I’m not quite sure exactly what I’m supposed to say. I purposely waited a few days to let everything digest, settle down just a touch, before I tried putting my thoughts down on paper. Unfortunately, nothing has become much clearer in that time. Part of me wants to be totally objective, to sit here and
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I am a hero-worshiper, unapologetic and unabashed. I want my universe filled with heroes, triumphs and successes. I want a stylized universe where every movement, every breath, every word is selected consciously, with intention, with purpose, with all wastefulness and inefficiency removed; I want the purified, concentrated essence of existence, with all accidents and awkwardness expurgated. And I want to be surrounded by individuals that embody this in concrete form.

(Author’s note: The following “Emotional Fuel” might be perceived as borderline redneck, and probably not grappling with the highest concepts that mankind has to offer. However, after dealing with serious and weighty topics for several weeks in a row, I figured we were overdue for something a bit more “light”. I hope you can forgive
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My nickname from my father growing up was “the bulldog”, because I was tenacious in achieving my ends. Even when I was five years old, if I wanted something, I went out to get it, and nothing could stop me from moving towards it until I held it in my hands. Needless to say, this led to many a fight with my parents when I was a youth, as my “goals” weren’t exactly the most rational or well-thought-out!

Ever since I was young, the trees called to me. I loved to climb. About halfway down the street from my childhood home, my best friend, Peter Esposito, had two large evergreen pine trees in his front yard. They must have been well over 50 feet tall. As a daily ritual, we would crawl under the skirt of those trees and climb the spindly branches towards the uppermost reaches, scraping our legs and arms, and come down covered in sticky sap. There was no purpose to climbing the trees, other than to get to the top– and then look down at the world around us, look out at the world around us.

You never quit, you never stop. Auto-pilot. Like a tank rolling across the landscape. With the lights off, climb the stairs. Don’t even say prayers to yourself. Just move, in a state of silent meditation. And then, you will be great. You will create yourself from scratch, assembling cells into a thing that is more than beautiful. Until then, you are nothing.

If I were to pick a title for this video, it would be: “Character Transcends”. So much has been made of the idea that one can’t control one’s destiny, that the majority of variables are left to chance and happenstance. Viewed on the concrete level, this is partially true. The world you are born into
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The Philly Experience – David Johnston tells the story of his weekend participating in the Philadelphia Bodybuilding Championships – Tracey Greenwood Fitness, Figure & Bikini Classic.

The first time I saw this video, I sat in silence for a good five minutes afterwards, just letting the truth of it flood over me. In working with dozens of personal training clients on a daily basis, the sequence of fast-motion excuses sounded like a synopsis of one of my worst days, minus the
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“Hank Reardon wondered whether someone could give him now the spark he needed, now when he felt unable ever to rise again. He asked himself who had started him and kept him going. Then he raised his head. Slowly, with the greatest effort of his life, he made his body rise until he was able to sit upright with only one hand pressed to the desk and a trembling arm to support him. He never asked that question again.”