The Solution to Any Problem

"Always be training for a fight.” That’s a phrase I often say after studying Cus D’Amato and Teddy Atlas, two of the best boxing trainers of all time.

I realized the intensity of an athlete’s workouts and the discipline of his or her behaviors correlated with clarity of his or her aims. Tenacity of training relied on specificity of targets. What are his or her goals six months, one year, and three years from now?

Boxers who do not have an upcoming fight tend to drift. Athletes who do not have an upcoming game tend to prepare less and party more. Competitors who do not have an upcoming performance tend to slack off. Dessert? Why not. Stay up late? No reason not to. Sleep in? Nothing better to do… so they think.

A middle-aged man could plan to complete a 5K walk, a 10K jog, a half- or full-marathon race.

A mother of three could strive to finish a certain number of pilates classes in a year or perfect a variety of yoga poses.

A competitive athlete could chase after a championship, a personal record, or a misogi (Japanese term for a major milestone achieved once per year as a purification process to increase one’s capacity for growth, development, and service of others).

Regardless of age and circumstance, better behaviors come from better reasons.

What measurements matter most to us?

Who might we become when we aim and train for our own personal “fight?”

How do we measure heart?

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Those who realize their full potential possess the same attribute: competitive fire, passion, love.

Passion [originally from the Latin verb “pati” meaning to suffer and endure]: a powerful, compelling emotion; an intense driving feeling such as love

Love for the game → athlete.

Love for the craft → artist.

Love for another person → all of us.

The fuel that ignites a mission is not always the same that sustains It. Interest, and sometimes random coincidence, initiates an endeavor. Novelty mixed with discipline pulls a person through initial stages of a journey. Then, adversity hits. Newness gives way to mundane drudgery. Friction causes doubt as yet another obstacle indirectly asks, “How badly do you want this?”

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Looking at something is a far cry from liking something, which lies a world away from truly and deeply loving something.

When we notice a flower, we look at it. When we like a flower, we pluck it. When we love a flower, we take care of it and sacrifice for it.

Love remains the perennial, perpetual, and permanent solution to any problem. It’s the cardinal core value. It’s the diamond in the rough that allows for smooth sailing through any of life’s storm. Whether we notice or like it in the beginning or the middle, it’s what lasts in the end.

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A few years ago, a husband and a wife were driving to Church with their daughter and son in the backseats. At an intersection, another driver sped through a red light, hitting their car. After spinning twice, they crashed against the street light. Several minutes later, an ambulance arrived to rush all four family members to the hospital. Hours later, doctors concluded the young girl would need a blood transfusion to survive. Since the young boy was the only one in the family and in the immediate area with her same blood type, the chief medical director on duty knelt down, stared the boy in his eyes, and implored:

“Is it okay if we take your blood to save your sister?”

The boy looked down, thought for a few seconds, and then looked back at the director. “Yes. If it will save my sister, yes.”

Urgently yet steadily, a doctor inserted a needle into the boy’s arm and vein. He winced. He tried not to grimace. Tears flowed from his eyes as he squeezed them closed.

Minutes later, he opened them.

Puzzled, he looked around the room.

Then, he asked the doctor, “When do I die?”

Too young to know, the boy thought a blood transfusion meant he would have to die for his sister to live…

That’s passion.

That’s sacrifice.

That’s love.

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Whether it’s a sport or a game, a craft or a profession, a cause or another beating heart… I pray you will do this as passionately as possible: love.

This world is full of things to look at. This world is full of things to like. This world has only a few things we will ever deeply, truly, and fully love.

What are those few for you?

What’s worth fighting for?

On a more serious note, what’s worth dying for?

🎙️Click here to listen to Mark Glicini’s monthly episodes of his podcast, GRATEFUL and Full of Greatness