The more and more time I spend in the gym, the more and more I see natural selection and physiological birthright at play. Even though some fools believe they can chemically codify reality, billions of years won't be dammed by a few shots in the butt cheeks. I was born with the coding to grow to 6'-2" (1.89 meters), but it was not in the genetic soup to give me basketball hops. What I did come equipped with was the ability to quickly recover anaerobically, which helped me as college swimmer to handle practices with fast intervals on short rest. To this day I still enjoy the rapid lowering of my heart rate during cardio sets -- going from 170 bpm to under 110 bpm in less than :30 seconds on most interval sets. But I completely accept the fact that because of my genetic cocktail no matter the multiple arrows in Jaron's workout quiver I will never have twenty-two inch (56 cm) biceps or dunk a basketball.
Equally important to birthright is for me to acknowledge the circumstances to which I have enjoyed great gains in the gym. I have a personal trainer who commands $100 to $125 per hour to the rest of the population write and mentor me for the unfair amount of zero dollars. The value of his training is not lost on the monetary absence, he still holds me to the highest standard and calls me on any stupid corner cutting excuse I employee. I check my privilege to the transparency that I'm enjoying the fruits of Jaron's dedication to his craft just because we have been friends for over two decades. Circumstances people. Circumstances. Horatio, there is no struggling valiantly against adversity here.
And lastly, timing. In a future post I'll discuss the male phases loosely defining the trail through adolescents, the destructive years, and the catalyst for change for those in the bell curve. Timing plays a vital role in determining when to start taking control of health and wellness. For me it meant owning the results and controlling expectations on a journey that really has no destination. A destination denotes an end point that only serves Double Doubles and chicken wings at 1:00 a.m.
Phases of development, shit, seems I'm still in my destructive years. Probably puts me, at 39, in the far left quadrant of the bell curve on this one. Birth, unavoidable. In no way our choice. Circumstance, partly our doing, partly out of our hands. There's a raging debate about fate vs. choice. I tend toward the camp that says we are the sum of our choices. I refuse to believe that fate has some say in my future. I, alone, am responsible for my future. To believe otherwise, would cause me to strive for nothing. Why, why, would I go out of my way to excel at anything, if the future was written?! If my efforts were for not? And all is out of my control... Screw that! I am in charge of my future. My circumstances could improve, or diminish, based on who I know, how much I know, and how ignorant I am. But I am responsible for that. I may not know someone who can coach me through business finance, and marketing, which would be my equivalent to Ole JT and training with me. But, will that, or better yet, has that kept me from becoming a successful entrepreneur with two businesses to my credit? I think not. Am I debunking the JT theory? Not hardly. I just suggest that despite those circumstances, one can still be successful. This may be the exception and not the rule. You think Steve Jobs was in the right place, at the right time? Or do you know that he earned his keep, by being smarter than everyone else? On the other hand, is "Joe" somehow deserving of his $100 million lottery winnings? My point is, you can create your own circumstance, but there's still a lot of craps being played here! Which leads to timing. I feel this is the concept least explored, yet most explained in JT'S rant. Timing is most crucial. You didn't invest in Apple or Microsoft, you missed the housing bubble, you didn't take all those chances when you were young and full of promise. Here you are, without recourse. Hind sight is 20/20 and all. You are the sum of your decisions. But you can, as stated, be anything you want in the future. Work your ass off in the endeavor that makes you happy, and anything is possible! It was recently brought to my attention by a loyal client: I can't force someone to do what they don't want, to make them successful, I can only convince them that doing what they don't want will bring them what they DO want! That's my job. No more, no less. And so, I endeavor, in the noble cause of "forcing" people to do what they don't want, in order to achieve what they DO want. Call it timing, circumstance, but certainly not birthright. Jarvis bought in, who's next...?
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