A True Champion is one that gets up when lame
A True Champion is one that shares the fame
A True Champion is that one that always takes the blame(Hannibal Najjar-Sept, 1994)

Getting up When Lame
Getting up  when lame conveys an attitude of determination and grit. It goes

Hannibal Najjar

even beyond just being able to endure pain! It speaks to an attitude of complete and comprehensive preparation, keenness to perform, and desire to finish the task at hand. 

 It represents a special kind of focus that Lance Armstrong speaks of “Hearing and seeing only that which furthers the mission”. Lameness not only references the physical, but the emotional, psychological, and the mental.

 Using the encouragement of Carthaginian General, Hannibal Barca, he motivated his troops of men and elephants across the frigid and “impossible” Alps, with the following, ” If you cannot find a way, make one!”. One gets a truer picture of what it takes to never consider lameness as an excuse or option.

I encourage you to take a careful look at the following, “No amount of bleeding would ever have me reeling”(hn-Oct, 2002. This epitomizes it all!

Sharing the Fame
Sharing the fame is another component that all champions are made of.   John Wooden, one of my surviving mentors and all time UCLA basketball icon and player-and-coach Hall-of-Fame inductee, encourages that, “The main ingredient in stardom is the rest of the team” – what a depiction that helps us understand the concept of, sharing the fame!

Look around at any past greats and witness their confessions as to what were the most important things that made them icons and lifted-up persons in their respective arts!  Hard work, preparation, determination, and suchlike aside, almost every single “Great”, attributes teammates’ contributions, their role-playing and sacrifices to the team as the main ingredient that led to the “Greats” personal rise to stardom.

Always Taking the Blame
Hardly ever, and I would dare say, NEVER, can you or will you find a star that is without the resolve that the puck stop with them!  Too often we lay blame on the play that immediately preceded that incident, or person that performed the act that led to the collapse or failure to achieve the desired goal or outcome of an event or occasion.

A true champion does not look for excuses or to people to cast blame.  They take ownership of the “failure” to achieve the desired outcome.  They hurt deeply and rehearse and visualize ways to employ so that their next performance would prevent another undesired outcome.

Many people often use the cliché, “If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem”.  I tend to take it a step further, and a BIG one at that, to implore people to take ownership of their lives and situations.  I choose to advise that,  Experience shows that this encourages people to be more intentional in their actions and decision-making.

I sum up the True Champions life and way of living by encouraging to use the following, “If you aren’t winning, don’t be whining”, (hn-Sept, 2005)

Written by Hannibal  Najjar