95% of winning is done by 5% of those who compete. One habit separates the 5% from the rest: goal setting. Most people don’t set them. No surprise there. This is common knowledge.

However, every major corporation sets goals. Every government sets goals. Every builder who builds has a blue print. Every banker has a written contract on how the borrower is going to pay back each loan. But among individuals, only the super successful even bother to set personal goals and plan their work.

Are our goals just a pipe dream? Are our goals set too high to not high enough? There is a 10 step process you can use to set you goals just right:

1.      Decide what you want.
State you goal in the present tense.
Ex. “I am a state Champion”

2.       Decide when you want it.
Ex. “March 2014”

3.       List the pay-value.
Why do you want the goal? This is the most important step. What is your PURPOSE? Is it sincere? Is it powerful enough to motivate you to reach beyond you potential?
Ex. “Through being successful in wrestling I will improve my character and become a better person. With a state championship under my belt I will be able wrestle in college, get an education, and become a productive member of society.”

4.       Determine the obstacles in your way.
What must you do to reach your goals? Habits, attitudes, etc.
Ex. I need to improve in the following areas: Strength/conditioning, technique, mental game.

5.       What is your plan to reach your goal?
The biggest difference between a wish and a goal is that a goal has a written plan. What do you have to do to overcome the obstacles in your way?
Ex. Strength – I train at The Functional Athlete 2x a week to improve in this area.
Technique – I attend every Beebe Trained practice and clinic and learn every day.
Mental Game – I attend the Champions Huddle a Beebe Trained every Sunday and I study the mental game like it is my most important class.

6.       Ask yourself: “Is the prize worth the pay?”
Yes

7.       Schedule you plan.
Gather the necessary resources, schedule your workouts, etc.

8.       Start now!
Don’t delay. Put out high quality effort, consistently over time, and you can do anything.

9.       Never reach a goal without fist setting another one.
To add to this one, I would say, don’t be afraid to alter your goal if need be, as long as the purpose of achieving that goal stays the same. For example, if your goal was to be a state place winner and you go out and beat a state champ, maybe you need to adjust you goal.

10.    Never, ever, ever, ever quit!!!!

Lastly, take all of these steps and put them together to develop a “Directive Affirmation.”

Ex. March 2014. I am a State Champion. I attend all Beebe Trained practices and train strength and conditioning 2x a week. I study the mental game like it is my most important class and attend all Champion’s Huddles. Through being successful in wrestling I will improve my character and become a better person. With a state championship under my belt I will be able wrestle in college, get an education, and become a productive member of society. I am a State Champion!

Write your Directive Affirmation on 3 note card and strategically place the card in 3 places that you know you will see them every day. When you see the card throughout the day, stop and read it to yourself. Only one of two things can happen; you will achieve your goal, or you will stop trying.

The above are excerpts from the book With Winning in Mind by Lanny Bassham – this book changed my life. It was introduced to me by a man that had a big impact on me. He is a warrior, a Marine, a Vietnam vet, and my mentor while I was at Purdue - Lou Famiano.

Get this book on Amazon – click here.

Recent news has come out that the IOC has voted to drop the oldest sport in the world from the Olympics. This is terrible news to anyone who loves or has been impacted by the sport of wrestling. While wrestling has not reached as large of an audience as many other sports, the impact has been much deeper for those individuals that it has reached.

One positive outcome of this whole “dropping wrestling form the Olympics” fiasco is the over whelming support that it has inspired from the wrestling community through media coverage, videos, interviews, and testimonials about how wrestling has impacted people’s lives.

Wrestling is the greatest sport on earth and the recent coverage and support for the sport has given me substacial evidence on which to build my case.

From a child’s perspective:
Wrestling is an equal opportunity sport, more so than any other sport. It doesn’t discriminate against the small, the weak, or the slow (or, like I was as a kid, all of the above). Wrestling doesn’t even discriminate against the poor or the underprivileged.

“It doesn’t matter where you come from or what resources you have. If you are willing to work, you can be successful a wrestling. Wrestling has weight classes so the smallest guy can be successful, and the biggest guy can be successful. Anybody can be successful but it requires hard work.” Cael Sanderson- Olympic Gold Medalist, 4x NCAA Champion

From a wrestler’s perspective:
Wrestling is more than a sport, it’s a lifestyle. And as such, it penetrates all aspects of your life. For many sports, after practice or a game, the sport is over. But with wrestling, the weight cutting, and overall discipline required, wrestling is on your mind 24/7.

“The discipline of wrestling carries over to all aspects of my life. It makes me a better husband, a better father, a better son, and a better friend.” James Yonushonis- Olympic hopeful.

 “Wrestling has taught me how to live my life; how to be tough, determined, good work ethic, all the things you need to be successful in life. It has taught me how to learn and how to teach. I owe everything to wrestling.” Reece Humphrey NCAA Champion, Olympic hopeful.

“Gotta finish, never give up, push after you goals and walk away knowing that you did everything to pursue your goals.” Michael Mitchell- Olympic hopeful.

“We aren’t in it for the fame or the fortune, cuz there is none.” JD Bergman

From a parent’s perspective:
"I have kids and I don't care if they are champions, but they will wrestle. Wrestling will make up for all of the mistakes I make as a parent because it teaches humility, hard work, and it teaches everything that you need to be successful in this world." Cael Sanderson

Cael said it best. No additional input from me is needed on this one.

From an employer’s perspective:
I personally can attest to this point because I was hired, less than a week after my last final exam, solely because I am a wrestler. My boss is an ex-wrestler and he understands the mentality wrestlers have and how that can transfer over into the work place. In fact my firm is looking to hire more, but prospects must be high level wrestlers.

“Current research indicates that individuals who have competed in elite level athletics, i.e., collegiate, international, or professional level competition possess higher levels of emotional intelligence than their non-athlete counterparts” Richard Mendelson, a human capital consultant/researcher.

"I specifically like to hire wrestlers that have experienced success in the sport because they are sharp, passionate, tenacious, disciplined and they have a huge desire to succeed." Steve J Cochlan, President/CEO of The Cochlan Group (my boss) 

“Olympic champions display higher levels of specific attributes directly linked to success, in particular emotional intelligence, stress management, interpersonal skills, and self-regard.” Forbes Magazine

“Wrestlers have a capacity to push themselves harder than most and display an unrivaled mental toughness” Forbes Magazine.

“Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy” Dan Gable.

From the perspective of human nature:
(Not sure if that makes sense ^ but keep reading and you will get my point)

Wrestling is as old as mankind. Kids are wrestling before they can walk. As far back as history goes, there has been wrestling. Wrestling penetrates all cultures and all generations. It is a battle of one man against another man. Who is the best? It doesn’t get more basic than that.

“The beauty of wrestling is that it is the epitome of sport. It’s a combination of strength, speed, flexibility, stamina, mental toughness; all those things that make sport. It’s the base sport. When kids grow up they say, ok, who is the fastest? Who is the strongest? And who can win in a wrestling match?” Cael Sanderson

“I swear it upon Zeus an outstanding runner cannot be the equal of an average wrestler.” Socrates

The moral of this story is to support wrestling and get involved. The first step is to come by Beebe Trained and sign your kid up for our wrestling program ;) On top of phenomenal wrestling training, your kids will learn all of the life lessons mentioned in this blog. Get in and get better… at life!!!