If You Want to Succeed, You Need to Focus on One Thing
“Identify exactly what it is you want. This takes a lot of thought. Then don’t let anything stand in your way of getting it. The foundation of achievement is intense desire. The world’s highest achievers have the highest levels of dissatisfaction. Those with the lowest levels are the failures. The best way to build desire is to make resolute choices for the future.” — Dave Kekich
Ed took one last look at his made bed. The corners were tight. Ironed and starched into neat triangle-shaped hospital corners. He’d pulled the wool fire blanket tight underneath and hooked it into the bed springs so it wouldn’t wiggle loose. He snarled a corner of his lip and nodded in self-approval, then turned on his heel and made for the base gym.
He looked left and right, walking through the open setup of the barrack room he shared with 65 other guys. None of them were there at present. Fosso Munio was the name of his course, and the boys had just received their first weekend off.
Many took to heading to town to start drinking early. Others had pooled together to rent cars and see family, girls, whatever. After 12 weeks of 24/7 rules and regulations, most just wanted off the base so they could walk without marching with arms at shoulder height.
Ed closed the room’s door and walked passed the media room. There were a few other loners like himself in the room watching a movie from the military stash provided.
He raised his hand, “Later, guys.”
“Later, Casey,” they replied in unison. No one used their first name since the moment they stepped on the bus at the recruiters in Halifax. Since everyone was always in uniform, calling people by their last name was easier since it was sewn onto their chests. The bonus was never having the awkward moment of forgetting someone’s name.
Down the stairs, Ed went, past the platoon chin-up bar in the main lobby and into the great outdoors. The moment he hit the sidewalk, his arms went to shoulder height, and his back straightened. The eyes of superiors were everywhere.
He marched, eyes forward and heels digging in until he opened the gym doors and walked across the floor. He shifted a little to his right with each step. His knees were beginning to bug him. Was it the boots?
He remembered all the times he brought an “inside” pair of sneakers to the civilian gyms and shook his head. In the army, you worked out in your combats.
No staring into the mirror and checking yourself out because there were no mirrors, and you were covered from head to ankles in olive green. From shin to toe, his black combat boots gave him a heel lift that helped his squats but sucked for deadlifts.
He still hadn’t decided whether to go heavy or light on his squats. He knew a run of unknown distance and speed would be waiting for him at 06:00.
Sore legs would suck.
He put 135 pounds on and did a warmup set of five, followed by another at 225. He backed out from under the bar, confused. It felt a little heavy. He should be squatting much more than 225.
While he was deciding on the rep range and weight for his next set, Sgt Smith walked in. A bulldog of a human that chewed tobacco and thought diamond grip pushups were better than sex. He went straight to the squat rack in front of Ed.
“Just a second, I have to get a set in recruit.”
There wasn’t much Ed could say. The Sgt was going to do a set whether Ed wanted to share the rack or not.
Smith ducked under the bar, snugged it into his traps, stood straight, and backed out of the rack.
Ed was happy he had at least 225 on there, so he didn’t seem too weak.
That’s when Sgt Smith began to behind the neck press it and didn’t stop until he had finished eight easy reps.
Ed stood slack-jawed.
“Your set recruit.”
Ed wished he could press 225, but he couldn’t, and to get underneath what Smith had just pressed, only to weakly squat it, was embarrassing.
“I’m done; that was my last cool-down set.” He lied.
“Your cool down set?”
“Yeah, I was going heavier before, but I’m done now.” Ed felt his spine dissolve.
“You just got here. I saw you leave the barracks from the mess hall.”
Ed began stammering, but nothing intelligible came out.
“You don’t have to be done in the squat rack because I’m here troop. Rank doesn’t apply in here.”
“I wasn’t really sure if I was going to go heavy or light today.”
“You should know the moment you walk in the door.”
“I didn’t really know how my legs would feel given all the running we’ve been doing.”
“You can’t base what you should be doing on how you feel. Feelings are cotton candy. Indulging them might be tasty, but it’s shit for you. What’s your heaviest squat?”
“A single or for reps?”
“Whatever.”
“365 for five,” Ed replied.
“Alright. Why do you train? To get bigger, stronger, or what?”
“A little bit of both, I guess.”
Smith snorted in disdain. “A little of both… I guess,” he echoed mockingly.
“A slave can’t serve two masters troopy. You need intensity and focus.”
“I know. It’s just sometimes I want to turn on the intensity and go full-on. That’s no problem; I have the desire and energy; it’s just I don’t know if I’m jamming on the right path to get what I want.”
“Which is why you need to know what you want.”
Smith turned abruptly and knocked off another set, but this time of six reps, and then continued as if on the same breath.
“So what you’re saying…”
“Listen, kid, when we walk out of here, I’m still your Sgt. Let’s make that clear. This familiar type talk won’t fly when it’s time for me to be your NCO on a ruck march.”
“Yes, Sgt.”
“Now, ask your question.”
That threw Ed off. At first, he was hesitant of the sergeant’s authority, then he thought they could talk, and now he was back to maggot status.
Smith had enough of Ed’s hesitancy. “I’ll tell you what. I just came in to get extra volume on my overhead work. You sort your brain out, and the next time I see you in here. We can talk more.”
Ed didn’t say anything and still looked a little lost.
Smith did one last set of four reps, stripped off a plate, and did 12 more presses, then continued, “Here, I’ll lay it out for you. Phase one. Basic training. Identify exactly what it is you want. This takes a lot of thought.
Don’t be vague. You must want one thing. Mass. Strength. Endurance. To be a sniper. Whatever. Then don’t let anything stand in your way of getting it.
The bedrock of achieving anything is intense desire, and the best way to build desire is to make unwavering goals for the future. The only way you’ll make a strong enough commitment is from intense dissatisfaction with where you are now. Maybe me overhead pressing what you squat helped with that.”
“I can squat more than…”
Smith sneered and walked out, leaving Ed with a half-finished sentence, standing in front of the squat rack with 135 pounds still on it.
The truth was, Ed’s legs hurt. They were bowed, and he was starting to walk with a limp on his right side. He kept jumping back and forth between a mix of yoga with bodyweight training, and then when everything started working great, he’d jump back to powerlifting because he felt small. He’d power lift until his body got stiff and tight.
The end result after 15 years was a weak powerlifting total and a permanently aching body where his legs throbbed after a full day of work.
Ed looked at the squat rack and sighed. It was time to put a stake in the ground and pursue one goal. From now on, he wouldn’t load a shitty squat pattern with weight; instead, he would work on achieving a pistol squat.
A one-legged squat would require equal development on both legs, and both legs would have to work at one hundred percent effectiveness to pull off the move.
His hamstrings, glutes, and quads would all have to work optimally, and his lower body flexibility would have to be within normal acceptable limits. He should at least be able to maintain a low squat position or kneel on his heels without feeling like his knees would explode.
Yes, this was it. He took the final 45-pound plates off the bar and put them on the weight tree. He’d done his last set of barbell squats until his lower body felt like it should, and he could sprint like a kid again.
The key is to know what you want, sketch out a plan, and let nothing stand in your way.
Raymond Burton is the author of Stronger Than Chaos. He shares self-improvement tips based on life experience and observation. You can join his free newsletter to learn how to become stronger every day.