There I was the little town of Waterloo, Iowa at the ripe age of 15, sitting on the gymnasium floor one summer while attending a wrestling camp. On this particular day the camp host shared a story of tragedy, commitment, perseverance, inspiration, success, disappointment, redemption, and ultimately, heartbreaking courage.
The storyteller was the most intense and passionate speaker I had ever watched, even to this day nearly 25 years later. It was no surprise that he was also an Olympic Gold-medal winner with a world-famous work ethic and dedication to success. Today, he remains an almost unparalleled legend in the sports world.
That speaker and the camp's host was Dan Gable, and that day he taught us an incredibly valuable lesson.
Gable grew up in that very town with an obsession for wrestling. He started making a name for himself in high school, and was living a relatively normal life of a small-town American boy.
That was until tragedy tore apart his family.
While Gable and his parents were out of town on vacation, his older sister, who stayed home alone, was murdered by a boy from school.
Dan Gable was devastated by these events and blamed himself for what had happened. The tragedy has haunted Gable for his entire life, and at that young age he turned his rage inward. He became obsessed with training and for redeeming his sister's life through his performance on the wrestling mat.
His training habits became legendary. He was the first one to practice and the last one to leave. Every workout was undertaken with his mantra of "Push to Collapse."
Each and every session was dedicated to the goal of working so hard that he would have to be physically carried off the wrestling mat at the finish. One by one he exhausted all of his training partners on his high school and eventually college teams.
No one could keep up with him, but no matter how hard he was never able to truly break himself in training. However, this commitment led to a high school championship and an undefeated record in college that spanned several years.
That was until the unthinkable happened.
Wrestling in his final match at the NCAA level, just before Gable was expected to go on and win the Gold medal at the 1972 Olympics, Dan Gable's unbeaten record came to an end in a shocking upset in his final college match.
The sports world was stunned. In tears, Gable left the mat in utter disappointment, feeling that he had let down the memory of his sister.
But he soon returned to training his Push to Collapse approach. He kept on pushing, no matter what.
Eventually he would have his redemption. Gable went on to win the Gold at the '72 Olympics by dominating his competition, no doubt in large part due to his training philosophy and dedication to working harder than anyone else in the world.
His attitude of pushing through the dark days surrounding both his sister's death and his devastating loss in the final match of his college career was what allowed him to become the best in the world at what he did.
His "never, ever give up" attitude is what allowed Gable to become a legend.
What drive and determination. Dan Gable was truly a man that was determined to make the most of the gifts he had been given.
Do you hold the same attitude?
Are you willing to keep on pushing?
Are you determined, no matter how bad it gets, to keep on taking action?
Are you committed to never, ever, EVER giving up on what is important to you?
Listen, everyone suffers through setbacks.
We all have dark days and dips in the road.
But there remains one undeniable truth.
No matter how bad things might feel, no matter how tough your current situation, the truth is that someone, somewhere, in worse circumstances than yours right now, was able to rise up and overcome those obstacles to go on and succeed at achieving their dreams...
...because they kept on pushing.
This is a phrase that has popped up time and time again in my life lately. I say it in countless replies to emails from BioTrust readers and customers as they detail their struggles and hopes in reply to this very newsletter.
It's a phrase that I've made it a point to encourage others with as they push to become their best, day in and day out.
I said it to myself over and over and over again while cooking my own meals, fighting through my own workouts, and spending countless hours to extend the reach of the BioTrust brand across the world so we can help as many people as possible, together.
And when someone achieves success, my comment to them is always, "Congratulations, now Keep on Pushing!"
When someone is struggling, "Stay Strong. Keep on Pushing" are my words of advice.
It doesn't matter where you are in life, in business, or in your relationships, if you're going after something that matters, you just have to Keep on Pushing.
Just Act.
Just Ask for Help.
Just Stop Procrastinating.
Just Never Give Up.
Just Keep on Going.
And when you stumble or get stuck, just Keep on Pushing.
Learn your lesson, readjust your course, and Push again.
Use your leverage.
And Push.
Strain and struggle.
Dig Deep.
And Push.
Back to Dan Gable...
As he wrapped up his speech, he recounted a story with tears in his eyes and a crack in his voice.
Recently, while on the road giving one of his many speeches, his daughter participated in an 800-meter race against the state champion. Gable's wife delivered the play-by-play commentary via cell phone.
It turned out to be a remarkable day for his daughter. She started strong, not only keeping pace with the highly-favored state champion, but eventually taking the lead down the home stretch.
Two hundred meters to go, then one hundred. Their daughter was still in the lead. She was on the verge of a massive upset victory.
Suddenly, the line went silent.
At first he thought he had lost the connection. Then moments later, in shock, his wife began to speak again.
Gable's daughter had literally pushed to collapse.
Within meters of the finish line she had given everything that she could and her legs had simply given out. She fell down within site of the finish, physically unable to go any further.
As Gable explained with great pride in his heart and tears in his eyes, "My daughter did what I could never do. She pushed to collapse."
She might have lost the race, but she won something much more important that day.
And so here's what that means to us...
That no matter how dark the day, no matter how deep the dip in your life, when all else fails all you can do is keep on pushing.
