The Soul of a Champion
by Ondra L. Berry
"Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them: A desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill."
-Muhammad Ali
When you think about the soul of a champion, you may think of all the attributes of a sports hero, but what separates the good athlete from the champion—simply, heart and soul. USA Today is currently running a ten-week series on the soul of a champion, looking in detail at the traits and characteristics that make someone a true champion in their chosen field of endeavor. What is a champion? A champion is a winner, a guardian, a victor, a frontrunner, a star. What do we mean by soul? A person’s soul, in the secular sense, is their core, their character, the very essence of what makes a person who they are. So when you look at the people in your life who have the soul of a champion, it can be a friend, a supervisor, a parent, a grandparent, a mentor, or a coach, anyone who possesses those traits. These people have the tenacity, the fortitude and the resilience to endure any struggle to achieve their goal. Watch people when the chips are down, when they hit a wall, when life throws them curveballs, they get right back up and try again. These champions have something within them that allows them to focus on their goal, to keep their eye on the ball, and to make a way out of no way. I read a short article about tight-rope walkers. The secret to walking across that rope is to never look down, but to always keep your focus on the goal on the other side. If you look down, you will fall. Sadly, we all know people who have looked down and fallen and never gotten back up; they have enormous potential, and do nothing with their true capabilities. We can all point to someone who has done nothing with their God given talents--who waste their DNA. Graveyards are filled with unrealized potential.
The USA Today article identifies four traits that you find in the soul of a champion; Competitiveness, Composure, Confidence, and Focus. Those who have the souls of a champion have goals and dreams. They love the feeling of accomplishing what they have set out to do. They have confidence in their abilities, and their confidence remains high even after a mistake. Think about each of those traits. Someone who is competitive and who is willing to dig a little deeper and push themselves a little harder than the next person will always win. A person who has composure has the ability to do their best work under pressure. The bigger the expectation, the better they are able to keep their eye on their goals and accomplish them without fear. A person who has confidence takes a learning approach to mistakes and failures. Confidence is a mental skill that all leaders must develop. A person who knows how to focus is able to keep their concentration for long periods of time and doesn’t get distracted easily.
Oftentimes, people are soul searching, trying to figure out how to get to the next level as a leader. In order to reach higher and go farther, you must strive to have the soul of a champion. The number one area to enhance to attain this goal is mental preparation. We are transformed by the renewing of our minds because energy follows thought. When you change your thoughts, you change your attitude. When you change your attitude, you change your actions. When you change your actions, you change your results. When you change your results, you change your destiny. I am recommending that you read the USA Today series on the soul of a champion that appears each Tuesday.

Afar Off City

A city of myths, of fables, of legends.
It starts with a pilgrimage.
Across a desert, over mountains, through a
forest, down into a valley, and finally the end.
Winds race, and from the dust of playa it comes
into existence.
A place of dreams, of wonder, of fire.
There are fairies and fearies, demons and
warriors, pink bunnies and kitty cats.
And than I saw her.
A creature whose beauty could inspire poets, and
ruin kings.
I saw her dance.
Then later in the arena of Thunderdome, I
watched her fight...
.....with a sword of fire.

You were awesome last night! Can't wait to do it again!!!!

Well I'm Eazy-E, I got bitches galore
You may have a lot of bitches but I got much more
Wit my super duper group coming out to shoot
Eazy-E, muthafukas cold knocking the boots
'Cause I'm a hip-hop thugster, I used to be a mugster
If you heard Compton, you think I own a drugstore
Getting stupid because I know how
And if a sucker talks shit, I give him a (POW)
8 ball sipping, the bitches are flipping
Slow down, I hit a dipping, continue my tripping
Hitting my switches, collect from my bitches
The money that I make so I can add to my riches
Fill my stash box and start rubbing my gat
Feeling good as hell because my pockets are fat
A hardcore villian cold roaming the streets
And wit a homie like Dre just supplying the beats

(Chorus)
Because I'm a gansta having fun
Never leave the pad without packing a gun
Hitting hard as fuk, I make you ask what was it
Boy you should have known by now, Eazy duz it

I was knocking muthafukas out
What's your name boy
Funky, fresh Eazy-E
Kick, kick that shit
Where you from fool, Compton, yea

Rolling through the hood, cold tearing shit up
Stick my head out the window and I say what's up
To the niggaz on the corner cold bumping the box
But you know that's an alibi for slanging the rocks
A dice game started so I said what the fuk
So I put my shit in park and had to try my luck
Hard to roll wit my bitch jocking 24-7
Rolled them muthafukas, ate 'em up, hit 11
Got another point, I made a ten a fo'
Was taking niggaz money and was itching for mo'
Laughing in their faces and said you're all making me rich
Then one punk got jealous, cold slap my bitch
He pulled out his gat, I knew he wouldn't last
So I said to myself, homeboy, you better think fast
He shot (gunshots), I shot (gunshots)
As you can see, I cold broke his ass (ha ha)

Chorus

(Wait a minute, wait a minute, who does it)
Muthafuking Eazy duz it
But how does he do it
Eazy duz it do it eazy
That's what I'm doing
STOP
Man whatcha gonna do now

Now I'm a break it down just to tell a little story
Straight out the box from the gangsta category
About a sucker, a sucker muthafuka
He's addicted, he's a smoker but in Compton called a clucker
he used to have a house car and golden rings
But the cooky cooky crack took all those things
he must of been starving 'cause he broke in my house
Caught the nigga on the street and straight took his ass out
Now I wanted for a murder that I had to commit
Yea I went to jail but that wasn't shit
Got to the station about a quarter of nine
Call my bitch to get me out 'cause I was down for mine
The bitch was a trip cold hung up the phone
Now my only phone call was in the ganking zone
All the things I did for her like keeping her rich
I swear when I get out, I'm gonna kill the bitch
Well by now you should know it was just my luck
The baliff of the station was a neighborhood cluck
I looked him straight in the eye and said what's up
And said let's make a deal, you know I'll do you up
Now back on the streets and my records are clean
I creeped on my bitch wit my uzi machine
Went to the house and kicked down the do'
Unloaded like hell, cold smoked the ho

Chorus

From around the way, born in '73
Harcore B-boy named Eazy-E
It's '88 now, '73's obselete
A nigga wit a serious ass attitude and 100% street
And if you all wanna hear some more
In one way or the other, I'm a bad brother
Word to the muthafuka

I FUCKIN'LOOOOVE YOU MAAAN!!!!!!!