WEBVTT

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Hi, I'm Paul Baxendale.

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Bodybuilding and philosophy.

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Bodybuilding and mythology.

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Bodybuilding and literature.

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Not combinations that immediately come to

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mind, but they actually have a

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great deal in common.

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An obvious and immediate example is

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the late great Mike Mensah.

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Mensah was a devotee of the

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philosopher Ayn Rand and he would

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find in her philosophical ideas the

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inspiration to not only develop his

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own unique individual way of training

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but a mindset that would help

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him become the first Mr. Universe

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winner with a perfect score of as the Mr. Universe.

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Now Ayn Rand was not just

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a philosopher she was also a

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great storyteller

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She told stories of men and

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women as heroic individuals, believing that

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each one of us has the

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same power in our own lives

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as those that she wrote about

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in her stories.

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Basically, she was asking us all

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the question, do you want to

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write your life story as a

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victim or as a victor?

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Now what had first inspired Mike

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to Rand's ideas?

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Maybe it was the iconic cover

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of Rand's book Atlas Shrugged, with

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Nick Gaetano's illustration on the cover,

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showing the mythological Atlas, a mountain

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of a man, huge, rugged, lean

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and muscular, bearing the weight of

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the world on his shoulders.

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But equally possible, it was the

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spirit of the woman herself, determined,

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fearless, disciplined, stoic.

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Whatever it was, there's no doubt

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that bodybuilders have always found inspiration

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from philosophy, mythology, and literature,

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whether

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we realize it or not.

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One of the top bodybuilding 20

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quotes in a recent survey had

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one of Rand's in the top

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I'm sure you'll know it.

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The quotation reads, the question isn't

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who's going to let me, it

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is who is going to stop

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me.

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In fact, look at the daily

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selection of quotes in your favorite

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bodybuilding, health and fitness related

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websites

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and the hundreds of memes on

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social media and you'll find something

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in common.

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They will nearly all be philosophical

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quotes and mostly of an inspirational

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nature.

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Now, posts and memes are great

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and they can help people find

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motivation for their workouts.

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But what they don't do is

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last long.

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And from my observations over the

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years, bodybuilders and fitness athletes often

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only ever think about those quotes

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with regards to their workout, their

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physiques or their health goals.

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And all too often the rest

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of their lives they leave to

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chance or to fate.

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How else can it be that

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someone with the discipline for such

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a great physique

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and a supreme level of fitness

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can at the same time have

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a mess of a life, finding

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themselves into drama after drama, relationship

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after relationship, and more importantly, their

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lives never being on track for

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the true nature of their purpose

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in life.

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What most people have to remember

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is that the chances of bodybuilding

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being your real purpose in life

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is minimal to zero.

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For of 99.999% us, honestly, unless

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you're born with the genetics of

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a Lee Haney, a Dorian Yates,

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or a Ronnie Coleman, then bodybuilding

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not only should, but would always

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be something that is important and

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something you love, but only a

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part of a complete life that

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sees you grow and improve in

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all areas of living.

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your true purpose, your relationships, your

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friendships, your finances, the impact on

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your family, your community, maybe even

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your national community, or perhaps even

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a global one.

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The relationship between bodybuilding and

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philosophy

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is already there.

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You see it every day.

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What's needed

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is no more than understanding the

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philosophies behind the quotes and then

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simply putting yourself into a new

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story with a new set of

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skills and knowledge where bodybuilding is

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only part of that journey to

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what your life is really all

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about.

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This is the difference between those

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pros who have found purpose after

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their bodybuilding careers are over and

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those who retire but still try

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and cling on

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trying to maintain unrealistic body weights

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and unrealistic habits.

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They're trying to hold on to

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something that was always meant to

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change into something completely new, but

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just as exciting and fulfilling.

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The study of philosophy takes us

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inevitably back to the Greek and

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Roman civilizations and their emphasis on

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study, education, teaching, exercise and

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debate.

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discussing various ideas on how best

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to live a life.

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One of the most powerful and

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useful schools of philosophy, I found,

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has been within the school of

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Stoics, from Epictetus, who was a

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slave, who later became a free

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man as a result of his

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knowledge, to Marcus Aurelius, the emperor

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of the entire Roman Empire.

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They both had the very same

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philosophy, which focused

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on your ability to choose how

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to react to events in life

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rather than those events affecting how

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you react, and by choosing to

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live each day, holding yourself to

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your highest possible values and standards,

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choosing to be virtuous rather than

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being pulled into the simple, instant,

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gratuitous short-term pleasures that cause

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people

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to fall short of achieving their

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full potential.

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It's no different than the bodybuilder

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who chooses not to eat junk

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food and not cakes, doesn't party

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every weekend, and doesn't suffer from

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alcoholic hangovers in order to achieve

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the physique they truly desire.

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The principle is exactly the same.

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You forego short-term pleasure for long-term

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success.

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And it is back in time

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to ancient Greece and Rome

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that we find the earliest stories

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which have lasted through the generations

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to still be with us today

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through Greco-Roman mythology and the early

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classic literature such as the Odyssey

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and the Iliad.

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And again it's no coincidence that

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the heroes and heroines of the

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tales of Homer's portrayal of the

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Trojan Wars and almost in its

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entirety Greco-Roman mythology

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from Achilles and Hector to Hercules

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and Atlas.

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And let us not forget the

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divine gods and goddesses who assisted

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the mortal heroes to fulfill their

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predestined fates, like Thetis, who helped

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provide Achilles with a new suit

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of armor after his had been

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stolen from the dead body of

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his most intimate friend, Patroclus.

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All have been represented in literature

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and in sculpture as extremely muscular,

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lean, powerful athletes.

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The archetypal bodybuilder.

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Us.

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Look up the statue.

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Or that of Theseus, who killed

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the Minotaur.

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And you will see physiques worthy

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of a bodybuilder from the 1950s

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and 60s BC.

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That's not before Christ, by the

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way, but before chemical enhancement.

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A story in marble, as well

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as those in books, are tales

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that will last eternity.

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Great stories inspire, they teach, and

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the great ones last.

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Stories from ancient empires, Greek, Roman,

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Mesopotamian, and religious scripts like the

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Old and New Testaments have lasted

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thousands of years.

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They're so old that they were

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told orally for centuries before we've

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even invented ways of writing them

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down.

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And yet still they exist.

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Why?

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I believe it's because they have

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fundamental truths in them.

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Truths in life that can identify

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and then we can use in

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our lives.

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They're full of characters, archetypes of

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character, which provide us with models

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of what can be achieved when

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we perform, live, and behave with

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virtue at the very best levels

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of humanity.

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But they can also tell us

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a warning and the dangers of

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what can result when we choose

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the worst of behaviors, the worst

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of values, and the worst of

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ethics.

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And I think it's fair to

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say that we've seen the very

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worst of what humanity is capable

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of in the 20th century.

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Nazi Germany, Stalin's Russia, Mao's China,

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all resulted in the deaths of

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tens of millions of lives.

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I've been a bodybuilder for over years now, and

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I've studied

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and worked in academia for the

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last

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Specifically, I have degrees in history

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and in literature.

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And I began to notice patterns

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in those classic books that I

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was reading.

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The characters in them, the archetypes,

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they all had very similar ethics,

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values, and standards to which they

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held themselves.

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Similar traits that I also had

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found within the bodybuilding community's

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greatest

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ever athletes.

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Was this a coincidence?

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After years of studying Jung, Freud,

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Rand, Rogers, Nietzsche, and then reading

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the greatest books from Western literature,

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and also the great Russian writers.

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I then went back and studied

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the ancient Stoics and their perspectives

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on life.

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I always remember reading the exchange

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of a conversation between Socrates and

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one of his students.

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He was in poor physical shape.

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Socrates looked at him and said,

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you look as if you need

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exercise.

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reprimanding him on the need for

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a healthy and enabled body, he

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told him.

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Besides, it is a disgrace to

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grow old through sheer carelessness before

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seeing what manner of man you

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may become by developing your bodily

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strength and beauty to their highest

00:11:24.401 --> 00:11:24.681 align:center
limit.

00:11:26.062 --> 00:11:27.583 align:center
But you cannot see that if

00:11:27.623 --> 00:11:29.665 align:center
you are careless, for it will

00:11:29.705 --> 00:11:31.106 align:center
not come of its own accord.

00:11:33.508 --> 00:11:35.670 align:center
The accumulation of all these great

00:11:35.790 --> 00:11:36.791 align:center
minds and works

00:11:37.938 --> 00:11:39.978 align:center
led me to pulling strands and

00:11:40.078 --> 00:11:42.259 align:center
threads that, when I followed them,

00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:45.180 align:center
suggested the connections between bodybuilding

00:11:45.220 --> 00:11:45.300 align:center
and

00:11:45.340 --> 00:11:48.740 align:center
philosophy, mythology, spirituality and

00:11:48.800 --> 00:11:49.281 align:center
literature.

00:11:50.681 --> 00:11:52.421 align:center
That whether it is through bodybuilding

00:11:52.941 --> 00:11:54.362 align:center
or whatever it is your goal

00:11:54.402 --> 00:11:56.302 align:center
is in life, the act of

00:11:56.402 --> 00:11:59.043 align:center
living your purpose with the highest

00:11:59.083 --> 00:12:02.343 align:center
level of integrity, discipline and virtue

00:12:03.204 --> 00:12:04.604 align:center
led to similar outcomes.

00:12:05.859 --> 00:12:08.681 align:center
often the very best outcomes of

00:12:08.721 --> 00:12:09.121 align:center
history.

00:12:11.643 --> 00:12:12.944 align:center
Did it mean that the hero

00:12:13.024 --> 00:12:15.526 align:center
or heroine always won or found

00:12:15.546 --> 00:12:16.046 align:center
the treasure?

00:12:16.426 --> 00:12:16.667 align:center
No.

00:12:18.148 --> 00:12:19.829 align:center
When you battle a dragon or

00:12:19.889 --> 00:12:22.030 align:center
a beast from the underworld, you

00:12:22.110 --> 00:12:24.232 align:center
battle something real and dangerous.

00:12:25.373 --> 00:12:27.294 align:center
If the monster wasn't truly deadly,

00:12:27.994 --> 00:12:29.315 align:center
then there would be no value

00:12:29.355 --> 00:12:30.136 align:center
in defeating it.

00:12:31.109 --> 00:12:33.090 align:center
So sometimes the heroes or heroines

00:12:33.190 --> 00:12:36.912 align:center
died, but never without achieving glory,

00:12:37.432 --> 00:12:40.033 align:center
and never without leaving a legacy

00:12:40.354 --> 00:12:42.395 align:center
of their quest to try and

00:12:42.475 --> 00:12:45.036 align:center
succeed that still lives with us

00:12:45.136 --> 00:12:47.557 align:center
today within the pages of those

00:12:47.637 --> 00:12:47.917 align:center
books.

00:12:49.898 --> 00:12:51.259 align:center
I'm sure you may have experienced

00:12:51.299 --> 00:12:52.459 align:center
moments like these yourself.

00:12:53.800 --> 00:12:55.641 align:center
Times where you have pushed yourself

00:12:55.701 --> 00:12:57.642 align:center
beyond what you truly thought possible.

00:12:58.542 --> 00:12:59.663 align:center
Maybe it was a leg day.

00:13:00.976 --> 00:13:02.476 align:center
Maybe it was inspired by watching

00:13:02.516 --> 00:13:03.837 align:center
a video of a top pro.

00:13:04.717 --> 00:13:06.617 align:center
Or just you felt special that

00:13:06.657 --> 00:13:06.897 align:center
day.

00:13:07.997 --> 00:13:09.658 align:center
Something maybe almost mystical.

00:13:10.238 --> 00:13:11.458 align:center
And you went to a place

00:13:12.218 --> 00:13:13.699 align:center
you very rarely ever go.

00:13:14.439 --> 00:13:15.699 align:center
Well this is the place the

00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:18.099 align:center
greats of bodybuilding go to daily.

00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:21.400 align:center
They have that inner drive to

00:13:21.540 --> 00:13:23.220 align:center
face the dragon within their own

00:13:23.300 --> 00:13:23.741 align:center
minds.

00:13:24.901 --> 00:13:26.461 align:center
The trick is to do it

00:13:26.521 --> 00:13:27.981 align:center
yourself daily.

00:13:28.962 --> 00:13:30.342 align:center
Gain the knowledge how,

00:13:31.109 --> 00:13:33.331 align:center
and then take action, and not

00:13:33.471 --> 00:13:35.772 align:center
only in your workouts, but in

00:13:35.812 --> 00:13:37.194 align:center
the entirety of your life.

00:13:38.855 --> 00:13:41.437 align:center
Okay, so what can you expect

00:13:41.517 --> 00:13:41.797 align:center
here?

00:13:42.998 --> 00:13:44.399 align:center
Firstly, stories.

00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:47.941 align:center
I'm a storyteller, and most of

00:13:47.981 --> 00:13:50.503 align:center
them will be old bodybuilding stories.

00:13:51.264 --> 00:13:54.126 align:center
Real events in my life from

00:13:54.166 --> 00:13:56.248 align:center
the golden era of bodybuilding, the

00:13:56.648 --> 00:13:57.769 align:center
80s, the 90s, and the 2000s.

00:14:00.185 --> 00:14:02.206 align:center
Those stories, whether way back when

00:14:02.246 --> 00:14:04.326 align:center
I was training with the legendary

00:14:04.366 --> 00:14:06.267 align:center
Johnny Fuller, or when I was

00:14:06.307 --> 00:14:08.407 align:center
training with the then two-times Mr.

00:14:08.447 --> 00:14:11.328 align:center
Olympia, the shadow Dorian Yates, with

00:14:11.388 --> 00:14:13.209 align:center
Kenny Brown back in Temple Gym

00:14:14.089 --> 00:14:16.589 align:center
in 93-94, or any of the

00:14:16.649 --> 00:14:18.170 align:center
other greats that I was privileged

00:14:18.250 --> 00:14:20.410 align:center
enough to train with, there will

00:14:20.431 --> 00:14:21.671 align:center
be stories that I hope will

00:14:21.711 --> 00:14:24.372 align:center
inspire you to improve your body,

00:14:25.452 --> 00:14:28.013 align:center
your physique, your mind, and your

00:14:28.053 --> 00:14:29.413 align:center
life outside of the gym.

00:14:30.660 --> 00:14:32.662 align:center
There will be funny stories of

00:14:32.682 --> 00:14:34.303 align:center
the crazy things we tried and

00:14:34.323 --> 00:14:36.305 align:center
the crazy things we did back

00:14:36.365 --> 00:14:36.845 align:center
in the day.

00:14:37.786 --> 00:14:40.388 align:center
Moments of high tension and then

00:14:40.468 --> 00:14:43.391 align:center
moments which erupted into something crazily

00:14:43.411 --> 00:14:43.951 align:center
hilarious.

00:14:45.412 --> 00:14:46.994 align:center
Stories of the characters in the

00:14:47.014 --> 00:14:50.297 align:center
sport, the heroes, the heroines, the

00:14:50.357 --> 00:14:53.479 align:center
jokers, the bad guys, the demons,

00:14:54.220 --> 00:14:57.082 align:center
the evil kings or queens, and

00:14:57.122 --> 00:14:58.884 align:center
of the victories and the losses.

00:15:00.404 --> 00:15:01.484 align:center
I've been lucky enough to have

00:15:01.524 --> 00:15:02.945 align:center
met some of the greatest people

00:15:03.005 --> 00:15:04.065 align:center
in their chosen fields.

00:15:05.125 --> 00:15:06.506 align:center
Whether it is the genius that

00:15:06.626 --> 00:15:08.767 align:center
is Simon Bisley, the artist who

00:15:08.807 --> 00:15:11.688 align:center
gives us Batman, Lobo and Conan,

00:15:12.288 --> 00:15:14.188 align:center
or businessmen and women that have

00:15:14.248 --> 00:15:16.809 align:center
made millions, to the greatest givers

00:15:16.969 --> 00:15:19.190 align:center
of our society, who have given

00:15:19.230 --> 00:15:22.291 align:center
their lives to charity work, everything

00:15:22.671 --> 00:15:24.312 align:center
that makes up the life that

00:15:24.392 --> 00:15:25.052 align:center
I know today.

00:15:26.752 --> 00:15:28.673 align:center
If you're into old school bodybuilding,

00:15:29.477 --> 00:15:33.020 align:center
modern bodybuilding, philosophy, mythology,

00:15:33.961 --> 00:15:34.922 align:center
classic literature

00:15:35.542 --> 00:15:37.424 align:center
or you simply just enjoy reading

00:15:37.484 --> 00:15:37.764 align:center
books.

00:15:39.325 --> 00:15:40.707 align:center
You will hopefully find something of

00:15:40.767 --> 00:15:41.307 align:center
value here.

00:15:42.388 --> 00:15:44.390 align:center
Through my weekly blogs and through

00:15:44.410 --> 00:15:46.772 align:center
the videos and podcasts that are

00:15:46.812 --> 00:15:48.333 align:center
available through the links via this

00:15:48.373 --> 00:15:51.256 align:center
site, here you will find video

00:15:51.396 --> 00:15:53.778 align:center
interviews with some of the greatest

00:15:53.998 --> 00:15:55.780 align:center
artists, athletes and minds in the

00:15:55.820 --> 00:15:56.060 align:center
world.

00:15:57.082 --> 00:15:58.803 align:center
as well as just me telling

00:15:58.863 --> 00:15:59.283 align:center
stories.

00:16:01.144 --> 00:16:03.185 align:center
As the site progresses, more will

00:16:03.225 --> 00:16:03.845 align:center
be available.

00:16:04.506 --> 00:16:06.107 align:center
The site has only just launched,

00:16:06.647 --> 00:16:09.208 align:center
so please stay and watch as

00:16:09.248 --> 00:16:10.369 align:center
we get to meet and talk

00:16:10.389 --> 00:16:12.270 align:center
with the greats and the interesting,

00:16:12.790 --> 00:16:14.551 align:center
the victors and the warriors.

00:16:15.771 --> 00:16:18.052 align:center
I hope you'll all enjoy as

00:16:18.092 --> 00:16:18.633 align:center
they are made.

00:16:20.214 --> 00:16:21.034 align:center
So if you want to know

00:16:21.054 --> 00:16:22.195 align:center
when the next blog is out

00:16:22.755 --> 00:16:24.556 align:center
or the next video is online,

00:16:25.444 --> 00:16:27.486 align:center
Please send through your details and

00:16:27.526 --> 00:16:29.027 align:center
I'll let you know as soon

00:16:29.067 --> 00:16:29.547 align:center
as it's out.

00:16:31.429 --> 00:16:33.090 align:center
Also if there's anything you would

00:16:33.130 --> 00:16:35.652 align:center
like me to be answered either

00:16:35.792 --> 00:16:38.094 align:center
privately or through the monthly question

00:16:38.134 --> 00:16:39.876 align:center
and answer videos I will be

00:16:39.896 --> 00:16:42.778 align:center
doing please leave the details in

00:16:42.798 --> 00:16:45.240 align:center
the message area below and send

00:16:45.260 --> 00:16:46.041 align:center
your question in.

00:16:47.682 --> 00:16:48.543 align:center
Thank you for visiting.

00:16:50.064 --> 00:16:50.964 align:center
I hope to see and hear

00:16:51.005 --> 00:16:51.505 align:center
from you soon.

00:16:53.386 --> 00:16:54.007 align:center
And lastly

00:16:55.865 --> 00:16:59.027 align:center
Please remember, there is always more

00:16:59.307 --> 00:17:01.768 align:center
in you than even you know

00:17:01.788 --> 00:17:03.449 align:center
or could imagine.

00:17:05.430 --> 00:17:09.012 align:center
As Marcus Aurelius said, understand at

00:17:09.113 --> 00:17:11.814 align:center
last that you have something in

00:17:11.894 --> 00:17:15.976 align:center
you more powerful and divine than

00:17:16.056 --> 00:17:18.378 align:center
what causes the bodily passions and

00:17:18.518 --> 00:17:20.239 align:center
pulls you like a mere puppet.

00:17:21.560 --> 00:17:23.801 align:center
Well, cut those strings and write

00:17:23.841 --> 00:17:25.562 align:center
the greatest story of your life.

00:17:27.168 --> 00:17:29.269 align:center
Until next time, let me leave

00:17:29.309 --> 00:17:32.550 align:center
you with the words Dorian used

00:17:32.570 --> 00:17:33.190 align:center
to say to me.

00:17:34.510 --> 00:17:36.211 align:center
Just as my legs were shaking,

00:17:37.091 --> 00:17:39.592 align:center
cramping up, about to give way,

00:17:39.952 --> 00:17:41.452 align:center
they'd given their last rep.

00:17:42.433 --> 00:17:44.793 align:center
With stars in my eyes, about

00:17:44.833 --> 00:17:47.594 align:center
to black out, I'd hear those

00:17:47.654 --> 00:17:48.335 align:center
magic words.

00:17:49.875 --> 00:17:51.055 align:center
Three more reps, lad.

00:17:52.116 --> 00:17:53.676 align:center
There's always three more reps in

00:17:53.856 --> 00:17:55.937 align:center
all of us, in everything that

00:17:55.957 --> 00:17:56.197 align:center
we do.

00:17:57.574 --> 00:17:58.435 align:center
Thank you for listening.

00:17:59.096 --> 00:17:59.977 align:center
Welcome to the site.

00:18:17.387 --> 00:18:17.587 align:center
you