It's amazing, knowing about Nelson Mandela for so much of my adult life, hearing reports and bios and soundbytes. And never knowing that he'd been, among other things, a boxer and an athlete. Just heard that this morning for the very first time, on a BBC commentary on NPR.
So now, all of the other accounts I've heard, about his time on Robbin Island Prison, how the other inmates naturally treated him with authority, like a natural leader; it all makes sense. I mean, just look at him. His athleticism captured the eyes and attention of those around him, and he DID something with it.
The other photo is of Vitali Klitschko, a former World Boxing Championship holder, currently running for the Presidency of the Ukraine. I think he's got every good chance. Because again, His athleticism captured the eyes and attention of those around him, and he's DOING something with it.
It's what I say, all the time. People look at athletes. People follow athletes, not only to see what they do, what they eat, how they dress, essentially 'what have they got that I don't got?'. An athlete attracts attention because they stand differently, glide differently through the world, like the molecules of air and matter move out of the way to clear a path. And an athlete attracts respect because everything about them speaks to the hard work they've done to get where they are, speaks in the most physical way.
I've had the honor of knowing so many athletes, I couldn't name them all. People who've put in the hard work and continue to do so.
But remember, it is not a super-power. I know more than anyone, because I spent more than half of my life on 'the other side of the fence', looking at people like that as if it WAS some kind of super-power that I'd just never acquire.
Well, I found out that it just wasn't true. I proved it. I proved that, as opposed to brick-eating, nose-bleeding effort every so often, all it takes is a reasonable amount of effort done every day. Or as close to every day as possible. Little things that anyone could do, anywhere on Earth. Little things that don't cost a dime. We carry weight with us EVERYWHERE. There's gravity, leverage and inertia EVERYWHERE. Unless you live in quicksand, there's solid ground or road or pavement EVERYWHERE. There's benches, trees and steps EVERYWHERE. And if anybody tells you that you need ANYTHING ELSE, they're trying to sell you something, because it just ain't so.
I've trained in forests and parking lots. I've trained in backyards and schoolyards. I've trained on beaches and in office kitchens and bank restrooms. Just to prove it was possible. Because another thing we take with us everywhere is IMAGINATION.
I've trained in work clothes, in dress clothes and in a t-shirt and jeans, in sneakers and winter boots and dress shoes and barefoot, just to prove it was possible. Because another thing we take with us everywhere is WILL.
What's my secret? My only secret on Earth is that I know with CERTAINTY that I'm about the most average human being God ever created. So my secret has always been that I had nothing to lose, and everything to gain. And my other secret is that if I could do it, than ANYONE can. And anyone CAN.
Those people, those athletes, those leaders that capture the eyes and attention and imagination of the world, just by striding through it... that's you.
That's you, plus a little belief, plus a little work, plus a little time. That's all it takes to become the Mandela, the athlete waiting inside you. And when you find it and it finds you... may you DO something with it also.
