Fat Kid turned Fitness Buff- One Man’s Story on his Challenges and Success with Fitness!

Let’s face it: we all have to deal with how hard life is.

It keeps throwing problems at us like a pitcher throws baseballs. Sometimes it even throws curveballs, and those are the problems that are really tough. But we have to understand that life does this not to bring us down, but to teach us to be strong and to be relentless.

My name is Ritchie A. and i’m one of the writers here at The Success Hub. I will take you on my journey in life and how i’ve managed to develop a strong relationship with my body, mentality and fitness, all while being consistently top of my class at the university.

To start off, growing up i was fat. And I don’t mean fat like a pinch of cutesy adipose tissue here and there, I mean like REALLY FAT. I had man boobs, a double chin, fluffy cheeks, and a belly busting out of my shirt. I could not even take my shirt off in public. i was so shy, i had no confidence at all, and it got me scared of people. It got me so scared that i could not talk and interact with others; it hindered my progress with my self-esteem. Why was I so fat? You guessed it, i love to eat. (love, not loved, because I still love it) Most of the time you will see me eating, and this was mainly because i was spoiled by my parents with food at such an early age. On the later part of my life, I was forced to play sports by my dad but i hated every minute of playing because i always had S.O.B (shortness of breath) afterwards. I really can’t run and jump as high as others, and I would also double up the size of my shirts because I was more comfortable with extra large shirts and pants. It truly was the dark ages for me, and life never seems to make me forget it.

By the time I reached 4th year high school, I made a decision that would change not just my life, but the way I view it. I wanted to lose weight and to be fit, to be free from the bonds of excessive eating. However, as you might have guessed, I failed. My failure came from a lack of knowledge about weight loss, a lack of motivation, and mostly an unquenchable affinity for binge eating. It happened to extend to the point that I entered college and i was still fat. I could not make friends with all the attractive and gorgeous girls in school (and mind you there are a LOT), I also could not get much attention from people as i walk past them. To cut the story short i was unnoticeable, and I felt invisible! I was doing good in school for a while, until i failed 7 subjects by the time i reached 3rd year in college. I felt like a failure! So i dropped out, out of school for 6 months. I was really depressed, i felt like i failed my parents and of course myself. I really didn’t know what to do with my life by that time, in short: I was lost. I was lost in a haze of testosterone, puberty, and the need to achieve something great for myself.

Months had passed and i still didn’t know what to do until one fateful morning my dad told me to try to go the gym. I felt anxious since i really didn’t know what I would be doing there since it will have been my first time hitting the weights. Still, I gathered up the courage because I had an inkling that this would be the solution I was so desperately looking for. So i drove up to the gym, signed up for a monthly membership, and started working out. I still had no idea what I was doing, but I felt something grow in me and it wasn’t muscle, it was the motivation that I always needed. I would use all the equipment I could see and tried them all repeatedly. As I finished my session and drove home, I started to watch youtube videos on how to workout and build muscle, and overall to achieve the proper fitness mentality. I did my research, I invested so much time in finding out the best plan for my body. Since then I’ve learned a lot of things, especially techniques in losing weight and shredding fat off my body the healthy way. 3 months down and I noticed some changes with my body, and when I stepped up on the scale, my eyes lit up as I saw my weight plunge from 183 lbs to 160 lbs. I couldn’t explain the feeling that i felt that day, it’s like I had won the lottery! People started to compliment me and told me i had done a great job, people started asking me how I did it, what my diet was, my workout plan, and my motivation to succeed. Since then I fell in love with fitness. It’s part of my life now, i’m obsessed with it, and i will not stop until i die.

You see, my story might be the generic fat kid-turned fitness buff, but what I wanted to partake onto the readers is that with everything that life throws at you, you can always find a way. So long as you still have breath, there is never a too late. In life, in order to suceed, you have to create your “why”. Every time you feel like giving up, think about your “why”. My “why” wakes me up in the morning and fuel my workouts everyday. My “why” is the reason I don’t skip a gym day, my “why” is the reason I don’t skip a leg day. So don’t tell me you can’t do it because of this, because of that, because of him or because of them. Excuses don’t make results. You can’t go to the mall and buy a perfect body, you’ve got to earn that literally with blood, sweat and tears. Fitness taught me not only to value my physical body, but it has enabled me to focus on my tasks much harder and has taught me to never give up when I know I have the capacity to do it. Nobody is gonna do it for you but you, because God placed us in this world to find our deep why.. You only have you and no one else, so don’t waste time and commit to fitness today!

Medical to Business: One Student’s Story on the Path to Success

This story goes out to students who lose their way in life. This story goes out to anyone looking to share the experience of totally switching mindsets during their lifetimes. This story goes out to the “failures” of college. I am here to tell you that you are not. I am here to tell you that you are not alone and that you too can be worry free. I am here to tell you that you can be successful.

I am Gino M. I am one of the writers here at The Success Hub. Just like many college students, I have had my share of failures, in fact more than most. I am going to share to you a short story of how I landed in the business and management world. You see, it started in a prominent and highly established medical school in the Queen City of the South, Cebu. You might be wondering how it starts there, since medical and business seem so different in nature. I chose the course Medical Technology because I wanted to be a doctor, and at the time it was considered to be the hottest pre medical course one could lay hands on. Also, the school I enrolled in had no entrance exam, which was a plus for me because I was already very late in the enrollment period. Anyways, so there I was, naive and excited with a mindset of Medicine smack right inside my ignorant mind. I rode with it, I passed in my subjects, I was being a proper student. That is until circumstances both personal (family) and physical (I discovered during my 3rd year that I was indeed colorblind, and not just dumb at colors) hindered my progress in the Medical field. I started having problems in school, and I failed in some subjects. I also lost the drive to go to school on time and as a result of this dry season I became obsessed with network marketing and I involved myself with businessmen in general. I was in a mindset of study, study, study, and I shifted in a span of a few weeks to a mindset of a businessman, where the studying happens not in a study center or a library, but on the field, observing the trends and behaviors of markets.

After two years repeating third year, I finally came to the conclusion on a cold windy night outside my dormitory: i’m not cut out for this. I asked advice from the most reliable and credible person I know, my mom. She told me to follow what I wanted, because at the end of the day that’s what matters most in a career. I then told her that I just wasn’t ready to go back to school yet, and so she told me to go ahead and do whatever I wanted to do for a while. I decided to apply in BPO companies since I tried a summer job in a prominent call center once. Fate would have it that I had a friend who told me about real estate. I tried applying for a job at one of the largest real estate developers in the country, not aware that they do not usually accept undergraduates into their team. Nevertheless, I passed all interviews thrown at me, be it from a supervisor or from the regional director herself, and I took that as a sign that this is the right path. I worked there for a good few months, before eventually finishing my contract and deciding to finally go back to school, this time with a fresh mindset on business, real estate, and marketing/sales. I met a lot of friends along the way and developed a mentality and a personality that was not akin to the Gino of before. I had become a new man.

You see, it is not the failures that define you. What defines you is not giving up. What defines each and every one of us is knowing what we want, and the measurement of your strength lies in the question “Do you have what it takes to get what you want?”. Because I used to want to be a doctor, I wanted to be the one to cure my family from sickness and disease, I wanted to be a prestigious and respected person of society. Well, guess what my friends: you can be prestigious and respected in any field you choose. It is not the occupation that truly matters, it is the way that you handle the barriers in the pursuit of that college degree. It is the journey that defines a man, not the destination. Because you can be great no matter where you plan to go, so long as you go there with the mindset that you will never give up and that you will make the most out of everything.

My dear readers, I was a medical student with a factual and study-intensive regimen. I ended up being a theoretical and analytical man with a knack for reading other people’s behavioral patterns, which in the business world is a huge asset. And although I may still be a student, I already know that i’m going places. Mindset certainly is everything. Don’t give up, because I don’t plan to.

The Bird that Refused to Migrate

Contributed by: Jake D.

A little bird in Russia refused to join the pack which was flying south for the winter. It refused to listen to its parents and elders thinking it can tough it out. Winter came and it was so cold so the bird froze and fell to the ground covered with snow. A cow came by and dropped some dung on the bird. The pile of cow dung warmed the bird and brought it back to life. It lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing took the bird out of the pile of cow dung, and ate it.

There are three lessons to be learned from the story:

The first is to not take for granted the experienced advice of those who care about you. Sometimes we are like the bird, being so cocky and confident with our own abilities. We tend not to listen to those who are more experienced than us because we want to find our own way in doing things, but I tell you from personal experience that the sacrifice is not worth the return when you know the outcome beforehand.

Second is that not everyone that dumps crap on you is your enemy. The crap we receive from people could be negative in form, but we can look at it at a different angle. The crap they give could become fodder for our learning and growth. How we look at things tend to affect our day so let’s look at things on the brighter side to keep the positive energy going towards success.

Lastly, not everyone who helps you out of crap is your friend. There are many wolves in sheep’s clothing. You may not realize it but your success also benefits those around you and when they lose interest in you they will just cast you aside like garbage. It’s a bitter fact of life but hey at least you have actual success.

Learn from the story, and know that we birds must always migrate once in a while.

#migratetosuccess

How do you know you’ve succeeded in life?

Contributed by: Andrew N.

All of us struggle to succeed. But to succeed in life is not only hard to achieve, it’s hard to even notice. You could be, right now, succeeding in life as you’re reading this. It’ll come to you naturally; sometimes you won’t even realize it. I am here to make it easier for you to maybe notice that you’ve actually succeeded in life. Here is a list of guidelines, or however you may call it, in knowing you’ve succeeded in life.

* You don’t have any more drama going on in your life. You’ve either moved on, or they have been resolved. Or you just avoid drama because you know you don’t need it in your life.

* You have accepted that failure is always an option. You’ve failed so many times to then realize failure helps you pick yourself back up and become a better person.

* You don’t complain about life anymore. You enjoy what you have and you have no complaints about your life.

* You are passionate about what you do. You enjoy whatever you are doing in life, whether it’s working in a regular office or being the CEO of the hugest company in the world.

* The goals you’ve set have become reality. Those goals you set out after graduation have come true, after all the hard work you’ve put into doing so.

* You know when to let go. Simple, you know when things aren’t worth sticking around to.

* You appreciate yourself. You’ve learned to love yourself more than you’ve ever had.

* You are open to everyone you love. Whatever feelings you had, have been put out.

* You’ve set your own standards. You’ve measured out what’s best for you and what isn’t.

* And lastly, to simply put it, you are happy.

I know for a fact that I haven’t reached the pinnacle of life, evaluating myself through these tips I have suggested. If you’re reading this, then you too are wondering if you’ve succeeded in life. I hope this has inspired you to look forward to succeeding in life. Good luck and have success in life.

#nowyouknow

The Two Frogs

Contributed by: Alain E.

A group of frogs were travelling through the woods. Two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead.

The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead.

Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died. The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, “Did you not hear us?” The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

There are lessons to be learned from this story. The story shows that there is power of life and death in the tongue. Encouraging words will help lift someone up and will help them make it through any day. Words have such an impact in our day to day lives, so be careful on what you say. Speak life-giving words to those who cross your path. There is power in words, and it is this power that can either make or break a person in life. It is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long way. Also, the story shows that wise men should not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience. If I agreed with you we’d both be wrong.

Lastly, light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

#dontstopjumping