By Scott Hook, Vasse Strength and Conditioning
Right now, I am in the mood to be inspirational.
So, let’s get started and set the record straight.
Motivation is not what gets you moving.
It’s not what makes you great.
It’s not what builds empires or bodies or legacies.
Motivation is fleeting.
It’s like a sugar high! It hits quick, burns out quicker, and leaves you worse than before.
What gets you moving if it isn’t motivation, you ask?
What makes the difference, then?
Discipline!!!
Discipline doesn’t give a shit if you feel like it.
Discipline doesn’t wait for the stars to align, the kids to sleep, or your schedule to clear.
Discipline moves anyway.
Because here’s the truth that has taken me years to realise…
“If we can challenge ourselves daily, and act when we should, not when we feel like it, we flourish.” – Me I wrote that!
We become something new when we lean into the uncomfortable.
Like coal crushed under pressure, we become diamonds.
Not just something strong.
Something valuable.
Something beautiful.
Something that once burned to create heat for others now symbolises what’s possible under pressure.
That’s what training is and what exercise can do for us. Sun Tzu wrote that it is a chance to ‘sweat in training so we don’t have to bleed in battle’.
We must challenge ourselves in a controlled environment to deal with the challenges we didn’t sign up for.
What we do to ourselves physically helps us emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
It’s not just about the mirror, your macros, or your personal bests; those are just by-products.
Training is pressure.
Training is transformation.
Training is a forge where you burn off the parts of yourself that can’t carry the weight of your potential.
And if you want a metaphor that’ll punch you square in the chest?
Be the eagle.
Young eagles don’t get flying lessons.
They get pushed out of the nest by their parents.
Sink or soar.
That’s the only choice.
And when eagles get older, around 40 years old, they go through a brutal process called ‘moulting’ where they,
They break off their beaks.
They rip out their own talons.
They shed all of their feathers.
They rebuild themselves, allowing them to live another 40 years.
Sound familiar?
It should.
Because at some point in life, if you want to keep going, you must let go of some things.
Old habits.
Old stories.
Old excuses.
That process hurts.
But on the other side of that pain?
Flight.
You’re either an eagle or a chicken scratching at the floor, hoping someone drops you scraps.
I’d rather see more eagles.
Rocky said it best:
“It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”
Well… you’re going to get hit.
By life.
By failure.
By circumstance.
So why not build a body and mind that can take it?
Why not become the kind of person who doesn’t need permission to rise?
And if you’re sitting there thinking:
“Yeah, but f**k you Scott, you don’t know my story.”
You’re right. I probably don’t.
But I know you were born with something.
And so does the one who made you.
Let me remind you of a parable.
A master gives his three servants a set of talents (money).
One gets five.
One gets two.
One gets one.
The first two invest what they’ve been given and double it.
The last one?
He buries it.
Puts his head in the sand.
He wasted what he was given out of fear.
And when the master comes back, what happens?
He takes the one talent and gives it to the one who did something with it.
“To the one who has, more will be given.
But to the one who does nothing, even what he has will be taken away.”
Harsh? Maybe.
But real? Definitely.
If you’ve been given a body, mind, or soul, do something with it.
Bury it and it dies.
Move it, challenge it, sharpen it, and it multiplies.
This is your manifesto.
To rise.
To move.
To fight.
To become.
Not to wait for motivation, but to build discipline.
Not to react to life, but to command it.
Not to be average, but to be extraordinary.
You were all made to soar.
So lift your hands to the sky, scream into the wind, and fly.
Become the diamond.
Become the eagle.
Become the person you were born to be.
Here is what I really want you to hear, like really hear!
You don’t need more motivation. You don’t need the perfect playlist or the stars to align. What you need is already in you. You’ve been through stuff. You’ve taken hits. Maybe you’re in the middle of one right now. But that fire in your chest? That’s not weakness. That’s your wake-up call.
You weren’t put here to drift, doubt, or bury your gifts in the sand. You were made to move mountains. To rise. To build something that lasts. So stop waiting. Stop watching others live boldly while you play it safe. This is your life. This is your shot. Please don’t waste it. Get up. Show up. Push harder. Become the person you were always meant to be. I believe in you. And I want to see you fly.
Let’s go. Do things differently. BECOME EXTRAORDINARY!