Hello. Good morning. Welcome to the Body By Patrick podcast. My name is, Patrick Ocheni. Today, I want to share with you guys seven things wrestling taught me about life.
Back in 1992, I joined the wrestling team because I wanted to lose weight.
As a wrestler in high school, I learned a lot.
Things that have really stuck with me over time, the principles I learned back then are the same principles that I apply today in my job as a personal trainer.
So let’s dive right in.
The first thing I learned when I was a wrestler in high school is that, to be successful, you’ve got to be all in.
Before I joined the wrestling team, I had a moment of doubt. And then my dad said, are you serious or not? Basically. And at that moment I made a commitment that yes, I do want to go forward.
One thing I learned from that experience is that, sometimes we need people in our life to put us on check, to make us realize that we do need to focus. At that moment, my dad was there to help me realign my focus and get me back on track.
As a result of me making that commitment to be 100% committed to my goal, that first year on the wrestling team, I lost about 50 pounds in three months because I was committed every single day to showing up to practice and doing what I had to do to achieve the result.
The second thing wrestling taught me about life is that, you cannot become complacent.
After my first year wrestling, I remember I went to an award banquet and when it was time for the coaches to give an award, I got recognized for how sharply I was dressed.
I remember thinking to myself at the time, man, this is all I’m going to get, I’m not going to get a plaque, an award?
After the recognition, I sat down and I made the commitment to myself at that moment: the next year I come back to this award banquet, I will make sure that I get an award.
That was the motivation I needed to getting back on the wrestling team because, remember, I joined the wrestling team not to become a superstar, but to just lose weight.
After that award banquet, I was like, I’m not satisfied with just having lost weight; I want to come back and get an award.
I worked my butt off, the following year, I got an award.
In order to achieve greatness at whatever it is you’re doing, you have to say to yourself, you cannot become complacent. The moment you set a goal and hit it, what do you do? You set bigger goals for yourself.
That’s the same mentality I have today as a personal trainer; I’m always trying to do more to serve my client. You have to constantly continue to improve on your craft and always try to be better.
The third thing wrestling taught me about life is that, you cannot entertain any kind of negativity in your life as you strive to accomplish your dream.
During the wrestling season my senior year, I got injured; my right shoulder got messed up, and a lot of the parents knew this.
Fast-forward, it was the end of the season, I qualified to make it to the county wrestling tournament.
The county wrestling tournament is where the top wrestlers in the county come to compete for the number one title in the county.
As I was getting ready to wrestle my match, a parent said to me, be careful about that shoulder.
Up until that moment, I had not been thinking about my injured shoulder. When the wrestling match started, all of a sudden, I’m thinking about my shoulder.
I did get pinned and I lost that match, because that seed of doubt was planted in my mind.
Friends, as you try to achieve your goals, do not entertain– no matter how small– any kind of negativity.
The fourth thing I learned as a wrestler is that, winners find a way to win and never make excuses.
It was the winter of 1996 and that year we had a huge snow storm called the “blizzard of 96” in Montgomery county, Maryland.
So, what had happened was, we had a county tournament but then I looked outside the window and guess what? It was snowing. And I was like, oh no, this is not good. Sure enough, they cancelled school for that day and the tournament was canceled for that day.
I thought to myself, they might surely postpone the entire tournament to the following week. So, guess what happened? I started eating, and drinking juice because I was pretty dehydrated.
Later on that evening, I get a phone call from my coach and he said, hey Patrick, I got good news for you. We are wrestling the tournament tomorrow, Saturday.
I was like, holy crap, what?!
I hung up the phone, stepped on the scale and O M G I literally had gained about 10 pounds.
I freaked out.
Guess what I did?
I went outside, and started running. I must have ran like 10 miles that day. I did not eat anything else that day.
And, that’s how I got into that tournament.
I learned that if you really want something bad enough, you are going to do everything in your power to find a way to make it happen.
You will never, ever give up. I did not give up and it paid great dividend. In that tournament, I ended up taking second place.
The fifth thing I learned is that, we all have the capacity to become a champion.
When I joined the wrestling team, I knew zero. I mean, I knew absolutely nothing about wrestling. I was just there to lose weight, but I was focused. I was determined to achieve that goal.
Because of my focus and my determination. Not only did I lose weight, the following season, I was nominated to be the captain of the wrestling team.
What I learned from that experience is that, you’ve got to be willing to work hard even though people are not going to believe in you. And, ultimately, you will win.
The other thing I learned from wrestling about life is that, there is no such thing as instant success. You have to pay the price to win.
When I joined the wrestling team, I remember my very first match was over in less than 15 seconds; a match is supposed to last six minutes, I lost in 15 seconds.
Fast forward.
When I became a Senior, I pinned a guy in 10 seconds.
Now, imagine if I had quit after my first match, if I had quit and said, you know what, this is not for me.
The moral of the story is, if you stick to it, work hard and you stay focused, you too will become a champion. But, it’s not going to happen overnight.
The seventh thing I learned from wrestling about life is, no matter what your dream is, you need a team.
You cannot do it alone.
When I became a wrestler, I knew nothing about wrestling. I didn’t even know about the wrestling shoe; my wrestling coach stepped up bought my first lesson shoe.
When it came to different tournaments we had to attend, some parents volunteered their time to take me to these different wrestling tournaments.
And then, I had wrestling teammates that helped me hone my wrestling skills.
The point is, it took a team; many people played different roles along the way to help me succeed.
Teamwork truly does make the dream work.
Leave a Reply