the posture and expression of that champion. See yourself as a strong leader with great integrity, a person people look up to and respect.  Doesn't if feel great? Now remember and keep that posture and expression and thought process and feeling as long as you can. And when you feel self-doubt and disappointment, summon up all your courage and strength and call up that champion that lives inside you. Because that's what champions do and that's exactly what you must do from now on.

You are a champion. You always have been deep down inside. You do deserve the best that life can offer. You do deserve to win. Now it's time to be that champion for just minutes at a time, then hours at a time, then days at a time, and when you're stronger, weeks at a time. You're going to get stronger and you're going to get better each and every minute. When you have come to the point where you have acquired the skills and the drive to be great and, at the same time, the self-confidence to be humble, you will be ready to become a great leader.