A young boy dreamed of big things he wanted to do; he had grand ambitions and a full life ahead of him. To protect his name, we’ll call him Joe.
Joe went to school, studied finance, and became obsessed with the world of money and how it worked. Joe rose to the top of his class in high school and graduated with honors and in college, where he was at the top of his class.
Joe graduated college and got a job at a high-paying firm making six figures. Impressive for someone with no experience and who had just graduated.
All was well for the young man, driven by ambition and success. He never invested in much of anything else besides his work. Joe partied on the weekends and drank heavily. He dabbled with books and workouts but thought that those things didn’t work for him because everyone was different.
Joe got laid off from his job. He didn’t really understand how it happened and why the world worked the way it did and thought it was unfair that he lost his job. Without answers and little experience to draw from, he found himself anxious and depressed due to all the time he had on his hands. He drank the nights away, dated mindlessly, and stuck to his partying ways. He eventually got rehired at another firm, making less than before.
But never really changed much. Joe repeated this behavior for ten years, making no changes. Despite the frequent outings and acquaintances, he never got into fitness because it wasn’t for him. Joe was sipping his coffee while looking outside of a window at the rain and felt a sharp pain in his abdomen.
Joe rushed to the hospital where, after a few tests, the doctor told him he had prostate cancer. “How many days do I have to live?” Joe asked. The doctor said it was too early to determine. He took it upon himself to exercise, stop partying, quit drinking, and gain mastery of his life. Joe get some tests done, and the doctor told him cancer had gone into remission. Joe lived to fight another day and changed his life forever. Is that what has to happen? When our life almost ends, to see what matters?
Greatness is a choice: Destiny is something we create daily with our actions and our time on earth. Joe’s story is a very common one, and most don’t have happy endings. In fact, most don’t make it.
However, it took the realization of Joe’s last days to realize the importance of self-mastery through fitness and health. We can’t become the masters of our destiny without mastering ourselves first. Also known as the Law of Mastery.
Failure to observe this law of fitness and life will lead to unrealized gains lost potential, and a feeling of emptiness. Time does its thing. You must move forward as it does, using time as your trusted ally in achieving the life you desire by capitalizing on what you do with it. The Law of Genetics states we are all bound to go from something one day, however, we can alter our outcomes.
We mustn’t live our lives in fear. Quite the contrary, we must live our life with power by taking matters into our own hands, striking out alone, and achieving success. Check out my book The 10 Undisputed Laws of fitness success on how you can use fitness and health to find self-mastery and achieve greatness.