2 Quotes on a Slippery Slope

Once you start comparing yourself to others, you are on a slippery slope to nowhere. My coach Rick Demont has a saying - To win is to be the best in the history of your body, which I find very true. - from Ryk Neethling's blog

...it is essential for South Africa to move its centre of gravity away from a culture of entitlement to an ethic of excellence. - David Shapiro

Before you leave today, remember... (PHOTOGRAPHY)

"Impossible itself says, I'm possible".

Olympic Thoughts

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent - Not Sure Who Said This But It Wasn't Me



I emailed Ryk before the Olympic Final in 2004 (a long time ago before the advent of Facebook, and before he got 2000 emails a day), and the above quote was signatured to my email. He said 'nice quote', and for an Olympic Final it's probably has to be a vital part of your psychology. They went on to break the world record - as everyone knows - with Ryk swimming the anchor leg in, I think, the fastest time of the 4 swimmers. It's what epitomised Lance Armstrong's approach to the Tour de France. It is an excellent dictum for life, love, work and sport.

Headlights on a Dark Road

Examining Commitment and Focus

How can anyone travel for hundreds of miles, across countrysides seldom or never seen before, in the the dark, and reasonably expect to get there? What's more, how can we expect to travel through this dark countryside quickly, efficiently and effortlessly?

Well, we do this every day. When we drive at night, the headlights illuminate a 30-50 metre area dirtectly ahead of us. Can we see in the darkness beyond? No. But it is enough to know that we can see immediately ahead of us where we are going, and to have a map (even if just a mindmap), and confidence in one's road.

The analogy of The Road is adequate for the Journey of our Lives. While it may seem subtle and even implicit, when we drive at night we are committed to a destination, and while our focus may subconciously be that destination, while we may have it in the back of our minds and in our thoughts, our focus has to be on what we are doing right now on the road. Failure to focus jeapordises our ever reaching the destination. Failure to commit to a destination (before we drive off into the night) means we will almost certainly get lost.

The Darkness is a metaphor for the unknown, for the future. It is neither benign nor bad, it is simply what it is. But we need to illuminate our way through, and for that we need consciousness, truth, facts, ideas, impressions and visuals. The imagination, intelligence, intentions and our motivations form the filters that enlighten our journey. Our focus determines whether we distort the shadows, or to what extent we follow the white lines strapped into the dark Macadam.

Commitment is the reason behind where we need to go. Motivation is the fuel that gets us there. Both spring from Identity. Identity is who we are; our Mission and Purpose. All these things place us in a harmonious domain, or drive us towards a new environment, a scenario that we have invariably pictured or planned for. But that is not enough. Once we arrive, new courses of action, often painful decisions, have to be made. Because it is once we reach our destination that we discover the vital truth about our journey. Was the use of time and resources well used? Is it good to be where we have arrived?

Having reached one's destination, the real work begins. As Springbok coach Jake White said: to win the World Cup you have to make a decision, and then go out and get it. It's not enough to get into the Final. In the same way, Destination is about active decision-making, Dancing on Your Toes. And reality here, a win, a loss, a draw, determines how long we remain where we are, and what our next destination ought to be.

Inspirational Message For The Bokke

Race For Victory

After a terrible sleep (violent thunderstorms last night amongst other sensory distractions - including smelly shoes and overpowering tephlon aromas), I got up at about 5:10am.

Alex and I drove behind Andrew MacLean on the way to Gold Reef City. He has quite a nice rig. Was ironic then that he came belting past me on the road - on his own - in pursuit of a breakaway as far as I know. I think he ended up 2nd.

Here today's stats...
Time: 2:23
Heart Rate average: 159 (Maximum 169)
KCal: 2628
Ascent: 600m
Tenperature: 14/18 average/23
Altitude average: 1524m (1671m max)
Average speed: 31.9km/h (Maximum 97km/h - there were some steep fast downhills but that still seems a bit suspect to me.)
Distance: 76.8km

Was a great setup for an unfit rider. Start with a few smallish climbs, then a long, monster downhill (5km long). Then rolling undulations with the wind. Did the first 40km in just over an hour. Did the next 37km in around 1h25min. Was actually looking good timewise until the last 10km, then we hit the monster downhill - but from the other side. We had this interminable climb against the wind. My right calf basically went into a gradual strain after that effort.

Was a great race; I was a lot stronger and faster than I would have given myself creidt for, but then it's easy to do downhills and flats with the wind at your back.
Some of the roadside sights included motorbikes flying over ramps - high into the air - a microlight swooping over the moving line of riders that included me, Andrew easing by us on his own with a peloton not that far behind, working together to try to reel him in.

I survived with the front bunch - well, the piecves of it that remained, until about 54km. I lost them when the vet bunches started streaming through. I slotted in behind a group of about 7 flying juniors. That was a great piece. Was buggered afterwards though.

The Vodacom girl in the blue bikini - while we were eating yummy steakrolls - gave me a bit of a er...lift...just before we left. Lovely breasts. Also motivating to see so many people in great shape. Now me.

Was a gr

Breakfast Run (CYCLING)

The most important thing I can do today is go out and ride in the morning. Work, in the context of a nourished spirit and a healthy heart, is less of a priority than exercise.

Last night I measured my OWNINDEX:
57 (185 Predicted Maximum Heartrate)

This morning's cycling stats as follows:

Time: 1:53
Average Heart Rate: 136 (170 max)
Distance: 46.8km
Average speed: 24.8km/h (55.2km/h max)
Maximum Altitude: 1668 (1512 minimum): ascent 495m
Temperature: 7 min, 8 average, 26 max (last value seems a bit off)
KCal: 1609

Had dinner at Alex and collected my race pack quite late last night. I think I left work just after 7pm. Watched Office Space and so went to bed late, but woke up at 4:20am before my alarm went off. Didn't immediately feel like cycling, but gradually the reason and the meaning filtered through the web of fatigue. The most important thing I can do today is go out and ride in the morning. Work, in the context of a nourished spirit and a healthy heart, is less of a priority than exercise.

At the end of the ride I said to Alex: "This is what's best about the whole day. It's like playing. The rest is grown up stuff. - Not that interesting."

Cycling: A New Sport For the New Man

Fascinating. The sport that once elicited giggles and derisive comments has become the fastest growing sport in South Africa, and is moving up the charts of the world’s most popular sports. Have a look:

1. Soccer
2. Basketball
3. Tennis
4. Gymnastics
5. Swimming
6. Cycling
7. Rugby
8. Cricket
9. Baseball
10. Field Hockey

Cycling Sensibility

It’s no accident that cycling makes sense. Of the above sports, it is the only one that combines an almost seamless synergy between man and machine. Machines play an integral part of the daily grind; most people in the western world spend most of their working week hunched over computers, then drive home in machines.

Metaphor

What is the metaphor then, that cycling has for life in the New World? Firstly, and most obviously, it is a sport based on effiency. It is the world's most efficient transport mechanism - BY FAR. Cycling is a complicated sport requiring consistency and strategy in order to excel. Co-operation is one of the highest virtues in cycle. In cycling, the strongest rider doesn’t always win. This is a sport where brawn has to be matched by brains.

Brawn remains important. You need a strong, light rider (power to weight ratio) and a bicycle made with cutting edge technology, light and strong materials (carbon fibre, titanium, aluminum etc). Brains are required to drive innovation behind the brawn - the aerodynamics of the frame, the heart rate/lactate and power thresholds, also the most suitable cadence, for the brawn.
In life, knowing about tech, being able to use it easily, efficiently and intelligently - being able to outmsart, but also to express (sometimes to decieve or conceal information) and market oneself in a particular way, and having the confidence and wit to be competitive – these are the vital ingredients for the ambitious performer.

Cyclists are typified as follows:

Perfectionists
Highly competitive
Intelligent
Disciplined
Integrated mindset

The last implies the ability to manage a number of things at once. When cycling, you are juggling road hazards with momentum, with slipstreaming, with strategy and ability, and factoring in the performances of those around you, the route and the weather.

It’s the holistic approach that wins, and a sound, cogent strategy allows for the most vital adaptation of the bike: the ability to be efficient. Teamwork is implicit.

Speed, Efficiency and Collaboration

In the New World, speed and efficiency are crucial keywords. The New Man will need to be a lightweight tightrope walker, able to adapt strategies, and quickly find and adjust to new alternatives (based on a co-operative/collabortive mindset). The winners will be able to maintain a consistent pace while things fall apart around them, whatever the weather. Here a last skill becomes important: anticipation. Cyclists, unlike many other athletes, can outwit their rivals by making accurate predictions not only while they are on the road, but beforehand.

It’s possible that if things pan out really badly, we’ll all be cyclists. Would that really be so bad?

More Cycling Articles written by NVDL:

Read The Psychology of Cycling here.
Read The Best Driver's Are Also Cyclists here.
Read The Cycling Conundrum here.
Read The Secret of Lance Armstrong's Success here.
Read Simon and the Cyclopede - A New Film For Pixar here.

Big Wave Surfing (VIDEO)

Surfer - The funniest bloopers are right here
NVDL: This guy has guts.

Football: Good vs Evil (NIKE VIDEO)

Nike - Good vs. Evil - Watch a funny movie here

Rugby - Keep The Ball Alive (NIKE VIDEO AD)

Nike - Rugby - Funny bloopers R us

The Early Bird Catches the Prettiest Girls

It's on those days that I ride at 5am that I also go to work earlier than usual. Today I saw some fine fluff* on display. There also seems to be this mutual respect in suburbia, as the first risers begin to move out. We are the dynamos, we are the first to seize the day, and in a sense, the world.

As a left the house I saw Ms Investec heading towards her car. Dressed in black and looking very sleek, blonde wispy hair catching the early morning sun. She waved and smiled, I waved and smiled. And at work I followed some heels into the building. A great way to start the day, and I'm beginning to realise it's a real incentive - added incentive - for going to gym.

Jim Carrey voiceover: Yyyyyummy!
*fluff - general term used by men to refer to an attractive young lady

Inspiration Leads To Good Training Day

Those Lance Armstrong Nike videos were a real inspiration for today's training. After a short lie down, I hit the gym at 19:45.

2 x 20 minutes runs.

1st session: 252 Kcal
2nd session: 224 Kcal.
Total: 40 minutes
Kcal: 476

Pullups: 10
3 sets situps x 12

Weight: 85.8kg

Awesome to run while watching the BUPA Great Yorkshire Run (10km). Men's best time: 29.55. That's running at over 20km/h. Very inspiring to run whilst watching world class athletes.

The big question now is: will I get up at 04:45 tomorrow morning and keep up the pressure to transform into Mr. Buff?

Lance Armstrong: Enjoy The Weather (NIKE VIDEO AD)

Lance Armstrong - enjoy the weather!!! - Watch a funny movie here
From the last page (185) of HOW LANCE DOES IT, By Brad Kearns:

As Lance says in his It's Not About The Bike, "I realized that I only had one more chance [after recovering from cancer], and that this time around I had to do everything to the absolute maximum, to strive for perfection. This is my secret now. My competition cannot possibly have the eyes that I have."

Each of us has only one more chance in life - today will come around just once in your lifetime. Make it the best day possible; do your absolute best today tomorrow, and every day. When you adopt this powerful stance and act accordingly, you become a breath of fresh air to everyone you interact with in your life. Just like Lance.

Motivation: Reverse Psychology

If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robotos will be doing soon. Now MOVE! Go and do what you KNOW you must do!

What Friends Are For

I was the topic of a lunch conversation over the weekend, and despite the flurry of back handed insults, I couldn't help smiling.

The gist of the conversation went around a statement I'd made after this year's Argus. I'd finished 5 minutes behind my brother in 3:08, and I said, evenly: "Look, it wasn't a bad performance given that I am 15 kg heavier than my boet, and I only trained a bit in the last 6 weeks."

Alex countered this argument both effectively, and unexpectedly. He said: "Ja but I beat YOU by over 20 minutes."
He went on to say this: "We might be cycling with a group in Johannesburg and if you told them your Argus time, they'd be like: 'Wow, not bad. This guy's a half decent cyclist.' But I know you a lot better than that. I remember your standards. You used to be better than me, now look at you? So sure, not a bad performance based on all your excuses, but based on you; based on who you are - or who you were - it's shocking."

How the topic came up was I was basically whining about being told I was 'fat', arguing: "Aren't you just comparing me to me a few years ago?" The reason I smiled was I realised they were right. I'd allowed my own standards to slip, and they were reminding me of this. The question we need to ask is:

Do you remember your standards? (And if not, why have you allowed them to slip, and what are you going to DO about it.)

So get ready for a hardcore surge - Springbok style - at getting back into decent shape, and some form of ascendancy. There, I've said it. Now let me go and do it.

Armstrong: Did you know?

"Cancer awakened Lance to the fact that he was intelligent."

"It's not that Lance broke the code on cancer. Cancer broke the code on Lance."
- both quotes by Bart Knaggs

Lance’s 4 Success Factors

Brad Kearns book How Lance Does It explains what it takes to be a champion

Kearns book on cycling legend Lance Armstrong has something different to offer. At the very least, it offers positive reinforcement and ultimately, is a very motivating and fresh perspective.

Brad Kearns trained and raced with Lance when Armstrong was a promising triathlete, even before ihis transformation as Ubercyclist.

Kearns posits the following success factors:

Positive Attitude: By turning every negative (even something like cancer) into a positive, you create a positive result in a positive mainframe.
Clarity of Purpose: The difference between Lance and his competitors in the Tour de France was simple single-mindedness. Lance’s goal was concrete, and simple: Win the Tour. Coming second to Lance was the equivalent of losing. That represents a high standard, but the value of this commitment lies in its hard no-nonsense simplicity.

Specialized Intelligence: Competitive advantage often lies in this area, but perhaps this is the most difficult area to develop and more important, maintain an edge. Triathletes and cyclists invest a lot of energy and resources into using the lightest and most aerodynamic technology to get on top. By the same token, whoever you are and whatever your business investmenting time and thought into strategy and software can pay off huge dividends in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. Important to remember, before starting anything is to first ask: Why? And then decide How?

Pure Confidence: Belief is a great motivator, and belief tends to be bolstered by preparation. Preparation means many things: work, training, readiness, investigation, homework and groundwork. It’s all of these things of course.

Lance’s life is motivating because whether we are out of shape or depressed, we can always compare ourselves to Lance who had it all, seemed about to lose it all (to cancer) and then really came back, Living Strong, with his new lease on life. We also learn that it is the basics that count: love of sport, or love of work (but a basic love of life) that must underscore an sinpired and meaningful life.

Dismantling Bad Habits

We're almost halfway through 2007. What have you achieved so far? Now is the time to assess success, and dismantle a few bad habits that are going to tie you up in knots before you even start.

1. Why worry?

Worrying tends to drive a number of negative responses or reactions. When we get locked into it, when we've really got our teeth gnawing on the bone of worry, what happens is this: nothing. Most often, worry paralyzes us. Almost as often, when worry actually gets us to do anything, it's often the manifestation of a bad habit: comfort eating is a prime example.

When we sit around and worry begins to overwhelm us, the simplest way to feel better -- without doing anything -- is to eat something. It has the added bonus of feeling like we're doing something, and what we're doing is changing how we feel. Except, when it's done, we know we're not changing anything (not in a good way), and there are yucky side-effects like additional weight gain, mood swings and self esteem and motivation levels that slide down another few notches.

Another side effect of worry is insomnia. This is an extremely damaging side-effect, and its perniciousness is grossly under-estimated. Lack of sleep on a day to day basis severely erodes our ability to enjoy life, to effectively do the simplest tasks, and we run the real risk of endangering ourselves and others when we're in our cars or handling sensitive equipment.

So here's a rule of thumb this year. The moment you sense something is bothering you, go and do something. Develop the habit of instant response to worry, and you'll wipe worry out.

2. Time Management

Research has indicated that some families watch up to 40 hours of television a week. That's a working week! If you want to release up huge quadrants of time in your life, limit TV time, and whenever a social engagement conflicts with what's on TV, pass up the TV. At the end of your life you're going to evaluate the quality of your time on Earth by the nature of relationships you shared with others. You're not going to fondly remember a single TV program.

On weekends, get out of bed early and go out and celebrate the day. If you really need the sleep, sleep on a Sunday afternoon, and if you must, Saturday afternoon as well. The best way to ruin the perfect day is to sleep until lunch time and then feel too gloomy to emerge until the day is just about done. Give yourself the time to live, and it starts first thing in the morning.

3. Move -- get light

If you're heavier than you should be, cultivate an attitude where you are done feeling uncomfortable in your own skin. When you attempt to lose weight, do so aggressively, but in a way you can sustain for at least a month or more.

Combine exercise with a modified diet. The sooner you get yourself lighter, the sooner you're going to enjoy yourself more, and the more you're going to bask in better esteem, yours and others. Each day you delay is a day in the shadows of who you could be, so get going.

4. Find a paradigm

The beginning of the year is not the only time to think about your identity, but it's a great time to do a thorough checklist of your life. Think about who you are, your identity, your values, what you’re doing with your life. Evaluate the long term results you’re seeing in your friendships, in your health, and wealth, and make some changes.

5. Anticipate change

If you intend to shape the direction of your life this year, one skill matters more than most. Anticipation. Anticipation is the opposite of worrying. It's not reactionary, it's what? Yes, it's about being proactive. Because of course it's more than merely knowing what is about to happen, or finding a problem before it manifests. It's a matter of anticipating the future, which means letting go of the precious present momentarily for long enough to grasp what's immediately about to happen. And with that knowledge, you'll change your strategy, change what you’re doing. It's easier to ward off a small problem that's about to happen, than clean up the mess once the pot smashes onto the kitchen floor.


The above five points represent a broad theoretical dimension. Make sure you internalize these 5 points, and learn to practice them now, and on a daily basis, going forward. The first four are fairly simple, but if you're not there yet, you need to burn a lot of energy and find the discipline to at least get yourself through the starting gates. Then, when you're ready, get into the habit of anticipating. And when you anticipate, think laterally instead of linearly; think in circles rather than straight lines.

Now, here are a few practical suggestions. While the above mindsets present a governing psychology, you'll still need miniature goals, models and patterns to move your life along. You apply the governing psychology to these goals. It's important to remember that setting goals is crucial, but goals are not:

-Exercise
-Save
-Be more social.

Those are merely thoughts, hopes and wishes. Without specifying quantity or quality and a date, goals are merely daydreams. So, make your goals specific, and don't make the timeframe in the far future, make them immediate, and revise them often:

-Exercise: run easy every 2nd day in January, starting with 30 minutes a day
-Save: save 10 percent of my salary this month
-Be more social: drinks every Wednesday at X, with Y, swim with Jane every Friday at 4 p.m. in the gym


Without specifying quantity or quality and a date, goals are merely daydreams.

Now set a new set of goals for 2007, and make them worthy goals. That way you'll emerge at the end of the year basking in your own glory. Enjoy your success.

©2007 Nick van der Leek