Everyone can’t win. Not everyone gets a trophy, and not everyone gets to experience victory. Welcome to life. Welcome to a world where some people are dumb and some people are smart, where some people are rich and some people are poor, where some people live and where some people die. Welcome to a world where shit just isn’t fair.
Despite this, there is a rampant movement to try to make everything fair. There are sports leagues where no score is kept and everyone gets trophies. There are schools where no one is allowed to fail. There are gyms that don’t allow powerlifters and bodybuilders to be members because they intimidate the “average” gym-goer. This is sadly becoming a common occurrence and, personally, I’m not a fan. Life is about gaining an advantage. It isn't about gaining an advantage at the expense of others, but it is absolutely about gaining an advantage over others. From the time you're born until the time you die, every human on earth is trying to make life unfair.
Think about it—would you like your child to be birthed without any of the current neonatal care available? Hell no! Why? Because you want your child to have the greatest chance of survival. When interviewing for a job where you have better education and more work experience than the other candidates, do you want the employer to just flip a coin or take all those facts into consideration? Do you want to fight a war where everyone has equal military force and fire power or would you rather have the world’s greatest military in history? On the powerlifting platform, do you not try to prepare better than your competitors by training harder and smarter?
In powerlifting and in life, the goal is to constantly gain an advantage to ensure your own victory and to prepare, perform, and prevail. So in the spirit of unfairness, here are some methods that you can use to win:
Don’t be a dumbass
Not everyone will be Albert Einstein, but don’t let yourself be a brainless asshole. Pay attention in school, read some books, and learn the basic subjects so that if someone asks you to break a $20, you don’t sit there with a blank stare on your face. In fact, learn a whole lot about something. Whether it’s plumbing, computers, astrophysics, or landscaping, become an expert on something. When it comes to powerlifting, read articles on elitefts™, read the training logs, utilize the Q&As, and go to the LTTs. Become smart(er).
Train on the best equipment
The fact of the matter is equipment can make all the difference in your training. Having quality material and more equipment geared toward your sport can give you a huge advantage over the guy who has to train on his crappy commercial gym equipment. The best equipment around is made right here in the USA and is stamped with the elitefts™ logo down the side. They make the best racks and the best bars, and they have the biggest selection of stuff to make you strong. You have two options—save up some money, go in with some buds, and do whatever it is you have to do to build yourself a sweet home gym or find a gym nearby that has their equipment. In Memphis, Tennessee, we are the only gym anywhere close that has elitefts™ equipment.
Now, you might have to drive a little bit to get to a gym, and they will probably charge you a membership or a day pass fee. There is this crazy capitalist idea that consumers should have to pay a monetary amount representative of the value of said product or service. So if you’re someone who likes to bitch about stuff costing money, feel free to keep on training on bad equipment at crappy gyms and remaining weak (aka sucking at life).
Find/create a team of badasses
Ideally, this team will have similar training ideas and attitudes. This is your Seal Team 6 of badass mofos who show up every day to not only win but to refuse to lose. Keep your team tight and keep their mindsets solid. You will be each other’s support, and you will ensure that the individual gains more because of the group. This is important with your friends outside the gym. It can be hard to tell people that you don’t want to associate with them because they suck. If you have goals, spend time around goal-oriented people. Wolves don’t associate with sheep. So unless you want to be like every other dipshit who wastes his life away, you'd better start spending some time around people who lace their boots up every morning with a sense of purpose.
Don’t be afraid to compete
Every day is a competition. Wake up ready to win. It's your job to ensure that you and your team (family, friends, work team, powerlifting team) are ready to go out and put their best foot forward in every situation. You don’t compete to show off or make others feel bad. You compete because you get one chance to go through this life and you need to treat it like a game, not a practice. You need to feel the pressure involved with putting yourself out there. That means ask for the raise you deserve, ask out that girl everyone is afraid to talk to, and step on that platform and see what you're made of. Competition isn’t always about winning and losing. It’s about testing yourself, reviewing your results, and preparing for the next go round. Don’t be the kid hiding on the bench. Be the kid who asks for the ball. Whether you win or lose, at least you’ll walk away knowing that you had the balls to give it your best shot.
Don’t let yourself succumb to the fairness movement; train to win, play to win, and expect to win. Prepare yourself mentally, get the equipment you need to succeed, get your team ready, and go out there and show people how much fairness sucks.