Achievers are Made from Persistence
Consider all that you would like to achieve in your life. Are you exercising a life of devoted persistence to achieve whatever it is that you would like to achieve?
I found myself asking myself that question in the last month.
I have my job, I am a co-lead of an affinity group, I workout at least five times of the week, I make sure to get a new blog post out each Thursday, and I am in the editing phase of writing my first book. Still, I wonder: am I exercising devoted persistence?
Here is why I ponder that question. Do you ponder the same things?:
Do I think outside the box?
Do I limit myself too much?
Do I ask for help?
Do I make the best out of every opportunity?
Do I create opportunities?
Do I let negativity discourage me?
Do I impact others?
During this past month I have been reading Michael Strahan‘s book Wake Up Happy, I have had lunch with David Banks, and I have seen an inspiring video about Carla Harris. Each of their stories has persistence woven in it, and each of them had me pondering the questions above.
I figure, if we live our lives with the type of persistence that David, Michael, and Carla have exhibited in their lives, we can say without a doubt that we are indeed living a life of devoted persistence.
In this post I start with Michael Strahan. Next week I will feature David Banks, then in the following week I will close out with Carla Harris.
Apply this type of persistence and I am certain we all will achieve great things.
Michael Strahan: Pure Desire
Currently Michael Strahan can be seen on his show, LIVE with Kelly and Michael as well as appearances on Good Morning America. During the NFL season he is also on Fox Sports.
He also has a clothing line at JC Penny called Collections by Michael Strahan.
What's in a Name
It was while lounging on the couch escaping torrential rain in a condo in St. Thomas that I first heard about Bob. I was watching Michael be inducted into the 2014 Football Hall of Fame class. During his speech Michael told the story of why his older brothers called him Bob.
I had forgotten about that story until I started reading his book, Wake Up Happy.
Michael says he and a friend of one of his brother's were running to catch up with Michael's older brothers when they got to a 12 foot fence.
The friend said to Michael, “You know why they call you Bob, right?” Michael thought it was just his brothers being his brothers. The friend let him in on what Michael never knew.
Bob stood for B.O.B, which stood for, Booty on Back.
In that moment Michael repeated to himself several times, “Am I fat?”
Michael said his mother kindly said that he was not fat, but chunky.
His father on the other hand told it like it was – “Yes, son. You could lose some weight.”
Not knowing what to do, Michael asked his father for help. His father recommended that he eat less and exercise more.
Bye Bob
That is exactly what Michael did.
It pained him to do it, but instead of having second and third helpings of his mother's good cooking, he limited himself to one serving. He noted he did the same with dessert.
He purchased Jane Fonda VHS tapes (I laughed out loud when I read that).
In the book Michael said, “I was literally trying to work my butt off.” To accomplish that, for any exercise that was related to his backside, Michael stopped the tape and did two to three times more than what Jane had instructed.
Michael lost the weight.
His brothers stopped calling him Bob.
Michael, unlike many others who lose weight, did not go back to old habits. He moved to another step.
He saved enough to purchase Herschel Walker's Basic Training. Three days a week he did Jane Fonda after school. During the commercials of his favorite shows he added moves from his Herschel Walker book.
Because of his son's persistence, Michael's father did research on how to train a teenage boy. From that, Michael's father created weight training routines for Michael and on the weekends they ran together.
To this day Michael remains focused on his health and fitness.
Lessons from Michael Strahan
Don't let what others think of you define you. Let it motivate you.
Be devoted.
Ask for help.
Seek guidance from unexpected sources.
Exercising Persistence Compounds Results
As you can see, persistence served Michael Strahan well. The story of being called Bob is only one story of Michael's persistence.
With all that Michael has achieved to date, it shows how when we apply and exercise persistence we constantly and consistently achieve what we desire to achieve.
Next week we will learn from David Banks, the President and CEO of Eagle Academy Foundation.
Start the Discussion: What from Michael Strahan's story will you apply to your life? Share in the post comments, on Facebook, and Twitter.