Photo by Samantha B
This one goes out to you, dreamer. This one is dedicated to the kid shooting pucks at a coffee can out in the back yard, while the rest of the world spins on. This is for that kid who they said would never make it. It's for the one they laughed at. It's for the one who wasn't afraid to be real, to be passionate, to be a hockey player. If you are reading this now, and thinking I'm talking to you, I am. This one is for you.
Take it from an old buck who has been grinding away for all these years. It's worth it. Chase your dream down like your life depends on it. Because it does. You have the ability to choose your own path in this life, and don't listen to anyone who tells you that you don't. Beware of bitterhearts. They are everywhere, and they will try to pull you down to the depths. But the depths are no place for a hero.
You are the hero of your own story now. This is your quest. It has already started, long before you even knew you were on it. But between me and you, your quest starts today. Now. You control the outcome. You can predict the future. You can see it. Clench your eyes closed, and in that tight darkness, peer out, and see that future version of yourself.
I did when I was sixteen. I was laying, flat-backed, staring up at twirling fans and florescent lights at the gym, and about to perform a bench press. Chris C. was there looking down at me, spotting me, and rattling off grunts and encouragement.
“You got this, man.”
“Breathe.”
“Down and up, comon now!”
All I needed to do was lift that bar one time, and I would bench press more weight than I ever had before. I closed my eyes and drifted off into some gelatinous space behind my pupils, and swam in ink-black water until I saw a reflection shimmer across rippling waves. It was me and I was in a hockey uniform. I was all grown up, a man. I was a pro hockey player. I saw it, fifteen years ago. I opened my eyes, took a breath in and exhaled, and performed the lift.
That memory has stuck with me for years. I have unforgettable and lasting thoughts during the brief seconds right before any difficult lift in the weight room. If I need to perform a set of five heavy squats for example, I dedicate each one to a different person. Some are to people I am trying to win over, people who I am trying to prove my worth. I will dedicate these lifts to coaches or GM's, or anyone who deserves those reps, or those to whom reps I owe. Other times, I give those reps to people who took something from me, or to people to tried to strip me of my strength and power. These people may be doubters, vampires, past coaches who cut me, or people who didn't believe in me. I dedicate these sets to them just the same.
Motivation is motivation, I suppose. Whatever works.
I have performed roughly fifty million reps of bench press, squats, pull ups, you name it, to one memory I have of when I was just a kid, just a young dreamer. Didn't we all dream of playing in the NHL? Of course we did. A group of the kids asked me if they thought I would make it to the NHL. I was 14 years old. What did I know? Of course I believed I would some day. That's the only thing I ever believed.
“Yes.” I said.
And then came the laughter. They laughed and laughed, but I didn't listen. I went and shot ten million more pucks that night and pictured myself streaking down the wing, it's game 7, five seconds left, four, three, two, Robins gets the pass, one, he shoots, he SCORES!
We have all been in those sold-out arenas in our mind, visualizing every movement and motion. This is all mental preparation, you are on the right track if you are seeing these things and saying this stuff, while you shoot those pucks to an audience of pine trees and a lazy Labrador, out in the middle of Nowhere, Wisconsin.
One day you will be there. Believe it and know it.
You are the hero of your own story now. This is your quest. It has already started, long before you even knew you were on it. But between me and you, your quest starts today. Now. You control the outcome. You can predict the future. You can see it. Clench your eyes closed, and in that tight darkness, peer out, and see that future version of yourself.
I did when I was sixteen. I was laying, flat-backed, staring up at twirling fans and florescent lights at the gym, and about to perform a bench press. Chris C. was there looking down at me, spotting me, and rattling off grunts and encouragement.
“You got this, man.”
“Breathe.”
“Down and up, comon now!”
All I needed to do was lift that bar one time, and I would bench press more weight than I ever had before. I closed my eyes and drifted off into some gelatinous space behind my pupils, and swam in ink-black water until I saw a reflection shimmer across rippling waves. It was me and I was in a hockey uniform. I was all grown up, a man. I was a pro hockey player. I saw it, fifteen years ago. I opened my eyes, took a breath in and exhaled, and performed the lift.
That memory has stuck with me for years. I have unforgettable and lasting thoughts during the brief seconds right before any difficult lift in the weight room. If I need to perform a set of five heavy squats for example, I dedicate each one to a different person. Some are to people I am trying to win over, people who I am trying to prove my worth. I will dedicate these lifts to coaches or GM's, or anyone who deserves those reps, or those to whom reps I owe. Other times, I give those reps to people who took something from me, or to people to tried to strip me of my strength and power. These people may be doubters, vampires, past coaches who cut me, or people who didn't believe in me. I dedicate these sets to them just the same.
Motivation is motivation, I suppose. Whatever works.
I have performed roughly fifty million reps of bench press, squats, pull ups, you name it, to one memory I have of when I was just a kid, just a young dreamer. Didn't we all dream of playing in the NHL? Of course we did. A group of the kids asked me if they thought I would make it to the NHL. I was 14 years old. What did I know? Of course I believed I would some day. That's the only thing I ever believed.
“Yes.” I said.
And then came the laughter. They laughed and laughed, but I didn't listen. I went and shot ten million more pucks that night and pictured myself streaking down the wing, it's game 7, five seconds left, four, three, two, Robins gets the pass, one, he shoots, he SCORES!
We have all been in those sold-out arenas in our mind, visualizing every movement and motion. This is all mental preparation, you are on the right track if you are seeing these things and saying this stuff, while you shoot those pucks to an audience of pine trees and a lazy Labrador, out in the middle of Nowhere, Wisconsin.
One day you will be there. Believe it and know it.
Photo by Samantha B
So now what?
It's day one of your quest. Now it's up to you. Where do you want this thing to go?
Be a good hero, and start by putting good things in your body. Fuel up! You are going to need it. And you'd better start pouring buckets of water down your throat, non-stop.
Start picturing every single day as a chapter or challenge in your quest. Win the day. Your goal is to improve yourself today. As insignificant as one day seems in the grand scheme of things, your destiny could come down to the decisions you make today. Why risk it? This is your quest, for you and you alone. Villains are always close behind, on the hunt. They prey on fear and regret. They will chase you for the duration of your quest, hoping that you fail; waiting, salivating, measuring each step you take, ready to pounce the instant you give up. It is then that they feed, and the hero is destroyed.
But that isn't in the cards for you or me. We are destined to complete our quest, and along the journey you will encounter many allies who will aid you and befriend you. Lean on these positive influences, take strength from them and give them strength. This story we are telling is interwoven and entwined among many heroes, past and present. Even you, future hero: you are a part of this story too.
So now it's time to shift your mind set.
(And in case you haven't noticed, this goes out to any one of us who is dreaming, any of us who is on a quest, in any form. Obviously I will speak of the Hockey Quest, and offer advice to young Hockey Heroes out there. But there are endless quests, of endless heroes, in endless worlds, and endless times. This sentence you are reading now is one small victory in a separate quest I am on, that just so happens to follow along on parallel lines with my Hockey Quest. Come to think of it, maybe none of this is separate. Maybe we are all connected in our individual quests in some way. Maybe we are meant to lean on and support each other, and build up this monolithic psychic tower of strength and determination; so that one day we rise up so tall and worthy that the villains disappear all together, and we all exist as content heroes—relics—because we all achieved our dreams, and now we are finally at peace. Maybe that is what life is, some cosmic quest we are all a part of.)
So starting now, live every day as a personal challenge on your quest. How are you going to improve today? For me, I'm going to write 2000 thousand words of honest prose, right out from the thickest part of my heart. I'm going to drink a gallon of water. I'm going to eat healthy meals made up of superfoods. I'm going to think positive thoughts about hockey, art, writing, my relationships, and my future. I'm going to mentally prepare for three games in three nights this weekend, and know that I will lay it on the line every single shift. I will spread this message to other Hero Allies across the internet, because something inside of me is telling me that I have to, and that at least one person will read this and make a massive shift in his or her life, and begin a noble quest. Is that person you? If so, let us know in the Comments what you are going to chase down like your life depends on it.
It's day one of your quest. Now it's up to you. Where do you want this thing to go?
Be a good hero, and start by putting good things in your body. Fuel up! You are going to need it. And you'd better start pouring buckets of water down your throat, non-stop.
Start picturing every single day as a chapter or challenge in your quest. Win the day. Your goal is to improve yourself today. As insignificant as one day seems in the grand scheme of things, your destiny could come down to the decisions you make today. Why risk it? This is your quest, for you and you alone. Villains are always close behind, on the hunt. They prey on fear and regret. They will chase you for the duration of your quest, hoping that you fail; waiting, salivating, measuring each step you take, ready to pounce the instant you give up. It is then that they feed, and the hero is destroyed.
But that isn't in the cards for you or me. We are destined to complete our quest, and along the journey you will encounter many allies who will aid you and befriend you. Lean on these positive influences, take strength from them and give them strength. This story we are telling is interwoven and entwined among many heroes, past and present. Even you, future hero: you are a part of this story too.
So now it's time to shift your mind set.
(And in case you haven't noticed, this goes out to any one of us who is dreaming, any of us who is on a quest, in any form. Obviously I will speak of the Hockey Quest, and offer advice to young Hockey Heroes out there. But there are endless quests, of endless heroes, in endless worlds, and endless times. This sentence you are reading now is one small victory in a separate quest I am on, that just so happens to follow along on parallel lines with my Hockey Quest. Come to think of it, maybe none of this is separate. Maybe we are all connected in our individual quests in some way. Maybe we are meant to lean on and support each other, and build up this monolithic psychic tower of strength and determination; so that one day we rise up so tall and worthy that the villains disappear all together, and we all exist as content heroes—relics—because we all achieved our dreams, and now we are finally at peace. Maybe that is what life is, some cosmic quest we are all a part of.)
So starting now, live every day as a personal challenge on your quest. How are you going to improve today? For me, I'm going to write 2000 thousand words of honest prose, right out from the thickest part of my heart. I'm going to drink a gallon of water. I'm going to eat healthy meals made up of superfoods. I'm going to think positive thoughts about hockey, art, writing, my relationships, and my future. I'm going to mentally prepare for three games in three nights this weekend, and know that I will lay it on the line every single shift. I will spread this message to other Hero Allies across the internet, because something inside of me is telling me that I have to, and that at least one person will read this and make a massive shift in his or her life, and begin a noble quest. Is that person you? If so, let us know in the Comments what you are going to chase down like your life depends on it.
Thanks for reading...
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