*UNFU*K YOURSELF: FROM ZERO TO HERO SPONSORED BY AZOTH***

Euclides

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*UNF*CK YOURSELF* FROM ZERO TO HERO *SPONSORED BY AZOTH*

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Many of you reading this forum right now grind day in and day out. You have demanding jobs, are raising a family, run multiple businesses or are pursing your education and have a dedication of steel - still making time to eat healthy and to work out regularly and to take care of your duties. When **** happens in your life, you might not go to your million people social media following screaming for attention, but you just put your head down and get through it. Fall down 6 times, but get up 7 times.

Is this you? Have you overcome/are overcoming difficult times? We're looking to hear from you and have you share your inspirational stories of grit, dedication, and perseverance with the other men and women at AnabolicMinds. You never know, but your one story might light a fire in someone else's life who is struggling right now and change their life forever.

Here's what is in store:
1. Respond on this thread with a paragraph of your story, followed with a photo that best exemplifies your grind. Tag me Euclides at the end of your post.
2. At the end of each week, I'll handpick 1 person who'll get a bottle of AZOTH sent to them, on the house.
3. At the end of each month, the best story, handpicked by forum members, will get a 3-month supply of AZOTH for free.


- Euclides
 
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Euclides

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1.Do I have to have a large social media following to enter?
No. We don't give a **** if you have 0 followers or 5 million. This contest is a chance to give the spotlight to those men and women who grind and put in the work every day. This has nothing to do with your popularity in the internet, but how hard you go in real life.

2. Why this contest?
Bodybuilding, powerlifting, any sport for that matter takes dedication. Often time we only get to hear about the glory, but not the struggle. We get to see the men and women on stage, or in the gym, but not what actually goes behind it. The goal of this contest is to light a fire and inspire others who might be facing a tough time in their lives right now and need an extra push to get going.

3. I am on the fence if I should enter.
One of the greatest gifts we can give our fellow friends is the gift to inspire them to achieve greatness as well. If you've overcome a struggle or a difficult time in your life, know that maybe your story can inspire someone else who can't see the light at the end of the tunnel right now. That alone is priceless.

4. Do I need to post a photo?

No, but it's always helpful to put a picture to the face. If you prefer to remain anonymous, that's totally fine.
 
Euclides

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SENT IN STORIES:

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FROM NOLAN ROGERS:

"I'm 24, I've always been an athletic kid but never lifted weights that much. Shortly after I turned 19 my dad passed away. It wasn't a quick passing it was a few months. On the way back from the funeral my mom got in a car wreck, attempting to take her own life, and ended up surviving and being in the hospital for around 6 months. I watched my mom learn to write her name again, and get rewarded by the nurses in therapy for completing basic tasks, such as putting a block in a like shaped hole. My life took a swerve I turned to drinking, almost daily. It was the only thing that made anything make sense. I couldn't stand to watch someone who supported a family eat out of a straw and forget how old I was.

I started training for real this time. No structure just go slam heavy stuff around and get some emotions out. I started to see changes and started to figure it out.

It has been a few years and I've gotten closer to my mom than ever. She is a fully functional person and back to the woman I was raised by. It still hurts knowing she would leave me behind after everything that happened with my dad just a week prior. But I have come to realize that it has made me a better person.

I've since competed in Men's Physique and currently prepping for a few more shows this year. My girlfriend and mother are the biggest support group I could ever ask for and I owe everything to them. I've dedicated my life to helping myself and everyone around me. I feel that's the only thing that has kept me sane these past few years."


- Nolan Rogers
 
Euclides

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SUBMITTED by IFBB PRO HAILEY DELF

My name is Hailey Delf, and this is my story:

In college, I played softball, partied too much, and struggled to figure out who I was. I went through a series of unhealthy relationships and seemed to be on a mission to ruin anything good in my life. Eventually, I was diagnosed with depression, ADD, and OCD. At this point, I was prescribed a narcotic to help me focus and manage my mood swings. This prescription grew into a dependance and led me to experiment and become dependent on other drugs and alcohol. Looking back now, I wish I had never taken the first pill, I wish I had had the gaul to change my life myself, but that’s not the way it went, and without it, I may not be who I am now.

After 3 years of drug abuse, I lost most of my family and friends and wound up in an abusive relationship. Then, one day, everything changed. I met my husband. He helped me recover from my abuser and see that I didn’t NEED a drug to function. I was about to start student teaching high school English, and I made the decision to never take another pill again and haven’t since January of 2014. The rest of that year was hell on my body and mind. I had no idea that quitting a drug “cold turkey” would wreak such havoc on my body and mentality. I dealt with initial detox, weight gain, mood swings, etc in stride and eventually things got better. I thought about going back to this pill for comfort thousands of times, but never did, and I am grateful every day.

In May 2015, I started training for my first bodybuilding competition. Bodybuilding has been the tool I have used to save my own life. Without it, I would be overweight, unhealthy, depressed and certainly dying sooner than later. My first coach really didn’t know how to coach my body, nor did she do me any favors in terms of long term health. Then, a blessing came about and I reached out to Veej. He accepted me as a client and helped me figure out just how important it is to focus on longevity and never sacrifice your health for a moment in time. All in all, I have competed in 7 figure shows over the past 2 years and have never let off the gas, and do not intend to in the future.

One thing I know about myself is that I will always be the hardest worker in the room. I always have at least 2 jobs - anything from teaching to coaching to bartending to nannying, you name it, I’ve probably done it to make an extra buck. With that said, I never miss a meal, I never miss, a workout, and I never let excuses win. All of these experiences, good or bad have taught me that there is always more to give, and we can always achieve more if we just have the audacity to take action and captain our own ships.

Before and After - overweight and drug dependent to drug free IFBB pro.

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Steezy

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I'm a 22 year old typical college student who is currently pursuing nursing.
Before I found the love for fitness I was the guy who would eat whatever and whenever I wanted; pop, chips, anything that "made" me feel good. Food was a big part of my life I was not sure why but when I was working 12 hours a day I was thinking about how good McDonalds is going to be after. This type of thinking began to show on my body year after year but I did not care because when I was eating this food it was an outlet for me like it is with drugs for other people. Until one day a couple of people wanted to go to the beach and I made up a simple excuse to not go because I was unhappy about my body. That same day I finally decided that it was time for a change and the way I was currently living was not healthy for mind, body and spirit. It was slow at first but I kept on reading and researching everything to know. While grinding the night shift at a factory for 12 hours I would have all my food prepped out (typical chicken and rice) and go to the gym right after. It began to grow on me when I saw the results, I found a passion, a healthy one that is where it has opened new doors to me that I would normally close to due to my lack of confidence. I always would turn down invitations to go places because I didn't feel comfortable in my body and how much I changed since high school. Now, finding the passion to train and eat somewhat right I began to try new things and one was going back to college to pursue a career in the health field and I am currently loving it a lot. I know this may seem like a minuscule problem/challenge to other people but it is something that affects many people and if this just helps motivate one person to change then it was worth writing about. Posting the two pics below is even hard for me today as I don't like to post really anything to social media. Thanks for the opportunity to write this it was great to think back how far I have come Euclides !
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I am pretty happy about how much work I have put in under 2 years! Much more to go and much much more to learn, I love this forum!
 

robwayne78

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Very nice Bro! Keep it up!
 

robwayne78

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My life was a complete wreck

Hi all,
My story is one of failure and triumph. I am a firm believer that sometimes we have to hit rock bottom before we have the opportunity to rise up. My quick story goes like this:

I lost one relationship with a female who completely tore me apart out of the blue and immediately started another relationship with alcohol and poor eating. I sunk into a drunken depression where I would drink until I blacked out and felt like I had no purpose in life. I detached from friends and social gatherings because I was ashamed of what I had become. I basically lost all joy in life.

After a while, by a miracle, I met my now Fiance Megan and she turned me on to a supplement program. (PM me if you want more info) Not trying to do any advertising on here. After a week, I was feeling a little bit better. It was really tough to get out of that rut but I stuck with it and as time went on I'm now almost 40 and feel better than I have in years!


My whole attitude and world has changed thanks to Megan. She was the one who was strong enough to pull me out of the ditch, stick beside me through my drunken disasters and helped me realize self worth. I am now running 2-3 miles a day and lifting 3 times a week. I am no longer drunk and have a ton of self esteem. I have lost 23 pounds and am really happy with my life choices. Current labs show I did no damage to my body during that time of disaster and am very fortunate for that.

I look forward to the future and know the sky is the limit if I stay focused. Thank you for reading my story. Please leave feedback if you would like to.

Rob
 

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NurseGray

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My life has been one of perseverance and acceptance from a very young age. Starting with being raised by my Grandparents due to a mother who knew nothing of truly being a mother. She still raised two kids after myself being born which always led me to question why I wasn’t good enough. I quickly learned that someone was looking out for me although I didn’t know who yet. Fast forward through my childhood of ADHD and other learning disabilities coupled with sexual abuse from older male leadership figures. My self reliance started to take shape. My life was rocky at first with no real direction to where I was going. I coped the only way I knew how. I turned to drugs and alcohol at the age of 15. Only an occasional pot smoking with “friends” later turned into methamphetamine abuse with grown people no child has business to be associating with. I didn’t truly come into my own until I was around 20 years old. Up until this point my life was filled bad relationships, drugs, godlessness, and many different trade jobs. The drugs stopped when I realized my “friends” didn’t really care about me. I realized the only one who cared about me was me. I stopped cold turkey dropped my “friends” and never looked back.

I graduated from an automotive school with a 4.0 and dreams of being the next fast and furious. Only to realize a short 4 months into my new career that it was low pay with little room for growth. This led me to finally make a change in my life the only way I knew how. I decided that the only way to help myself was to start helping others. The next 18 months would change my life forever. I became a nurse.

Nursing school came easy to me. I had a strong support system from family and a wonderful woman who is now my wife. This woman had something that I always desired, stability. She showed me that life was in my control and not the other way around. Leading me to the Lord as a guidepost in life. I found purpose through giving, compassion, and love. Throughout my nursing career I have saved lives and lost lives. This is something that I will always be grateful for. Still this wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to do more for myself and my family.

See my wife was raised by entrepreneurs. The concept was fascinating to me. I was always taught to get up and go to work. Earn your paycheck and do a good job. Never in my life did I think I could be my own boss. My wife obtained her Bachelors degree in Business Marketing self taught online and became a Realtor. I watched as I woke up to 12 hour shifts and a boss that never truly cared about the work that I was doing for my patients while my wife ran her own business. I wanted that self pride and strength in one’s accomplishments that she had. I got my real estate license and joined into business with my wife.

Life couldn’t be any better. We both work from home and are our own boss. We have two wonderful children and get to be with them everyday. We are highly involved in our church and our community. I play bass for the church band and love every minute of it. She is the Vice President of our Realtor’s association while pursuing her Masters degree online while I myself decided to pursue my Bachelors Degree in Communications. We even had time to build our own home all before the age of 30. It’s amazing what 10 years can do in your life. I’m stronger each and every week. I turned to powerlifting four years ago as a dare to my wife. I have the pleasure of lifting at one of the finest powerlifting gyms on the east coast thanks to my coach, he is the head powerlifting coach at Virginia Military Institute. All of which I document on my YouTube Channel. I post 3 to 4 times a week and talk about anything I want. 3 years later we are 1,500 subscribers strong and my Instagram has grown to over 22k followers. I encourage you to follow my journey into self accountability, spirituality, and growth in all areas of life.
Euclides

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[video=youtube;ZZUton5jlx4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZUton5jlx4[/video]​
 
nubioso

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Hello! This is my story from fat to fit....I will include photos once I'm home and can update.

I'm currently 33, almost 34 years old. Up until I was 30, I was your typical fat kid my entire life. I drank a solid 60oz of soda a day, MINIMUM and that doesn't even count the amount of candy, hamburgers, and overall junk that I had. I love me a good bag of pork rinds after all....A large mountain dew frequently started off my day with bits of candy throughout. Generally not eating until I got home where I binged on Hardees, pizza, or whatever the case may be.

When I was 29 coming up on 30 I went through divorce. It was very hate filled and emotional despite there being no kids involved. I resorted to drugs and alcohol and was alone through all of the holidays in 2013. To this day I'm still not a fan of this time of year, although I'm much better than I was. I would feel sorry for myself, drink whiskey, and smoke meth. Yup.....effin meth. Destroyed a few friendships as well as my mind and body along the way. People asked what I did for Christmas and I said "Oh you know, sat around the creek....40 creek, ever heard of it?" to which I was referring to a brand/bottle of whiskey.

After what felt like an eternity through the holidays of feeling sorry for myself and an endless amount of tears and overall disappointment in myself, I finally woke up and thought "You did this to yourself.....now get yourself out and stop feeling sorry for yourself." So in January of 2014, I became a new years resolutioner. It would take 6 months from that point, but I finally got my **** into gear and started lifting heavy and eating right. I had to learn to cook for myself as it was something I had never done before. Yup, I was that guy. I ran my first Spartan Race in May of 2013 and that just ignited a fire in me to do better.

I started taking pride in my meals, and the work I was doing and slowly but surely saw results. I remember taking a picture the first time I got to 199.8lbs which marked the first time I had been under 200lbs probably since 8th grade. 1 year from the time I started my journey I finally made a post to my friends and family showing me wearing the 44 inch pants that used to fit too tight....that were no engulfing my body with room to spare on my new 36" waist. I had gotten down to 180lbs, but now I needed to put on muscle.

Almost 4 years later, I've gone from not being able to do a body weight squat, to squatting 250 and deadlifting 335. Now, I know those numbers aren't impressive for a lot, but when you've sat on your ass for 30 years, it takes a long time to get your body there. I went from approximately 40% BF to under 20% where I'm currently at amidst a cut.

I got back up to about 225lbs, but looked better at that weight than I did at 180 simply from putting on enough muscle, but I've recently gotten back down to 200 to lean out and I'm not done yet!

I won't be winning any mens physique contests anytime soon, but coming from a fat kid who got into drugs and alcohol to a fairly lean individual who has pushed his body to the limits, I'm no longer disappointed in myself like I was many years ago.
Euclides - I'm at work, but will post some before and after photos when I'm home and can do so. Thanks for this opportunity!

EDIT: I've still got a long ways to go, but I was quite the hefty dude. Lost nearly 10inches off my waist as the 44s were getting snug at my biggest. The bottom photo far left = May 2015 attempting fighter diet. Picture in the middle was at the beginning of my current cut about 8 weeks ago, and the far right is from 4 weeks ago. Definitely not shredded by any means, but I've come a long way.



 
thebigt

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TheMovement

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Awesome thread and very generous of the brand! Get those stories flowing guys!
 
agnos

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Im justin, 24, and my story is a bit different to everyone else and im not 100% sure weather i should share all but i know my story will definately give people hope to never give up. So ill start when I was at age 4 my parents had just split up because my dad had heavy alchohol issues as a result my mum didnt have much money so when it came to childcare i was going to cheap "home childcares" were i got raped and threatened with death if i told anyone contstantly over a year period and only got the courage to tell my mum about it 10 years later at age 14. So i have suffered from PTSD all my life. I started to feel so different to everyone in school in my older years and turned to heavy drugs like ICE, benzodiazapines, even heroin at my lowest points i have been put into many rehab clinics and always tried to change my behaviour which always seemed to drift back into my life... at the age of 22 (2 years ago) my partner of 3 years left me because i wasnt like i used to be so i went for an evaluation after trying to commit suicide multiple times were i found out i had bi polar and other personality disorders. After hearing this i gave up was drinking on medications everyday like a game of roulette seeing how long i would last.. one day i woke up and said i dont want this life anymore. So instead of doing things necause they are easy i started LOVING the things that were hard when i started my lifting journey 1 year ago it was a way of gaining back mental strength saying to myself everytime i couldnt be bothered that i could do it just like any other hurdle in my life and so can everyone else... i was 6 ft and 56 kg when i started now i sit at 74 and like most people im not 100 satisfied with my body yet alot more muscle to go... But i am proud of were iv come from and the ladder iv had to climb to get there. Moral of the story dont give up and stop choosing things because they are easy and start doing them because they are hard.

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Euclides

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Alright, it's the end of the week and I'm totally blown away by the submissions so far.
Steezy robwayne NurseGray nubiso agnos : You guys are all getting a bottle of AZOTH shipped to you, on the house. Please send me a PM with your mailing information!

As a sidenote - some of the stories on here are going to be selected to be aired on the Bodybuilding Nerds Radio podcast which airs on iTunes and Stitcher every Friday morning!

Let's keep the stories going and keep pushing our fellow iron warriors towards greatness!
 
Steezy

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Alright, it's the end of the week and I'm totally blown away by the submissions so far.
Steezy robwayne NurseGray nubiso agnos : You guys are all getting a bottle of AZOTH shipped to you, on the house. Please send me a PM with your mailing information!

As a sidenote - some of the stories on here are going to be selected to be aired on the Bodybuilding Nerds Radio podcast which airs on iTunes and Stitcher every Friday morning!

Let's keep the stories going and keep pushing our fellow iron warriors towards greatness!
wow you and AZOTH are so awesome for doing this !! Thanks so much for this opportunity!
 
nubioso

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Alright, it's the end of the week and I'm totally blown away by the submissions so far.
Steezy robwayne NurseGray nubiso agnos : You guys are all getting a bottle of AZOTH shipped to you, on the house. Please send me a PM with your mailing information!

As a sidenote - some of the stories on here are going to be selected to be aired on the Bodybuilding Nerds Radio podcast which airs on iTunes and Stitcher every Friday morning!

Let's keep the stories going and keep pushing our fellow iron warriors towards greatness!
PM ALready sent, and thank you again!
 
NurseGray

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Alright, it's the end of the week and I'm totally blown away by the submissions so far.
Steezy robwayne NurseGray nubiso agnos : You guys are all getting a bottle of AZOTH shipped to you, on the house. Please send me a PM with your mailing information!

As a sidenote - some of the stories on here are going to be selected to be aired on the Bodybuilding Nerds Radio podcast which airs on iTunes and Stitcher every Friday morning!

Let's keep the stories going and keep pushing our fellow iron warriors towards greatness!
Awesome! Sending you a PM now. PS if you do decide to share my story please fell free to link all my social media as well. Thanks again!
 
Euclides

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Big congratulations to agnos for having his story shared on the air over iTunes and Sticher on the latest Bodybuilding Nerds Radio show (Ep#135 @ 1hr:25 mins)
 
ZachH

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We all have struggles to overcome. This is an awesome thread and hope it helps motivate some people! Here is my fitness story in a short version.

I was always a food addict and still am for that matter. That part never changed. What changed was my mindset towards life and wanting change bad enough to get off my @ss and making it happen! Throughout middle school and high school i continued to gain weight and have very poor eating habits, despite being active and involved in school sports. I never ate breakfast, very seldom had a healthy lunch and would just pig out all night long with basically no protein. I was a carbaholic and a fataholic lol.

Heaviest i got was 250 lbs, 5'10" and about 35-40% bodyfat. I got to the point i would never take my shirt off at the public pools or the beach, and wouldn't change my shirt in front of people in the gym locker room because i was so disgusted with how i looked. I turned to drugs and alcohol at a young age to cope with these feelings and become numb to them.

At 17 years old, I eventually got so fed up i knew something had to change. So i lit a fire under my @ss, decided i was going to set off on a fitness journey to see how far i could take it. Now 24 years old and 7 years later, im still addicted to fitness and can't see myself stopping any time soon! Over the years i went from 250 lbs 5'10" 40% bodyfat to 150 lbs 5'10" 10% bodyfat and now up to 200 LBS 5'10" and about 13% bodyfat. I had moments of weakness, i had moments of doubt, i had rough patches in life where i would temporarily lose my motivation for fitness but everytime i fell i would look back at where i started and remember why i started all of this!!! We are all human and all have highs and lows. But i refused to be the person who quit and gave up all the progress ive made. Im forever grateful to God and everyone else who got me going on this journey because fitness changed every aspect of my life for the better. Here are some before pics and some recent pics.
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Euclides

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That's one hell of a transformation. Inspirational as hell. Respect.
 
nubioso

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Always enjoy your story ZachH! You've done awesome man! I need to do as good as you've done and get shredded! Give me your diet tips! =P

Good job again, brothaman!
 
Afi140

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That is a dope transformation Zach.
 
Afi140

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Hyde

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I’ll share my experience to maybe give some hope and perspective to anyone with ongoing back issues.

I have been lifting seriously for 8 years now, and with no coach or athletic background I more or less figured it out on my own. This inevitably led to a lot of mistakes, poor technique, and general abuse of my spine. As a strength enthusiast, my deadlift eventually climbed to 578lbs in competition within about 6 years of training. I worked hard, but I lifted improperly and would routinely have to lie on the floor for almost an hour after hobbling home from training just to be able to walk or sit without fire in my back.

Fast forward 6 months and I had pushed my back to the point where my bulging discs were so bad I couldn’t bend down to pick up a pencil or wash my legs in the shower. I had to squat down to get things out of the fridge because I couldn’t bend - I was broken, physically and mentally.

I needed a plan. I learned everything I could about Dr. Stuart McGill’s spine rehab protocols. I quit everything that caused pain. I started walking and practicing bracing drills every single day: endless days and hours of drills. Training consisted of boring, embarrassingly light movements. Not the fun things; rather all the little pieces it took to slowly reset and rebuild the foundation and ensure I could lift correctly in the future.

Slowly I began to get back to big movements, always with less weight and reps than I knew I was capable. I kept myself on that chain - always pulled back, hungry to overcome the obstacles I had rightfully inherited. I could feel my strength returning, and my technique infinitely better than before: still, I bided my time. A year and a half went by, grinding away at all the little things that add up to big things (even when nobody was watching).

Til finally, this:



TL;DR: 628lb deadlift in comp, 3/3 white lights, zero back pain.

You can choose to view things either as obstacles or opportunities. Sometimes, YOU need to tell the universe where you belong, and don’t let anyone tell you different - especially yourself. Euclides

 
Hyde

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Poolcue

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Some really great and very inspiring stories in here!
 
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Poolcue

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When you are surrounded by people, you take particular paths and realise that you are in a bubble / safe haven if you follow the crowd. Changes in personality arise when you take steps to change things up and follow different paths.
When I was overweight, I had real difficulties when I began to exercise and do something about it. I just followed the masses and began to run…because I thought that is what everyone else did! With no experience and/or talent whatsoever, I began to run for 60 minutes every day whilst at work. The running session was split in two, 30 minutes in the AM and 30 minutes at lunchtime. I worked in an expanded complex so running outside was easy.

I remember the first runs as if it was yesterday. I had knee pain, mobility issues with my with my hips and the soreness at the end of some days left me questioning if it was all worth it. Perseverance was the key here, I started to see results after a short time. I had no concept of diet structure and was essentially making it up as I went along which made me feel really good.

There wasn’t anyone else who was getting up at 5am, there wasn’t anyone else who was running in the rain, snow and wind, there wasn’t anyone else who literally crawled into bed in the evening. It was all down to ME. Fast forward six months, I dropped most of the weight I was looking to get rid of.

Having the ability to do this, lit a fire inside of me. It made me want to find other avenues where I could prove myself and deep down I know that I have the ability to apply this mind set to any walk of life, whether that be further fitness goals or career moves.

As an individual, you have to realise that if you want something, it is always there for the taking. Unless you are fortunate, there is no such thing as reward without effort. It was not all plain sailing for me, I had days where I had real difficulty keeping my composure and sat on the brink of complete collapse, questioning whether or not the effort I was making was going to be worth it.
Some days I did fall of the wagon and binged, however I made sure that the next week would be full of effort and a rededication to the task at hand. People need to realise that temporary lapses can be crucial to building character and self-discipline. My mind is clear now and now level of disappointment or failure will be able to derail me from this path that I have developed for myself.

This period of loss was some years ago, however I have to the thankful for what it helped me develop within. In BJJ, I have lost some fights which I really thought I should have been winning, whether that be from lack of effort on my part of lack of skill/preparation. I always make that point of congratulating my opponent and shaking the hands of any opposing team representative. It gives me an opportunity to wind down after the fights and I being respectful is such a huge part of the discipline.

This being said, I always know that I have the ability to get back on the mats after losing and put that effort in with my team to prepare for the next fight. Some people will never have this opportunity and I have seen friends of mine take defeats extremely badly, leave the sport and never return. If I ever feel this way, I remind myself of a quote I read some years ago.

“There is no losing, when you have already won”

I won years ago, I conquered demons. Anything else that comes my way is a bonus.
Poolcue83
 
Euclides

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As 2017 has come to an end, and 2018 has started let's keep these stories coming.
 
Euclides

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Opening this thread up again for stories.

To Clarify:
1. Submit a Story
2. Your story will get read on Bodybuilding Nerds Radio Podcast
3. Receive a 180 - Day Supply (Yes, 3 months supply) of AZOTH completely free (shipping included).
 
Poolcue

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Opening this thread up again for stories.

To Clarify:
1. Submit a Story
2. Your story will get read on Bodybuilding Nerds Radio Podcast
3. Receive a 180 - Day Supply (Yes, 3 months supply) of AZOTH completely free (shipping included).
Great idea brother. I am really keen to see some inspiring stories on this thread. It would be great to come together and establish how others Get Sh*t done.
 
thebigt

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I am a alcoholic. it took me 5 tries to get it right. if it is something that needs to be done keep at it till you get it right.

1-13-09 will be 21 years sober.

let me be perfectly clear, If I can do it you can too.

on a side note, If you drink please do not drive...
 
Jesse Pistokache

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What's up fellas,

I wanted to share a quick story about my time playing Division 1 basketball (Kinda lengthy but worth the read)
This is a moment that changed my outlook on life forever.

But most importantly, this is the moment I realized..

I would rather be "Depressed" With A Mission, Than A Loser With No Goals

Attached are two photos of me during my time at The University of Richmond. We we playing West Virginia University in a tournament in Las Vegas. I was a freshman at the time playing against a top 20 team in the country on ESPN... it was pretty dope. Anyways, my time at Richmond didn’t end well. Things fell apart and I found myself going from the top, straight to the bench.

That **** sucked man. But I fucking worked my ass off to get my minutes back. I’m talking a disgusting work ethic. I was a man on a mission to get back on that court. Tunnel fucking vision. But not all stories end the way we hope.
At the end of the day, nobody cares about you. My coach didn’t give a **** about how hard I worked, and why should he? Dude makes millions coaching every year, he couldn’t care less how hard someone worked as long as they were producing him wins.

December of 2016, I had just got off the phone with my dad and we made a decision that I would be transferring. Despite the sickening hours of work I was putting in to get on that court, I wasn’t getting the minutes I needed to reach my ultimate goal... a professional basketball player.

At that moment, I was hit with the realization that it didn’t matter how many hours I put in, the chances of me getting what I wanted at Richmond were basically zero.

So there I was, a kid with a **** ton of work ethic but nothing to show for it. And for the very first time in my life, I was mind fucked

You see, the whole plan was to work my ass off, get back on that court, and destroy every motherfucker I played against. But suddenly reality hit, and that wasn’t going to happen.
My time at Richmond was coming to an end and it felt as if everything I worked for was for nothing. I was stuck in limbo. I had to show up to practice and get yelled at by some man who wasn’t even going to be my coach in 2 months

“What the **** is the point?!” I thought to myself constantly. Why would I give everything I have when I know this **** is over, I’m not getting on the court and I’m leaving next year
I felt weird as ****, my whole life I was always working towards a goal or a mission. However, those last 2 months at Richmond, I had no mission.

I was a loser, a waster, a “normal” person, and it threw me off.

But one morning all that **** changed.

I had this moment where I looked at myself and it all made sense.

You see, since the 4th grade, I was always chasing a goal in basketball. I would fail, fail, fail, then win. But those moments of failure fucking sucked man. Constant stress, pressure, worry, I experienced all of that. And I used to think that failing was the worst feeling in the world.

Richmond taught me I was wrong

The worst feeling in the world is being a loser with no goal, no mission, no purpose. **** failing, it doesn’t even compare.

Yes, failure brings about an enormous amount of pain but I **** you not, it’s nowhere near the feeling of having nothing to strive for.

I left Richmond with this wisdom: Enjoy the pain, enjoy the failure, enjoy the stress, and enjoy the pressure. Despite the horrible feeling they all bring, they don’t last forever and I can assure you the feeling of being a man or woman with no mission will kill you and live with you till the end of your days.

Stay driven my friends and always hold on to your mission, it’s what makes life worth living. Trust me on that.

Blessings,

Jesse Pistokache
 

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Great post Jesse - hugely inspiring.


This quote sums it up:

"The worst feeling in the world is being a loser with no goal, no mission, no purpose. **** failing, it doesn’t even compare."
 

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