In the XV Olympics, during the height of Russian athletic dominance, Soviets took 29 medals (11 gold), East Germans took 25 medals (9 gold), while the U.S. only took 6 medals (2 gold)—9th place.
How are we to explain the consistent edge shown by other countries in business and athletics? Some might say Americans have lost their clear vision and follow-through, that they now lack the ability to see and stay with a course all the way to its successful outcome. It is disquieting to discover how often those who are “in the search for excellence” stop part way through a program or book once they feel they have grasped the basics or principles but fail to follow through with the important details. This failure inevitably leads to second place at best. We are growing a society where information and book knowledge is highly regarded and good ideas puff up egos while the actual ability to follow through and gain experience through failure and suffering is avoided at all costs. This is the main reason why I chose to leave “corporate” America. Too much time wasted in meetings brainstorming the next great idea, and everyone leaving feeling accomplished that good ideas were discovered only to see nothing actually change a month later. It’s one thing to have a good idea. Good ideas pump the ego. It’s a whole other thing to actually know how to implement that idea into reality. That’s when others are truly served.
In the Soviet Union, students selected for honors programs called spetzshkolas, are trained to think and solve problems for themselves through a classical approach all but ignored in the West. For example, pupils are not taught Newton’s Laws. Rather, they are presented with conditions through which enterprising students can “discover” these laws on their own. In this way, truths become self-evident and the application of truths are applied automatically. Student’s, through this type of environment are taught to think for themselves and use knowledge to grow the next set of questions that naturally present themselves once a level of mastery is achieved. This is very different than our current western system that inundates us with information that we are required to memorize and regurgitate during testing. The ability to regurgitate information does not reveal in the slightest the students actual mastery of the subject and whether or not they can apply it to the real world. In my corner of the world, that’s why I see too many trainers who can tell you information on how to do a particular exercise, yet very few can do it correctly themselves and even less can teach it to others. It’s like the vast number of black belts in martial arts who have never actually been in a fight or ever received a punch to the face. It’s a false sense of security. Just like owning a firearm and shooting paper targets that don’t shoot back is not the same thing as being in a battle with real bullets flying past you. That’s why you hear story after story of police officers emptying complete magazines but not hitting anything…or what they hit is detrimental. Only when tested under fire do you realize the questions and scenarios that come about revealing your weaknesses and what your training really needs to entail.
The best way to learn anything is ultimately by doing. A good coach, teacher, trainer, or instructor is one who has already a level of true mastery and can break down variables and put them into an environment where you can discover what works instead of just giving you answers and information. (And the best instructors are not necessarily those who are naturally gifted or talented. Many professionals we look up to are genetically gifted and didn’t have to fight or struggle to achieve. 1 out of 1000 people will be this way. And statistically, most professional sports have numbers in the 1/1000 range if you look at high school participants compared to professional participants–last year over 1.4 million students participated in high school football; there are only 1,696 spots in the NFL. Which means very few got there from sheer determination and hard work. The best teachers are the ones who weren’t the most talented, had to overcome critical obstacles and find answers that talented people blew through or overlooked. Therefore, they now know more variables of how to achieve replicable success than a mere talented person who says “just do it like me”. If you aren’t exactly like them, then they can’t replicate success in you. The coach who has faced many obstacles and overcome is the one who can replicate success in all sorts of individuals.)
I do what I do today because of all the obstacles I had to overcome. Family obstacles, money obstacles, health obstacles. I wasn’t born naturally talented. My walls, obstacles, and frustrations motivated me to find answers. Like the quote, “necessity is the mother of all invention,” great things do not occur without a great sense of urgency. So our gym is full of knowledge, however we don’t just spew it out as it is shortly lost. We create an environment where you can learn by doing and feeling, then as you progress, better questions present themselves through your experience which give rise to greater levels of achievement as you break through barriers. It’s not for everyone. The main point of our gym is to fail. It’s a safe environment to do so, but without failure you can’t learn. When people experience success, there is no stimulus to want to change anything. But if you fail, there’s a reason to learn and improve. If you continually fail at the same point, you are not learning of course. That’s why we are here. To guide you and set up parameters for failing appropriately. But once you learn from failure and succeed, we celebrate momentarily and then get back to work overcoming the next level of failure. This is not a place where everyone gets a trophy. It’s honest. It’s raw. Many people don’t like that because it requires a good look into the mirror and a test of your mental and emotional fortitude. Many don’t like the challenge. But if you want to really make something of yourself, steward all that God gave you, it’s the means necessary to do so. We enjoy this training environment because the habits formed here transcend into all areas of life. And as a side benefit, you get to be really strong and fit in the process!
Here’s to real learning.