Someone, who's initials I will not J mention P suggested that I might start posting the Monday Morning Motivator on this site. I have done it for the last 16 weeks on Men's Health and will continue to do so but might feel welcome here as well. Let me know what you think. Also, I am not sure if this is the correct forum to post it in, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 17
Good morning, guys.
With the Olympic Games in Athens only a few months away, I thought it might be good to focus on one Olympian who has inspired millions, not only with his accomplishments in sport but with his courage in the face of adversity. Lance Armstrong, refusing to be frustrated as a child trying to get on the football team, and as an adult, refusing to be knocked out by a diagnosis that could have spelled not only the end of his career but of his life. Even if you are not a fan of cycling, and I am not, you can’t help but be inspired and motivated by this man’s story.
Have a great week.
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The Greatest
There isn't much left for Lance Armstrong to accomplish. In 2003, the world's most famous cyclist won his fifth consecutive Tour de France, matching the record of Spaniard Miguel Indurain. The one thing that has eluded him, however, is an Olympic gold medal. Heading into the summer of 2004, Armstrong will try not only to claim an unprecedented sixth consecutive Tour victory, but become the first man to win the Tour de France and an Olympic gold medal in the same year.
The Diagnosis
Armstrong was among the world's top road racers when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996. For three years Armstrong noticed occasional painless swelling in his right testicle, which he dismissed as a passing annoyance from too much time on a bicycle seat. But when he awoke one morning coughing blood, Armstrong decided to see a doctor. On the afternoon of October 2, 1996, a urologist told him: "Lance, you have cancer." Says Armstrong: "I thought, 'Oh my God, I am going to die.'"
The Survivor
Doctors gave Armstrong a 50 percent chance of survival; some estimated his chances as low as 30 percent. The next day Armstrong had surgery to remove the cancerous testicle. But a few days later, it was discovered that the cancer had spread to his lymph system, abdomen and lungs. Doctors were less than hopeful he would recover. But after surgery, 12 weeks of chemotherapy and a forced, yearlong hiatus from racing, Armstrong was cancer-free by October 1997. Armstrong says he is prouder of being a cancer survivor than he is of winning the Tour de France. In February 2000, Armstrong helped launch the Cycle of Hope campaign to urge people at risk for cancer and those who have been diagnosed to educate themselves about the disease.
Past Olympics
In Sydney -- his third Olympics -- Armstrong finally won his first medal, a bronze in the individual time trial. In the road race, confusion among the American team led to a disappointing finish for Armstrong, who crossed the line 13th. Armstrong's Olympic cycling history dates to 1992, when as an expected contender in the road race, he suffered in the Barcelona heat and finished 14th. At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, he finished sixth in the individual time trial and 12th in the road race.
World Title
In the year following the Barcelona Olympics, Armstrong established himself as one of the world's top riders. After finishing second at the Tour Du Pont in May, Armstrong went on to win the Verdun stage at the Tour de France. Though he didn't finish the grueling race, the stage victory verified his potential. Armstrong capped the year by becoming the second-youngest rider to win the road race at the world championships. That remains his only world title.
Finding His Niche
Growing up in Texas, Armstrong never excelled at the typical "Texas sports;" he quit trying to make his school's football team after eighth grade. He started swimming and, at age 14, saw a newspaper ad for "Ironkids," a mini-triathlon for juniors. He bought his first bike, entered the race, and got hooked. In 1988, he was voted the Rookie of the Year by Triathlon Magazine and then won the National Sprint Triathlon Championships in 1989 and 1990. His first exposure to competitive cycling was at a training camp in California in 1989. Armstrong decided to pursue a cycling career because he wanted to compete in the Olympics.
Nice one. By the way I've missed some Lance Chronicles- hows he looking?
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Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
Looking about the same. The last two showed the Tour of Georgia win and the hoopla of having him race here in the US. This week, they get down to business with the European training with the team.
They started the Dauphine-Libere yesterday, and LA got third in the time trial prologue, behind Iban Mayo and Tyler Hamilton. We'll see how he does in this race.
You know, I read this motivator this morning, and at work, there was a newspaper laying on the table where I usually sit at break, and the story on the front was about a young man - a theology student, and a competitive cyclist - who wiped out his bike, and was very badly injured.
He had broken his leg and ribs, was scraped up and bleeding, and was lying in the middle of a high way. He managed to drag himself off the road and hoped for someone to stop. Several cars went around him, but many didn't even bother to slow down, let alone stop. Finally somebody stopped, loaded his racing bike in their van, and took him to the hospital.
He's working on recovering, has ordered a new bike (his was badly damaged) and has plans to get back into competing.
I guess there are inspiring people all over the place. We can learn a lot from those who, no matter how many times life knocks them down, just keep getting back up and giving it their all!
Thanks again for these motivators, John. They're excellent.
You have. Over 2 years is a long time. The good news is that the writing has gotten better over the years. Initially you took a lot of stuff from other sources. Now it is all you. I like that better.
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Past performance is not indicative of future success.
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
John has to post the first 16 here, too, I think, to make this complete. He could get by for 16 weeks just by posting those, one at a time. It's like a band's reissue; it counts as a new/separate album.
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