“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision.”

You really shouldn’t blame yourself for thinking the way you’re thinking. It’s almost second nature at this point, the commonly accepted way of going about our daily lives. Measuring progress, analyzing data, tracking statistics. Our society is driven by holding on to tangible outputs and results. But as much as we all should give ourselves benchmarks during our pursuit of a dream, those benchmarks are not what define us as dreamers.

It’s the intangibles that matter most. The thoughts, the beliefs, the emotions we have within us everyday are what will carry us regardless what has happened any particular day.

Believe me, it’s not an easy concept to wrap your head around. So many things in our lives are focused on empirical, concrete information that we can see with our own two eyes and touch with our own two hands. For many, if they can’t see then they don’t believe it. While that’s a logical perspective when considering the Loch Ness Monster, we need to reconsider how we’re motivating ourselves when we’re not pondering mythical creatures! If you’re in a place right now where believing is only a byproduct of seeing…maybe it’s time to switch things up. Maybe let’s try believing first…and see the results because of it.

Let me try to explain with an example: I was speaking with a friend who happens to be in a very prominent position with a professional basketball team in their public relations department. He is relatively young considering his job status and was extremely poignant in telling me about how he got to where he is today. Sure, he mentioned working hard and seizing the opportunity when it presents itself. But the one quote I remember to this today was when he told me what his boss said to him in his first interview, “If you want to be in this position, I need one thing out of you. Don’t tell me you love basketball. Everybody loves basketball. I need you to love public relations. Because if we start losing every game and everyone starts hating our team, I need you to love public relations more than ever.”

A pretty blunt truth, right? The reality that dawned on me through that quote and the one from Muhammed Ali is that we cannot avoid having bad days or completely rid our lives of failure. Those rough patches are going to come. So when the glamorous results aren’t flowing in, when it’s not FUN to be living your dream…what is it that’s going to carry you through? It will be that vision you cling to, the belief that achieving your dream is still a WHEN not an IF.

When Ali stepped into a ring, he was physically menacing, a specimen that was the result of his hours spent in a gym. But guess who else looked that way too? Every other guy he faced. They all ran endless miles in the dark of night, they all ate raw eggs for breakfast and you better believe every single one of his opponents could swing a right hook. So when you’re faced with a situation where the tangible data isn’t putting you over the top, what will you turn to for your edge?

Believe harder. Dream bigger.

Want more motivation? Check out the previous daily driver!

——————————–

Thanks for checking out the Daily Driver post on “The Drive.”  Come back every day for daily quotes, pictures, people or moments that we hope can provide inspiration or motivation in your life. Or follow us on Twitter @TheDriveSports and look for #DailyDriver to get your daily dose of inner fire!