The roar of the crowd drowned out any thoughts of failure. He had to knock his opponent down or the his title would be lost, along with any dreams of success and redemption.
Muhammed Ali deflected the blows of Foreman in a well-rehearsed motion, ducking and weaving against the ropes, shielding each rocking blow with his arms.
He was the underdog, but yet he told everyone “I am the greatest”, despite what anyone said. They thought he would never make it through this fight.
George Foreman’s barrage of punches slowed, his hands dropped and Muhammed took that opportunity to counter punch, knocking Foreman to the ground with a flurry of punches.
In that moment he showed everyone what he was made of.
He did what they thought was impossible.
He took each mind numbing blow and waited patiently for his shot.
He was a MONSTAH.
A MONSTAH (with an AH) is someone who shows up and proves people wrong. Coach Schofield introduced me to this term at the PLAE Lab in Sydney and It’s something that stuck with me.
The way Schofield puts it, “You can either be a MONSTAH or a Dog”. The difference lies in how you act and the choice is yours, and yours alone. “You have to take ownership of your actions”.
The dog needs to be walked around, fed, pet and told how great they are. They can be rewarded and otherwise forced to take action, but they can’t be inspired to strive for greatness. This makes them hard to motivate – they need constant validation.
However, the MONSTAH! – He inspires the awe in others by doing what he knew was possible, despite what everyone else believed. The MONSTAH has decided his greatness lies in going beyond mediocrity and he acts on it.
There have been many athletes who were presumed to be less than average before they went beyond the expectations of others and proved them wrong.
Tom Brady didn’t look like your typical athlete. He was drafted last in the NFL to the New England Patriots leading them to six Super Bowl wins, breaking multiple records.
Jose Aldo was born in Brazil where he took up martial arts to defend himself after being beaten up on the streets. He had his debut at 17 years old and remained undefeated for 18 consecutive fights.
Michael Jordan failed to make his High School basketball team, but persisted to eventually accept a scholarship offer to University and go on to become an all time superstar of the NBA.
…. Only to name a few.
You have to make a choice. You can succumb to mediocrity or choose to live the rest of your life as a MONSTAH.
Here are five things you can do to become a MONSTAH;
Take ownership: own your responsibilities and expectations.
Show consistency: roll up your sleeves and give your best each time you walk in the gym.
Be a team player: live the values of the team, be courageous and commit to the higher purpose.
Create solutions: don’t dwell on the problems, always focus on the solutions.
Take care of yourself: train, eat, and recover to be at your best.
If you want to simply drag your feet and do only what you think is required, you will simply fall to the average. If you’ve decided that you want to be more, you will have to exceed the expectation of those around you.
Success is a choice; hard work and dedication can overcome the most daunting of obstacles. Keep proving to people you are better, better yet – prove to yourself that you are better and do what you have to do to become a MONSTAH!
