In the early 1900’s, everyone was trying to fly.
Some, like Samuel Pierpont Langley, had a stellar education and a host of funding.
Others, like the Wright brothers, had neither.
Yet, as we know, the Wright brothers took flight first.
Some say they bested Langley because they wanted to positively impact on the world. Langley, by contrast, wanted the money and fame.
You can fly like the Wright brothers.
Or you can fry like Langley.
It’s your choice.
WHY YOU’RE BORN TO FAIL
What separates success and failure? Is it a training program? A fancy exercise? A new method?
No.
It’s none of that.
Because none of that matters unless your heart is in the right place.
Most of us come from the Wright brother background. We don’t have Olympic trainers. We don’t get daily massages. We don’t have razzly dazzly equipment. We don’t have insane genetic make-up. We don’t even get paid to train.
Yet few people adopt the Wright mindset, which is why few people take flight. They are motivated by the wrong things.
They don’t ask themselves “why.”
They see crashing and failure as an ending, not a beginning.
They’re afraid to experiment.
They’re not willing to put in that “extra.”
They won’t sacrifice blood, sweat, and tears.
They don’t make it life.
They don’t have a purpose.
They’re not doing something that matters.
The Wright brother’s journey became the essence of their being. Success starts with wanting a body that matters.
One that makes a difference in your life.
One that lets you wander the world your way.
One that enables the potential to perform any task.
One that doesn’t handcuff you mentally, physically, or emotionally.
One that lets you wake up in the morning and love not only who you are, but also what you’re capable of doing.
One that makes you come alive.
IS IT YOUR JOB? OR YOUR PASSION?
Building a body that matters means making life your sport. Flying wasn’t the Wright brother’s job. It was their life. Their passion. Their essence.
When people are out to “burn calories,” they’re going to a job. Not a passion.
Calorie mongers exist in every junction of every gym.
They’re the ones that run on the treadmill for 45 minutes because the CDC told them to.
They’re the ones that don’t lift “heavy” weights because they heard something from Uncle Earl about “heavy” things being dangerous.
They’re the ones trying to tone with the two pound pink chrome dumbbells.
They’re the ones that rave about new fancy machines.
They’re the ones that have a new program every week.
They’re the ones that fall in love with the results, not the process.
YOU MUST AWAKEN YOUR ATHLETE
Passionate people are athletes. Don’t get confused. You don’t have to actually be an athlete in any sport other than life. You just have to have that mentality because that’s when you actually learn. It’s when “exercising” becomes “training” and taxes you physically and mentally. Everything becomes a lesson to be learned from.
It takes more than a motivation for “burning calories” to build a body that matters, because you have to be willing to fail, adapt, and try different things all in the name of growth. It’s way more than physical stress, and it’s hardly “easy.”
Ah, “easy.”
It’s not supposed to be easy. It’s not going to be easy. But it will definitely be worth it. And that’s why it feels so good.
Anyone can burn a calorie. But ripping five hundred pounds from the floor? Riding a ten foot wave? Chucking a backflip? Or doing any physical challenge for that matter—it’s all years of sweat, injuries, dedication and some days of “this kind of sucks.”
What separates the people that “get it” from the people that “want it?”
The mindset.
The Wright will.
These people want to love who they are.
They want to be able to do anything in life.
They want to change the way they live.
They want to come alive.
They want to build a body that matters.
WHY BUILD A BODY THAT MATTERS?
Building a body that matters is important because it’s the one thing in life you’re stuck with. Your car can get stolen. You can lose your job. Your girlfriend can leave you. Your friends can come and go. But even if you’re kidnapped and dropped naked from a helicopter in the Amazon, you still have your body and all of the lessons training has taught you. It serves you for life by looking good, moving good, feeling good, and performing good.
The beauty of building a body that matters is that it expands your mind’s walls of possibility, helping you do things that represent who you are and growing you into the person you want to be. It’s a doorway to physical and personal expression. It builds wings and allows you to take flight, setting sail a new frame of mind open to experience life events and physically express yourself in a way never imagined.
The goal is to wake up, love who you are, love what you look like, love what you feel like, love what you can do, do what you want to do, and change the way you live your life.
For some this is having enough confidence to talk to girls. For others, it’s having the mental cojones ski down a mountain. For me, it was tricking and backflipping. But it can be anything—dancing, tennis, climbing, free running, parkour, snowboarding, whatever. It can be the act of training itself. Building a body that matters is building a set of wings that allows you to set sail.
And the only way to do this is to see yourself as an athlete. The pursuit of a body that matters is a sport itself. Life is our sport.
A body that matters can look good, sure. But it’s not solely to be gawked at. Training is more than physical stimulation. It’s also fosters mental growth. It taps into physiology, psychology, intellect, emotion, and spirit.
In order for this to happen, you have to train with the mindset that an athlete takes when training for a sport. You have to be motivated with the same focus and willpower. Most miss this.
The mental struggle that blooms from building a body that matters is a continual press of physical tipping points—something that infuses into your soul and seeps into the deep fibers of your being. It’s all a fight against resistance, which builds character.
It serves subtleties to be learned by regularly engaging in physical and mental toils of that which oppose you—when gravity staples barbells to floors, when alarms crank at 4:00AM, and when “…but I’m too tired…” swims in between your ears.
Learning from the lessons grows more than the body. It gives birth to confidence and, eventually, solidifies a unique personal philosophy. You just don’t get this same emotional return when you’re out to “burn calories.”
Sorry, calorie mongers. But you’re losing.
THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW
When I look around, I see a lot of people that get it. And a lot of people that don’t.
But it’s not a program that splits the river. It’s not an exercise. Or a piece of equipment.
It’s the mind.
When I see Jon Call talking about training thee times every day, I know where his heart is.
When I see JC Deen, Roger Lawson, Neghar Fonooni, Jordan Syatt, Bret Contreras, Krista Scott-Dixon, Al Kavadlo, Nate Green, Paul Valiulis, and Nia Shanks, I don’t see professional athletes. I see regular people that pour emotion into their training — people that look at life as sport.
When I see Steve Kamb getting it done as he travels around the world, I know it’s about more than calories. Or when I see the Gold Medal Body Crew doing skills that take years to master, I know there’s more there than an arbitrary unit of energy.
And then there’s Mike Guadango — a former athlete that deals with more injuries than you ever will that still presses on because it’s what makes him tick.
It becomes a part of who you are.
It’s about the journey. The challenges.
Oh, it sounds serious, sure. But, trust me, in the end, we’re all just having fun, learning, and “playing.” And that’s when everything starts to unfold.
We’re not special. We simply have the Wright will. Our heart is in the right place.
Is yours?
When it is, it only takes time. So give it time. Don’t stop trying to fly just because someone else is in the air. You have to want to do it for yourself. Not for fame. Not for glory. Not for any opinion other than your own.
YOU HAVE TO ANSWER THESE QUESTION
So ask yourself:
How is training going to change my life?
Once I build wings and take flight, what am I going to do?
Where will I land?
What’s it going to do for me as a person?
Am I in this for life?
Does the very act of pursing a body that matters make me come alive?
And what is this journey doing for me:
Physiologically?
Psychologically?
Intellectually?
Emotionally?
Spiritually?
Because if it isn’t hitting on those domains, you’re probably not going to make it.
So absolutely answer these before you worry about:
Programs.
Reps.
Sets.
Rest periods.
Exercises.
Methods.
Supplements.
Diets.
Equipment.
And to you, calorie monger, I say this: you’re going to fail. As much as I want to help you, I can’t. You don’t belong here.
The good news is that with all of the fancy gidgets, gadgets, fads and fandangos, there’s a home for you somewhere. It’s probably has eight week escapades, six week solutions, and plausible promises.
But that somewhere isn’t here.
Because this place is for people that want to find meaning.
This place is for people that want to take flight.
This place is for people that are in it for life.
This place is for people that want a body that matters.
Absolutely genius anthony.definitely one of the most inspiring things i have ever read.there is really nothing more one can add to this post.it is perfectly crafted man.i only have questions for myself.gotta do some soul searching tonight!haha
Awesome, Yannick. Thanks for the reply. Appreciate it, as always. I smile when I see your name, no joking. So glad to have smart people like you read my stuff.
no prob brah.it has always been a pleasure reading smart stuff from you too.thanks for everything!
Excellent article, man! I liked the part about being dropped naked in the Amazon. It really brings into perspective just how important your body is relative to all the material possessions we have. I strangely want to be ready for when I’m dropped naked into an Amazon just for how much of a killer story it would be if I were to survive, haha.
I agree about the will. It really separates those who will succeed in the long run from those who will spin their wheels forever. I’m also more impressed by the character that develops and not the results. That will’s contagious and so unique because it’s so universal.
This article really brought things into perspective. If I read this a year ago, I wouldn’t be able to grasp the concept. But fortunately, I’m in a point in my training where I’m beyond the reps, sets, programs. It was a phase I grew out of. If I surf the internet, it’s to find things to experiment with because I want to, not because I need that magic pill. I’ll look into gymnastic stuff because I want to learn to manipulate my body with grace, not because I think it’s just the thing I need to finally be complete.
I’ve already realized what makes me come alive these days. It’s training for aesthetics, tricking, and gymnastics. I like looking good, but it doesn’t hit me as hard as the other two. I’ve always had a latent desire to move and manipulate my body with grace. Grace I had seen in Dragonball Z and other animes. It may sound a little juvenile, yes, but if it took an anime to make me realize “I want to be like this.” then I’m all for it. I’m not looking out to be Goku, but a capable, graceful version of me.
I’m going to start tricking and gymnastics this summer. I’m not going to give up like I did before. I’m going to be smart but passionate about this. Last time I was too logical and still driven by want than by will. I didn’t really enjoy the process. Fear was a big issue, but I’ll be the better for having fought against it this time.
On a curious note, I might have a thing for parkour. I don’t know, but I’ll keep it in the backseat for now, haha. Just a mental note. I don’t want to be spread too thin. I’ll take it one step at a time.
One step is good.
Big thing with tricking, and is something Juji once said –
Try a new trick because you want to TRY it, not because you WANT it.
If that makes any sense?
Yes, that makes total sense. I think I read that particular article before. Very important mindset. I think I’ll pay trickstutorials a quick visit. I loved that site.
Awesome post Anthony!
I feel so lucky I spent all those hours learning English so I can read and appreciate such gems.
On the other hand, I think that building a body that matters doesn’t build confidence … it builds indifference. You simply start to care less about what people think of you and you also become more and more detached from the outcome. All of the sudden, that girl’s rejection or the fact that you didn’t get that job won’t seem like a big deal.
Building a body that matters is so much more than lifting weights and doing backflips. It’s a process that teaches you to truly love yourself.
And to truly love yourself … I think this is one of the greatest things a person can learn to do for his mental and physical well-being.
Awesome insights, Dejan. Really like the indifference bit. I agree completely. Glad to see you migrate from my inbox to the comments section.
Great article!
Thanks Steve!
Excellent work Anthony…this blogpost is absolutely unique…It is a splash of cold water on my face. The good news is that I am in for life. The bad news is that I have not searched myself deeply for answers to the “questions”. I promise to think deeply about it and cooment back to you.
You are evolving with every post. I am beginning to comprehend the amount of time and effort you spend on every post…the introduction to the post itself would have taken you ages to conceptualize…really good man. It is a privilege to read your thoughts.
Rajat, appreciate it. And writing does take me a while. I’m not a natural. So it’s nice to see a compliment here and there. Really, thank you.
I am not a natural myself…I was trying to put myself in your shoes and think about how I would start this article…Then it hit me. It is VERY hard
…
…keep up the good work.
I think no one is a natural. You are at the conscious competence stage..soon, you will rise to some level of unconscious competence
I am going to take atleast 3-4 days to answer all the “questions” properly…thats how much they mean to me…
Thanks Rajat.
It just takes time sucking. That’s all.
Tears + speechlessness is how I know this was a good article.
Anthony fantastic article. Absolutely inspiring and like a lot of others here you’re helping me to see the bigger picture.
Thanks.
Thanks Cameron.
Profound! And for fellow warriors out there always learning and striving, this is music. Yet there are so many people who think our mindset is obsessive narcissism or that genetics/steroids explain everything. But, as you alluded, when stripped of everything else, it’s pretty awesome having a body that is strong, agile and looks good naked. And a mind that is constantly absorbing and refining. There is no end to the crap a person can buy, a McMansion, a fancy car, but no amount of money can buy a body that matters or the knowledge gained during the journey.
Thanks the reply, Park. A McMansion….well…I’ll take one of those.
Fantastic post Anthony, straight truth! You have to love the process. I shouldn’t have read this before bed though, got me way too amped up!
Hah! Yes, the process is key. You hit it hard there. Thanks!
Anthony,
Let me begin by saying that I think you are inspirational. As a fellow skinny-fat I, have spent years lost in a sea of information that simply does not encapsulate the challenges that the skinny-fat faces. With this considered, it has been incredibly refreshing reading your website. Not only does your knowledge and experience provide me with great hope, but you have really struck a chord with your attitude to the journey itself. I, like many people, want to improve myself physically, but it is not the be all and end all. There is more to life, it is about creating a balance.
A couple of weeks ago I was engaging in my usual internet rounds, looking for answers to my seemingly terminal fitness and nutrition problems. I’ve been doing this for as long as I can remember, and although I have learnt a lot, I never really got the answers I was looking for. Then I found your site. While it has given me some valuable tips on both the training and eating fronts, the most enlightening thing you have taught me is this: Stop. I have now made the decision to stop reading 100 bodybuilding pages a day, to stop program-hopping, to stop endlessly trying new diets. Rather, I am committing myself to sticking with my current routine, learning where and when I can and embrace failure as a fruitful experience. Furthermore, in recent months I have become rather obsessive in my attempts to better my physical being, but your philosophy has certainly helped me approach the matter with a more measured attitude.
Thanks for sharing with us!
P.S. Another awesome heartfelt article here man.
Chris,
Appreciate the well put together reply, my man. It’s my pleasure to throw my ideas in the world. And it just makes my day when I hear stuff like this. Glad you’re finding some clarity!
Exceptionally coherent reply, Chris, it felt great to read it since I share most of your experiences too
This is great! It’s good to see someone putting into words the reason for training. I hold this philosophy as my own, and I have since I began my training. I’m often ask what I’m training for, to which I answer “life”, but so many of these inquirers just do not get it!
Awesome. You’re more than welcome here
Excellent article Anthony, one of the most inspiring pieces of writing that I’ve ever paid attention to. I’m going to post this all over the internet ..! Wow, such motivation brings me to another level of living , lets try to keep these juices flowing!
Best wishes from Portugal
Thanks Martim.
I have read this several times since I found your blog. This really resonates with me – thank you for putting these words together. I often think about why I do what I do especially in the times when it is difficult and I am frustrated or not seeing results. You described perfectly exactly the reason why. Thank you so much!
Thanks Tobi. This article is a bit old but I still like it.