Most Motivational Threads or Posts

[texasboy21]

Why would you take what Arnold says with a grain of salt? He basically made weight lifting and bodybuilding sky rocket to popularity in a time when team sports dominated every aspect of American culture. Ive read his "Encyclepedia" and use it constantly as a reference.

I thought the same thing too, and BYW ^^^ nice sig!!

[dannyboy27]

Haha arnold, hes a great guy but i wouldnt trust his methods

[JolietKev]

I think he had a poor choice iin words when he said that he looked down on the helpless. Many people are not born iinto situations that conducive to success. He used steroids like the rest. Cheater.

[-Lucifer]

Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength. You must want to be the greatest.

As a kid I always idolized the winning athletes. It is one thing to idolize heroes. It is quite another to visualize yourself in their place. When I saw great people, I said to myself: "I can be there."

Best parts, in my opinion.

Thanks for sharing this, OP. Repped.

[Rockfella]

I sometimes wonder why his high volume training is so well looked down upon! Whats wrong in doing a 6 days split mentioned in his book?

Why would you take what Arnold says with a grain of salt? He basically made weight lifting and bodybuilding sky rocket to popularity in a time when team sports dominated every aspect of American culture. Ive read his "Encyclepedia" and use it constantly as a reference.

Every pro BB u see today took roids, during those days it was legal and Bbs were experimenting with steroids. I am sure he didnot abuse it like BBs do today for sure.

I think he had a poor choice iin words when he said that he looked down on the helpless. Many people are not born iinto situations that conducive to success. He used steroids like the rest. Cheater.

[JAY-]

"You are. Idiots. All of you. I am too. You lift, you eat, you sleep, you progress. Have a ****ing cookie. Will this lifestyle take you anywhere? Get you that big promotion? Teach you about finances and how to change a flat tire? Every week, for hours of time that could otherwise be used productively, in the gym you sit. You lift. You drink tap water. You listen to music. You do not wear proper clothing. You grunt, struggle, risk injury, sweat, bleed, and walk out a beaten man. Recreation should ease the mind, not beat the body. Between your diet, your workouts, your rest, and probably for most of us our genetics, we will fail to reach the pro's 999 times out of 1,000. And that's being generous.

But you know what? The part that sucks the most? The salt on the wound? We know this. We know that it is unlikely we will ever set foot on an IFBB stage and stand medial deltoid to medial deltoid with the pros. We are aware, as a whole, that at 45 years old, if we are to be pulled over and arrested for impersonating a police officer, we will not get the Ronnie Coleman headline. Most of us will be working, sleeping, struggling to get by. Some of us may not make it that far. Others will drop this habit within the next few years. Some will grow fat, others will waste away to scrawn. This is something that is fleeting, youth and muscularity, gone in an instant.

And we fight. We fight everything. Gravity, when 405 pounds of iron is bestowed upon our backs and the only thing keeping it from crushing our bodies is our will to squat. Others, when we are so dedicated that those 95 pound dumbells are not going anywhere until my sets of shrugs are done. Even our own bodies that we are trying to build and nurture, we fight. Not hungry? Too ****ing bad, here's 40 grams of protein, 10 grams of healthy fats, and 50 grams of complex, grainy, tasteless carbohydrates. See you again in 2 hours.

And this my friends, is why we succeed. We do not give up. We do not back down. We do not succumb to temptations and the obstacles thrown our way. Every morning, at 5 am, while others may sleep, we train. After a long shift at work, problems with the girlfriend, life gives us lemons, and we train. We will not go pro, we will not be the next GQ cover, we will not make a name for ourselves. We do this for our own peace, our own good, our own satisfaction, and that is nothing that can be taken, even in the deepest of recessions."

[x Idealist x]

I think he had a poor choice iin words when he said that he looked down on the helpless. Many people are not born iinto situations that conducive to success. He used steroids like the rest. Cheater.

I know he used steriods but have your read his book? he is one of the hardest working people in the world, to me he's a great role model because he took his dedication and Won Mr. Olymipia several times, even with steriods it still takes thousands of hours under the iron, then went on to be a successful actor and then to being govener, he really does do whatever he sets his mind to and that to me is someone to look up to. YES he used steriods but so did/does everyone else in the professional ranks(excluding the natural's)

P.S. - You can take this with a grain of salt as well because I give huge props to anyone going 100% natural ( I am too) but to me arnold is still a role model.

edit: Arnold didn't start roids till he came to the USA, damned americans and there need to be the best! haha USA USA USA!

[Rockfella]

BBs at that time were experimenting with steroids. BBs of today really do it full fledged!

I know he used steriods but have your read his book? he is one of the hardest working people in the world, to me he's a great role model because he took his dedication and Won Mr. Olymipia several times, even with steriods it still takes thousands of hours under the iron, then went on to be a successful actor and then to being govener, he really does do whatever he sets his mind to and that to me is someone to look up to. YES he used steriods but so did/does everyone else in the professional ranks(excluding the natural's)

P.S. - You can take this with a grain of salt as well because I give huge props to anyone going 100% natural ( I am too) but to me arnold is still a role model.

edit: Arnold didn't start roids till he came to the USA, damned americans and there need to be the best! haha USA USA USA!

[Emma-Leigh]

Something I picked up from a blog:


The Two Choices We Face...
by Jim Rohn

Each of us has two distinct choices to make about what we will do with our lives. The first choice we can make is to be less than we have the capacity to be. To earn less. To have less. To read less and think less. To try less and discipline ourselves less. These are the choices that lead to an empty life. These are the choices that, once made, lead to a life of constant apprehension instead of a life of wondrous anticipation.

And the second choice? To do it all! To become all that we can possibly be. To read every book that we possibly can. To earn as much as we possibly can. To give and share as much as we possibly can. To strive and produce and accomplish as much as we possibly can. All of us have the choice.

To do or not to do. To be or not to be. To be all or to be less or to be nothing at all.

Like the tree, it would be a worthy challenge for us all to stretch upward and outward to the full measure of our capabilities. Why not do all that we can, every moment that we can, the best that we can, for as long as we can?

Our ultimate life objective should be to create as much as our talent and ability and desire will permit. To settle for doing less than we could do is to fail in this worthiest of undertakings.

Results are the best measurement of human progress. Not conversation. Not explanation. Not justification. Results! And if our results are less than our potential suggests that they should be, then we must strive to become more today than we were the day before. The greatest rewards are always reserved for those who bring great value to themselves and the world around them as a result of whom and what they have become.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

[Mfusick]

Note: I pulled this off of another thread at the beginning of the year which I now cannot find.

Your life is now.

It is not what you did, or looked like, or lifted yesterday. It is not what you will do tomorrow or hope to achieve with your physique in the future. It is now. Do you ever notice that "I really couldn't give 2 wanks and a rats ass" feeling you get when some arrogant, has-been jerk says, "'oh yeah, I used to be really freakin' huge maaaan! I bench pressed 4 million pounds!" As Mr. Personality continues his self centered, biased story of what he used to be, you find yourself extremely uninterested to the point where you'd rather jack off your grandpa! Well, thats how others feel when you and I talk about what we used to do or what we are dead set to accomplish in the world of muscle and fitness. People are impressed only with what you are NOW.

Today is your opportunity to live the real life. Today is your time to get out of the swamp of the status quo. Yes, today is your time to give purpose and drive to your fitness life. Don't keep doing the "Easy" exercises. Don't just do a certain number of reps and sets- no matter if you are straining or not. Don't stop your sets when the burn and pain starts. Remember, now is your time. This is your hour. When I'm in the gym, I see people who are about as focused as a fart. They are all over the road. They'll run many different half-assed exercises together and wonder why they look no different that last year.

Fear can be a bad thing in your life, but it can also yield results.The only fear you need is the fear that you will continue living a life much smaller than your hopes and dreams'.. and awake someday to find yourself past your prime, a product of your mediocre lifestyle as a fitness enthusiast. Or worse yet, you might die unexpectedly tomorrow, next week or next month with your music still in you. Your life is now. Your life is now, or never. When I turned 30, this hit me hard. Up to that point, I was in my 20's. IT didn't matter how late into my 20's I was, I was still in my 20's! Then 30 hit. I realilzed that IF I'm going to be muscular and strong, it had better happen now. Yes, you can be big and strong into your 40's. But I think many agree that the 30's are where its at! I had to decide that the time was now.

You possess unfathomable strength and ability, but you are rarely calling on your tremendous mental and physical resources. They demand to be stretched, exercised and challenged. They demand to be used to their full capacity. The reward your abilities promise is nothing short of greatness and excellence. Have you ever been told you have "potential'" Let me tell you something about "potential"'''. "potential" means that you're not doing it. Think about it'' Would you say that Jay Cutler has "potential?" No, because he's doing it! He's training hard, eating big, and keeping his focus. He is past the "potential" stage. Thats where I want all of us to be. To be to the place where every week we are setting and reaching goals in our fitness. Be it strength, size, or just a funny story from your daily walk as a bodybuilding enthusiast as proof that you are living the life and having a great time doing it!

Let me be blunt, in hopes of making my true point: Everyday you step into the gym, and do not commit yourself to greatness, you are falling asleep, allowing yourself to suffocate in an atmosphere of mediocrity. Is the spirit-killing atmosphere I reference real? Bodybuilding is supposed to be such a positive and demanding sport where just by association with it, you start aiming to better yourself. You only need to look at the newspaper or TV to know we are surrounded by negativity that cares little about inspiring greatness. You are never far from people who care nothing about being different, better, stronger, trying harder, or aiming higher. You know who they are. You get stares and double takes from them at the store when you have to go from the gym, to the store to get more protein for supper. With your swole still in full effect, you got cannonball shoulders bursting out of your sleeveless shirt, and swole chest trying to bust its way out. Furthermore, you're freaking everybody out with pipeline veins crawling beneath the surface of your skin'' so much that it causes all the heroine addicts to orgasm! Yes indeed, you live in an atmosphere of mediocrity, and like poison gas it will dull you, bore you, disillusion you and lessen you if you don't wake up and do something about it. If you are not getting comments from people about your physique, you are still in the mediocrity. If people at work are not tripping out on your disciplined and strict dietary practices, you are still in the mediocrity.

My friend, your life is now. Take a stand against mediocrity, weakness, skinnyness, and obesity. Make your greatness non-negotiable. Put it into higher gear.

Hold your head high,
Critical Mass

repped

[Throwdown515]

You guys have probably all seen this thread, but this kid is living everyone else's dream.

Its a great thread and very motivational. Definitely worth a look.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=113690821

[StuartH.]

Hard work at its finest!

[Mfusick]

I think he had a poor choice iin words when he said that he looked down on the helpless. Many people are not born iinto situations that conducive to success.

I think your choice of words is poor. And your flawed overly liberal way of thinking is evident.

I have no sympathy for the weak, the stupid, and the lazy.

One thing is certain in this life: "You deserve what you settle for"

Where there is a will.. there is a way. You show me a dedicated, smart and hardworking person that is determined to better themselves and I will point to them and declare a winner.

Again- the lazy, the weak, and the stupid will always blame somthing. They will blame the system, the government, their upbrining, parents, childhood, social status, race, environment, boss, company, friends, family, location, size, height, weight, genetics, anything and everything but thier own determination and will and hardwork. F u c k ing excuses are for those lazy, weak and stupid people that need them. Losers need excuses. Winners do not need them- They pass right through failure on their way to sucess.

I also look down on the helpless. It is a choice. It is a mindset. It is what they deserve if they settle for it.

Without losers- there will never be winners. These lesser people serve a purpose and a neccessary place in the world. Without them- everyone would be ordinary and the same. Problem is that if you snapped your fingers and got rid of them all- the winners would now be the ordinary- well then those who are true winners and extra ordinary would again rise to the very top. Because somthing in them tells them to do it. They have to do it. It is who they are. They don't even have a choice. For them it is not even an option. Its a must.

That is who winners are. And those who are unwilling would then become the losers. It is darwinism and survival of the fittest. The laws of nature. This world is a cruel place and it can eat you up if you let it.

Stop thinking people are helpless- and need your help.. They don't need our tax money, or these crap government programs to help them. They don't need others charity, or kindness, or generousity. They don't need help. They need ambition and determination, and perhaps just given a chance by someone who thinks they deserve it. They can make their own way in the world and better themselves.

Most are unwilling to do it. they are happy with where they are. they look to scam, and use, and take. They cry... and feel like they deserve. well you know what they deserve... They will deserve what they are settleing for.

The helpless are a choice and a mindset and thier situation is a result of thier choice

Your in the wrong sport if you don't thing this way.

[Zody]

^^^^^

You hit the nail on the head right there.. Good post brah

/BEST THREAD EVER!

[T-I-M-E]

I find this very inspirational towards life and wanted to share it with you all.

"TOMORROW IS NEVER PROMISED"

Sometimes people come into your life
and you know right away that they were meant to be there,
they serve some sort of purpose,
teach you a lesson
or help figure out who you are
and who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be:
your neighbor, child, long lost friend, lover, or even a complete stranger
who, when you lock eyes with them,
you know at that very moment that they will affect your life
in some profound way.

And sometimes things happen to you
and at the time they seem painful and unfair,
but in reflection you realize
that without overcoming those obstacles
you would have never realized
your potential strength, will power, or heart.

Everything happens for a reason.
Nothing happens by chance
or by means of good or bad luck.
Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity
all occur to test the limits of your soul.


Without these small tests,
whether they be events, illnesses or relationships,
life would be like a smoothly paved straight flat road to nowhere,
safe and comfortable,
but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life
and the successes and downfalls you experience
create who you are,
and even the bad experiences can be learned from,
In fact, they are probably the poignant and important ones.

If someone loves you,
love them back unconditionally,
not only because they love you,
but because they are teaching you to love
and opening your heart and eyes to things
you would have never seen or felt without them.

Make every day count.
Appreciate every moment
and take from it everything that you possibly can,
for you may never be able to experience it again...
Work hard, train hard, laugh hard, love hard

Hold your head up
because you have every right too.
Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself...
for if you don't believe in yourself,
no one else will believe in you either.
You can make of your life anything you wish.

Wow,that's amazing! Rep+ just for posting that and putting a smile on my face! haha

[verdisQUO]

One thing is certain in this life: "You deserve what you settle for"

This once sentence hit me hard.

[BecomeLegendary]

I think your choice of words is poor. And your flawed overly liberal way of thinking is evident.

I have no sympathy for the weak, the stupid, and the lazy.

One thing is certain in this life: "You deserve what you settle for"

Where there is a will.. there is a way. You show me a dedicated, smart and hardworking person that is determined to better themselves and I will point to them and declare a winner.

Again- the lazy, the weak, and the stupid will always blame somthing. They will blame the system, the government, their upbrining, parents, childhood, social status, race, environment, boss, company, friends, family, location, size, height, weight, genetics, anything and everything but thier own determination and will and hardwork. F u c k ing excuses are for those lazy, weak and stupid people that need them. Losers need excuses. Winners do not need them- They pass right through failure on their way to sucess.

I also look down on the helpless. It is a choice. It is a mindset. It is what they deserve if they settle for it.

Without losers- there will never be winners. These lesser people serve a purpose and a neccessary place in the world. Without them- everyone would be ordinary and the same. Problem is that if you snapped your fingers and got rid of them all- the winners would now be the ordinary- well then those who are true winners and extra ordinary would again rise to the very top. Because somthing in them tells them to do it. They have to do it. It is who they are. They don't even have a choice. For them it is not even an option. Its a must.

That is who winners are. And those who are unwilling would then become the losers. It is darwinism and survival of the fittest. The laws of nature. This world is a cruel place and it can eat you up if you let it.

Stop thinking people are helpless- and need your help.. They don't need our tax money, or these crap government programs to help them. They don't need others charity, or kindness, or generousity. They don't need help. They need ambition and determination, and perhaps just given a chance by someone who thinks they deserve it. They can make their own way in the world and better themselves.

Most are unwilling to do it. they are happy with where they are. they look to scam, and use, and take. They cry... and feel like they deserve. well you know what they deserve... They will deserve what they are settleing for.

The helpless are a choice and a mindset and thier situation is a result of thier choice

Your in the wrong sport if you don't thing this way.

I agree 100%. Could not have put it better myself. People don't need their hand held through life, they need a swift kick in the ass to realize they are being lazy and underachieving. If everyone would put even a half ass effort into everyday activities, whether it be bodybuilding or not, this world would be a much better place. Instead our government chooses to tax the **** out of people like us so people like them can live on welfare for 400 dollars a week and go absolutely no where in life. I agree, if people choose to live that way, that is their own problem, and I feel no sympathy and no need to help people like this. As he said, that kind of liberal thinking where people don't have control of their situation and their failure is due to external factors is bull****. That is just an excuse to give people so everyone can feel good about themselves and live can just be all about ****ing smiles and a ray of sunshine. Life isn't like this, and 6 pack abs is not something you can buy on an infomercial. I laugh as I pass people like this on the way to the top.

[Mfusick]

I agree 100%. Could not have put it better myself. People don't need their hand held through life, they need a swift kick in the ass to realize they are being lazy and underachieving. If everyone would put even a half ass effort into everyday activities, whether it be bodybuilding or not, this world would be a much better place. Instead our government chooses to tax the **** out of people like us so people like them can live on welfare for 400 dollars a week and go absolutely no where in life. I agree, if people choose to live that way, that is their own problem, and I feel no sympathy and no need to help people like this. As he said, that kind of liberal thinking where people don't have control of their situation and their failure is due to external factors is bull****. That is just an excuse to give people so everyone can feel good about themselves and live can just be all about ****ing smiles and a ray of sunshine. Life isn't like this, and 6 pack abs is not something you can buy on an infomercial. I laugh as I pass people like this on the way to the top.

Thanks for your comments.

Much apreaciated.

[MMA.All.The.Way]

this.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topshal.htm

gets me going, EVERY time.

[Average Chaos]

I copy/paste this from an other forum.
I know it was posted on bb.com earlier.
This is great motivation!



"So, what are you doing for a living these days?" Bob asked me. We're sitting on the couch at one of those tedious holiday get-togethers, you know, the ones where you're supposed to be nice to family members you never see except during major holidays and funerals. I think Bob is my wife's brother-in-law's second cousin or something.

"I'm the assistant editor and a writer for Testosterone magazine," I say. Bob looks at me with a blank expression on his face, as if I'd just told him I sell handmade testicle warmers beside the freeway and was looking to open franchises across the nation.

"It's a bodybuilding magazine," I say.

Blank expression. Deer caught in the headlights. Ronnie Coleman doing trigonometry.

"Oh," Bob finally says, "I heard you were, like, one of those bodybuilder guys or something. So, what's that like, you know, working out every day and stuff? I just don't have time to lift weights all day, but I have been meaning to get rid of this beer belly." He takes another sip of beer. "What do you suggest?" Sip.

At first I was a little offended. I wanted to grab him up and say, "You can't tell I'm a bodybuilder?! Look at my ass! Now, if that's not a nice round squat-built piece of sirloin, I don't know what is! You think that comes naturally? I can crack walnuts with this puppy! Wanna see? Huh, punk? Do ya? Do ya?"

Then I realize this just might cause a scene and could cost me several Christmas presents. I was planning on returning any presents I got and using the money to buy a power rack, so I didn't want to jeopardize this gift getting opportunity. I also realized that old Bob probably had a certain preconceived image of a bodybuilder and I just didn't fit that image. I'm not gorilla huge; I weigh about 205 at 5'11" right now. (When I first started lifting I was a pudgy 159, so that's not too shabby.) Also, I wasn't wearing clown pants, a fluorescent string tank top, a hanky on my head and one of those little fanny packs. And isn't that what real bodybuilders are supposed to wear?

Bob continued to sit there drinking his Natural Light, smoking a cigarette and waiting for an answer, oblivious to the fact that he'd come this close to seeing some serious walnut- crunching ass power. I tried to figure out how I could explain to the average guy what the typical T-Man does and why he does it. How could I get him to understand what it is we do, how we feel, how we live? So I took a deep breath and told him something like this:

"Well, Bob, I guess you could use the term bodybuilder if you really need a label for what it is we do. Most of us actually don't stand on stage and compete, though. We lift weights and manipulate our diets so that we'll look good naked. Sure, it's healthy too, and we'll probably live a longer and more productive life than the average guy, but mostly it's about the naked thing. Truthfully, it goes beyond even that.

"Let's be honest here. We do it because of people like you, Bob. We look at you sitting there with your gut hanging over your belt and we watch you grunt and groan just getting out of a chair. Guys like you are our inspiration, Bob. You're better than Anthony Robbins, Bill Phillips, Deepak Chopra, and Zig ****ing Ziglar all wrapped up into one. We love it when guys like you talk about not having time to exercise. Every time we see you munching on a bag of potato chips, you inspire us. You're my shot in the arm, Bob, my living and breathing wake-up call, my own personal success coach.

"You want to know what it is we do? We overcome. We're too busy to train, too, but we overcome. We're too busy to prepare healthy meals and eat them five or six times a day, but we overcome. We can't always afford supplements, our genetics aren't perfect, and we don't always feel like going to the gym. Some of us used to be just like you, Bob, but guess what? We've overcome.

"We like to watch 'normal' people like you tell us about how they can't get in shape. We smile and nod sympathetically like we feel your pain, but actually, we're thinking that you're a pathetic piece of **** that needs to grow a spine and join a gym. You smile sheepishly and say that you just can't stay motivated and just can't stand that feeling of being sore. (For some reason you think that admitting your weaknesses somehow justifies them.) We listen to you ***** and moan. We watch you look for the easy way out. Because of people like you, Bob, we never miss a workout.

"You ask us for advice about diet and training and usually we politely offer some guidance, but deep inside we know you won't take our advice. You know that too. We smile and say, 'Hope that helps. Good luck,' but actually we're thinking, 'Boy, it would suck to be you.' We know that 99% of people won't listen to us. Once they hear that it takes hard work, sacrifice and discipline, they stop listening and tune us out.

"We know they wanted us to say that building a great body is easy, but it just isn't. This did not take five minutes a day on a TorsoTrack. We did not get this way in 12 short weeks using a Bowflex and the Suzanne Somers' 'Get Skinny' diet. A good body does not cost five easy payments of $39.95.

"We like it that while you're eating a candy bar and drinking Mountain Dew, we're sucking down a protein shake. You see, that makes it taste even better to us. While you're asleep we're either getting up early or staying up late, hitting the iron, pushing ourselves, learning, succeeding and failing and rising above the norm with every rep. Can you feel that, Bob? Can you relate? No? Good. This wouldn't be half as fun if you could.

"We do it because we absolutely and totally get off on it. We do it because people like you, Bob, either can't or won't. We do it because what we do in the gym transfers over into the rest of our lives and changes us, physically, mentally, maybe even spiritually. We do it because it beats watching fishing and golf on TV. By the way, do you know what it's like to turn the head of a beautiful woman because of the way you're built? It feels good, Bob. Damned good.

"When we're in the gym, we're in this indescribable euphoria zone. It's a feeling of being on, of being completely alive and aware. If you haven't been there, then it's like trying to describe color to a person who's been blind since birth. Within this haze of pleasure and pain, there's knowledge and power, self-discipline and self-reliance. If you do it long enough, Bob, there's even enlightenment. Sometimes, the answers to questions you didn't even know you had are sitting there on those rubber mats, wrapped up in a neat package of iron plates and bars.

"Want to lose that beer belly, Bob? I have a nutty idea. Put down the ****ing beer. I'll tell you what, Bob. Christmas morning I'm getting up real early and hitting the iron. I want to watch my daughter open her presents and spend the whole day with her, so this is the only time I have to train. The gym will be closed, so I'm going out in my garage to workout. You be at my house at six in the morning, okay? I'll be glad to help you get started on a weight training program. It'll be colder than Hillary Clinton's coochie in there, so dress warm.

"But let me tell you something, Bob. If you don't show up, don't bother asking me again. And don't you ever sit there and let me hear you ***** about your beer belly again. This is your chance, your big opportunity to break out of that rut. If you don't show up, Bob, you've learned a very important lesson about yourself, haven't you? You won't like that lesson.

"You won't like that feeling in the pit of your stomach either or that taste in your mouth. It will taste worse than defeat, Bob. Defeat tastes pretty goddamned nasty, but what you'll be experiencing will be much worse. It will be the knowledge that you're weak, mentally and physically. What's worse is that you'll have accepted that feeling. The feeling will always be with you. In the happiest moments of your life, it'll be there, lying under the surface like a malignant tumor. Ignore it at your own peril, Bob.

"Don't look at me like that either. This just may be the best Christmas present you'll get this year. Next Christmas, Bob, when I see you again, I'm going to be a little bigger, a little stronger, and a little leaner. What will you be? Will you still be making excuses? This is a gift, Bob, from me to you. I'm giving you the chance to look fate in those pretty eyes of hers and say, 'Step off, *****. This is my party and you're not invited.' What do you say, Bob? Monday, Christmas morning, 6am, my house. The ball's in your court."

Okay, so maybe that's not the exact words I used with Bob, but you get the picture. Will Bob show up Monday? I don't know, but I kind of doubt it. In fact, Bob will probably take me off his Christmas card list. He probably thinks I've got "too much Testosterone," like that's a bad thing. I think Bob is just stuck in a rut, and as the saying goes, the only difference between a rut and a grave is depth.

The way out of the rut is to make major changes in your life, most of which won't be too pleasant in the beginning. The opportunity to make those changes seldom comes as bluntly as I put it to Bob. Most of the time, that opportunity knocks very softly. What I did was basically give Bob a verbal slap in the face. You can react two ways to a slap. You can get angry at the person doing the slapping, or you can realize that he was just trying to get you to wake up and focus on what you really want and, more importantly, what it'll take to get it.

If you're a regular T-mag reader, I doubt you need to be called out like Bob. But maybe you've caught yourself slacking a little here lately. Maybe you've missed a few workouts or maybe you started a little too early on the usual holiday feasting, like, say, back in September. Just remember that the time to start working on that summer body is now. The time to get rid of those bad habits that hold you back in the gym is now. You want to look totally different by next Christmas? Start now. This isn't because of the holidays or any corny New Year's resolutions either. The best time is always now.

Christmas day I want you to enjoy being with your family and friends. I want you to open presents, sip a little eggnog and have a good meal. But if your regularily scheduled workout happens to fall on December 25th, what will you be doing at six o'clock that morning?

That's what separates us from guys like Bob.

Credit for this article to T-Mag.com

[michielp]

Great read, thanks for posting! I was thinking about having a cheat beer tonight, but I guess now I won't

[PieWheatley]

Great read. Good work

[koh19]

Nice! I will read this when I don't feel like working out.

[Dedaw]

Holy ****!
I absolutely LOVE you for this. He basically slapped in the face with this, and I've been realizing I'm a total pussy and need to stop making excuses and hit the ****ing gym.
Thanks a lot for posting this.

[JMath]

When I first saw how long it was I really was just going to go back to reading motivating quotes. I am glad I read this. Very good read. Repped.

[sloboda]

I've received some great feed back from a lot of people from my transformation I think this should help motivate some of you

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=118187971

[Emma-Leigh]

^ Good stuff!! Congratulations!

Oh - and speaking of transformations: heidismommy => CLICK ME

The woman is stunning....

[1MoreRepUFool]

I think your choice of words is poor. And your flawed overly liberal way of thinking is evident.

I have no sympathy for the weak, the stupid, and the lazy.

One thing is certain in this life: "You deserve what you settle for"

Where there is a will.. there is a way. You show me a dedicated, smart and hardworking person that is determined to better themselves and I will point to them and declare a winner.

Again- the lazy, the weak, and the stupid will always blame somthing. They will blame the system, the government, their upbrining, parents, childhood, social status, race, environment, boss, company, friends, family, location, size, height, weight, genetics, anything and everything but thier own determination and will and hardwork. F u c k ing excuses are for those lazy, weak and stupid people that need them. Losers need excuses. Winners do not need them- They pass right through failure on their way to sucess.

I also look down on the helpless. It is a choice. It is a mindset. It is what they deserve if they settle for it.

Without losers- there will never be winners. These lesser people serve a purpose and a neccessary place in the world. Without them- everyone would be ordinary and the same. Problem is that if you snapped your fingers and got rid of them all- the winners would now be the ordinary- well then those who are true winners and extra ordinary would again rise to the very top. Because somthing in them tells them to do it. They have to do it. It is who they are. They don't even have a choice. For them it is not even an option. Its a must.

That is who winners are. And those who are unwilling would then become the losers. It is darwinism and survival of the fittest. The laws of nature. This world is a cruel place and it can eat you up if you let it.

Stop thinking people are helpless- and need your help.. They don't need our tax money, or these crap government programs to help them. They don't need others charity, or kindness, or generousity. They don't need help. They need ambition and determination, and perhaps just given a chance by someone who thinks they deserve it. They can make their own way in the world and better themselves.

Most are unwilling to do it. they are happy with where they are. they look to scam, and use, and take. They cry... and feel like they deserve. well you know what they deserve... They will deserve what they are settleing for.

The helpless are a choice and a mindset and thier situation is a result of thier choice

Your in the wrong sport if you don't thing this way.

repped

[heidismommy]

^ Good stuff!! Congratulations!

Oh - and speaking of transformations: heidismommy => CLICK ME

The woman is stunning....

Wow, I just came across this thread and I must say I'm super flattered . Thank you so much Emma-Leigh!

[DariusWithHeat]

"don't stop knowing your own"