Everyday was my Super Bowl. EVERY. DAMN. DAY. When we got to the championship game, there was no nervousness on my part. I had already played that game many times over.
In today’s world of instant gratification, it sounds asinine to talk about the process to success. Everyone wants to show their championship banners and all of their accolades but no one wants to get authentic and talk about real shit.
Somewhere in your life, you’re playing your own daily Super Bowl. Perhaps you’re going strong towards your dreams. Perhaps you’re asking yourself, “Why am I doing this?”
Let me give you a story about my Super Bowl during my last season of football.
My last season was in 2015 when I was 37 years old. Do you see those young dudes next to me in the header photo? They’re probably ten years younger than me. They called me Pops and Old Man Fred just to be funny. I’m not going to lie, it gave me a good laugh because I knew it was all out of good fun.
You know what wasn’t fun?
Practice.
Having to eat healthy and eat right for nine consecutive months.
Having to work harder in the weight room just to keep up with the young folks.
The ice tub.
Nagging bullshit injuries that came out of nowhere because I was older.
When I say it wasn’t “fun,” I mean it wasn’t fun to HAVE to do those things because when I was young, I honestly didn’t do them.
I practiced but I had lots of talent so I relied heavily on talent.
I ate what I wanted because my young stomach was made of cast iron.
I WAS YOUNG so working hard in the weight room came natural.
I still hated the ice tub.
And I could bounce back from any injury because I was a young dude. I was indestructible.
But in order for you to become a champion, you must first be the chump. Being young and dumb taught me a lot of lessons when it came to preparing and playing the game of football.
I realized that as I got older, the fun and the learning was more in the practices and NOT the games.
I realized I could have amazing lift sessions in the gym but they didn’t mean shit if I was fueling my system with junk food.
I worked out much smarter when it came to wright training and strength and conditioning. I focused more on movement drills and exercises along with focusing on flexibility.
I focused on how to prepare to reach the peak level of my abilities and I did this daily.
Every time I stepped on a practice field, in the gym or in an ice tub, it was my Super Bowl. Because it was THAT BIG OF A DEAL to me. So when the lights came on and it was time to play the game, I was already ready to play. I was about The Go - The Show was just extra.
My team eventually got to the championship game but we lost by a touchdown late in the game. It was my finest season as an athlete. I racked up many injuries that nag me to this day. I might not have been crowned a champion on the field but in the grand scheme of life, I was a champion at the end of that game.
For me, it was all about learning a lesson in discipline, drive and determination.
It was understanding that you need to be a champion by daily actions and not by your word of mouth.
You need to be a champion by showing up and being about the process, not by working off of previous accolades. But most importantly, to become a champion, you have to work harder in the dark than you do when it’s time to shine under the lights.
The chumps love the lights and only work for the lights. The champs are about the dark and only care about the process.
You have to ask yourself: which one do I identify with? Am I all about The Show (the lights)? Or am I all about The Go (the dark - the process).
Let me help you with this one.
You can be good and create short-term success while being about The Show - the fame, the glitz, the glamour.
But if you want to become great, you need to be about The Go - the process, the grit, the grime, the ugly, the nasty. The shit that most people don’t want to do. This is where the magic happens.
So when it’s time for you to shine in your Super Bowl, it’s just another game. You’re not phased. Why?
Because everything you’ve been doing, was ALREADY your Super Bowl. Playing in another one basically will feel like deja vu.
Practice like you play and play like you know. Because when you know (you’re a champ), you do the work. And when you do the work - you become. And when you become (a champion), it’s no surprise to you, it’s a surprise to THEM.
FB