Wrestling Blogs - Lee Kemp

Dr. Rob Gilbert, Leading Sports Psychologist, coined the phrase GOYA (Get off your A#%). I'm coining the phase MOVE YOUR A#%.Get up and start Moving... Not just anywhere... But Move in the direction of your GOALS.YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT YOU WANT.. Right!Once You Know that... START MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION. Take a first step... then another... then another. You've heard the saying... if you stumble and fall... Stumble and fall forward. NEVER BACKWARD. Fight hard not to go backward.For those of you that trade stocks. it's like setting a trailing STOP after you've made some gains. If your stops are… more »

Have You Ever Ended Up Somewhere and Wonder How in the World Did I Get Here? That is precisely the point. How Did I get here! This applies in Every Aspect of Life.Like... Driving Somewhere & Getting Lost and ending up somewhere you didn't want to be... Ending up with Friends, People, Spouse, Kids, Sickness, Disease, or a Job you don't really want to be with, etc., you name it.....Basically just not being happy with where you're at and/or the direction you're going!I'm here to tell you that this just didn't happen by accident. It didn't just happen overnight or… more »

There was a Sign in our Wrestling Room at Wisconisin, I Looked at EVERYDAY, that Read:"Measure a Man by the Opposition it Takes to Discourage Him"As a college athlete I knew there would be obstacals to overcome everyday... i.e., injuries, tough practices, classes and grades, competition, you name it.... etc... All I knew is that I wasnt' going to quit and I was somehow going to be a NCAA Champion.SUCCESS IS NEVER EASY.....We all can learn something from ROCKY. CLICK HERE to watch a clip I'm sure you''ll Remember.STILL NEED MORE CONVINCING. CLICK HERE TO READ AN EARLIER POST I… more »

Don't be afraid to break the mold and the status quo... with the true Leader thinking outside the box is not enough... with the true leader "THERE IS NO BOX"The true leader Innovates; while others only administers what's already there. The true leader is an original; while others try and copy. The true leader makes things happen; while others ask "what happened" The true leader originates; while others imitate. The true leader is intensely interested in continual personal and professional development; while others maintain where they're at. The true leader focuses on developing people, because they know that's best way… more »

Don't quit the moment before your miracle... your breakthrough... your SUCCESS!If you keep believing your breakthrough will come. Your success will come.One way to keep your dream alive is to constantly visualize your success. Role play it in your mind. Then step out of your mind and role play your future success by acting it out.Really act it out. As a young wrestler I used to make an award stand in my bed room and role play getting up on the #1 spot after hearing the my name announced as the champion. Sounds corny but this stuff works.Another way is… more »

The next question is WHAT are you holding back? For example; energy, effort and love, ect. We all hold something back. Holding back is the key reason we have Mediocre performances and experiences. Giving all you've got is the Key to Exceptional performance and experiences. Do you want to be EXCEPTIONAL ... or ... average? Just by waking up in the morning...You've Made it to the "Average" Club. What you do after that makes all the difference. Holding back is why people sometimes fail. When you hold back you never fully know what may have happened if you went "all… more »

Excuses...Excuses...Excuses! I hear a lot of conversations about why things don't get done. Please... STOP the conversations. Stop the EXCUSES. stop the EXPLANATIONS. Stop the JUSTIFICATIONS. All that stuff is really the outgrowth of our FEARS (I do it too sometimes). Fear causes us to make excuses (i.e., explaining and justifying why somethiong did or did not happen). NO EXPLANATIONS OR JUSTIFICATIONS! PLEASE... JUST ACTION. You've heard of "Show me the money"... well... SHOW ME THE ACTION with no conversations! In life for every decision we make we are either GETTING something for it... or AVOIDING something for it. The… more »

Wake up every day with a Purpose, Goal or Objective for the Day. Then Go After It!People Magazine called Bob Wieland "one of the six most amazing Americans of the past 20 years." How many people have biked or walked across America? Bob has done both ... with no legs. Through seemingly insurmountable adversity, Bob has persevered. From his miraculous recovery in the hospital, to his three-year, eight-month and six-day walk across America on his hands, Bob has proved his message that "Through faith in God, determination, and dedication, a person can achieve anything." He has always said, "The joy… more »

Keep the goal simple. Example; My goal is to win this match vs. My goal is to be the OW.Nothing wrong with being the OW. In fact in my entire career I've only won that 3 times. Once was in high school. Once in college. Once in Freestyle.My goal was always to win. Getting my hand raised was my single concern, consequently my matches were not that exciting, but there wasn't much doubt as to who was going to win.Remember K.I.S.S Principle!This applies to anything you want to accomplish in LIFE. www.leekemp.com more »

Because all we really have is NOW. That's all we really can Control. Tomorrow is not promised. I had the good fortune to meet a great man recently. A wise man full of years with a lot of life experiences...but unfortunately he was dying. In fact when I met him he would only be alive for 14 more days. After spending some time with this man I learned very quickly that he really loved life and lived life to the fullest! After spending some time with him and learning all that he had accomplished... I came to this startling revelation...… more »

There's no Limit to What You Can Do...But to Find Out What You Can Do...You Must First Put It All On The Line... The reason most people don't put it all on the line is because the very act of putting it on the line exposes any weaknesses and, of course, any strengths. Putting it on the line means going all out...holding nothing back. HOW ELSE WILL YOU KNOW WHAT YOU REALLY CAN DO? HOW ELSE WILL YOU BE ABLE TO MAKE ANY CHANGES BASED ON EXPOSED WEAKNESSES? You need to know what your strengths are just as you must… more »

Keep a Consistent and Focused Goal Oriented Attitude! Attitude is defined as "a mental position (or a feeling or emotion) with regard to something". Most of us are quick to let a negative circumstance change our attitude and feelings about something. This type of attitude, unfortunately, is determined by circumstance and not really focused on a particular goal or outcome. Therefore when our circumstance changes...so does our attitude. Circumstances change alot...and unfortunately with most of us, so does our attitude. Example; something happens we don't like...we get a negative attitude about it. This attitude is usually negative, strong and changes… more »

This is the one thing most of us do too much of... Most of our time and energy is spent thinking about doing something...rather than doing it! Thinking about doing something and doing something yields entirely different results. Thinking is way overrated. Most of us over think things, and as a result never get moving to actually doing the thing(s) we were thing about. 99% of why we don't accomplish things in life is because we never get to them. The more we think, the more we talk ourselves out of the thing we want. In fact the circumstance we… more »

We all Have Giants to Over come in Our Life...I'm Dealing With Some Right Now...We Must However Face Them in Order to Defeat Them. Giants are the difficult things (or they could be failures) you are dealing with in your Life right now! What ever they are...These are your Giants! If you're an athlete and your giant was a bad performance, then in order to understand what really happened, you must face it "head on" with honesty and humility. The same is true no matter what your giant is. You may have more than one giant in your life. You've… more »

Visualize the VICTORY not the PRESSURE you feel... You have to completely embrace the idea that with all accomplishment there is PRESSURE. In fact the greater the accomplishment...the greater the pressure...I agree with Billie Jean King, perhaps the greatest female tennis player ever, that "Pressure is a Privilege". I'll take it a step further. "PRESSURE IS THE PRIVILEGE OF CHAMPIONS". If you really want to be a champion...start accepting the pressure that comes as a privilege.."a sort of right of passage". Typically when you feel pressure it's because you're thinking about an opponent. Think about it for a moment....The more… more »

I've Watched This Man Work and Train...He Also Embodies an Incredible Work Ethic, Incredible Discipline and an Incredible Desire to Win and Succeed!CONGRATULATIONS HENRY!Henry is also the youngest American to win a Olympic or World Championship!? Congratulations Again Henry! http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/06/05/cejudo0611/index.html http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-spw-olywrestling20-2008aug20,0,6050221.story more »

Real Success is Much More Than Just Wanting to It...If Fact it's not About How Bad You Want...It About Commitment to The Process. The first P is Preparation...This one is the easiest to measure because it involves all the work that goes into any achievement and can be measured and monitored. This is not easy! The work part stops a lot of people. The Key here is put in the WORK so that you are PREPARED when your opportunity comes. The second P is Passion...Do you absolutely Love the Thing that your trying to Achieve. For me it was "Wrestling".… more »

I'll Illustrate This Point With A Story I Learned From Dr. Rob Gilbert, Co-author of my CD Series entitled "The Psychology of Winning Wrestling http://www.leekemp.com/cdpage.htm "The story takes place on a hot day – 120 degrees in the shade. And it takes place in a railroad yard and this crew is out there with their pick axes and shovels and sweating and working on the rails. Then out of the office comes the president of the company, Bill McClanahan. He looks over at his crew and he sees his old friend Charlie and he yells out – hey Charlie is… more »

It All About Being Able to Change...... When you change your thinking, You change your beliefs; When you change your beliefs, You change your expectations; When you change your expectations, You change your attitude; When you change your attitude, You change your behavior; When you change your behavior, You change your performance; When you change your performance, You change your life!This quote is from Dr. Walter Doyle Staples http://www.doctorstaples.com/ more »

The First Real Success...How do we get it when we've failed so many times before?We all have to realize that we don't always get what we want...but we always get what we GET. (See Message #58)The key here is to go to your last breath BELIEVING that you can and will SUCCEED! It is this mind set that keeps you in a position to BREAK THROUGH when the moment or opportunity comes.Just ask anyone that has had great success if it happened overnight. They'll tell you that it was with great struggle and hardship that they got their break through,… more »

The Word Intimidation Has Meaning for everyone. If you know how to intimidate people you can make it work for you. If you get intimidated, it will destroy you. So what is intimidation? What is it that just makes you feel timid and scared? What makes that little voice in your mind say "this is to much for me" 'I can't face this". I mean it just saps you of your strength. So you want to see an example of INTIMIDATION... just watch the stare down before any of Mike Tyson's fights (his early fights...especially his fight with Michael Spinks… more »

Release the Natural Tranquilizers in Your Body. Most things in life you make yourself do. You go to school, work, practice, take a shower...what ever. It's a never ending process of make, make, make, make, make. Try to make yourself fall asleep; you can't make yourself fall asleep...you just fall asleep. Try to make yourself breathe... If you had to make yourself breathe, inhale, exhale, then you wouldn't have a chance to do anything else. So the whole thing is it's a letting process, you just let it happen. You don't make it happen. In order to make yourself relax,… more »

The Point Here Is Where Does Motivation Come From... and How Do We Get Motivated?

We get motivated by the desire to do SOMETHING...ANYTHING!

The desire to do something can also be the desire to achieve SOMETHING. This can also be called a GOAL!

The smaller the goal...the smaller the motivation....THE BIGGER THE GOAL...THE BIGGER THE MOTIVATION....think about this for a moment...

Also when you’re motivated, you automatically become excited. BIGGER THE MOTIVATION...THE BIGGER THE EXCITEMENT.

BIGGER THE EXCITEMENT...THE BIGGER THE PASSION.

… more »

Winning is However you Define Success, or More Importantly...Attainment of You Goals and Dreams. But First What Could Be More Important Than Winning?

Winning is the end result of a lot of things.

The most important FIRST step to any GREAT success in anything is the WILLINGNESS TO DO WHAT EVER IT TAKES to get what you want...

AND the willingness do do it NO MATTER WHAT! This is what separates the GOOD from the GREAT!

All truly successful people (I mean those people that have achieved… more »

POSITIVE BELIEVING is what we NEED to get the job done.... There's a Huge Difference Between Positive Thinking and Positive BELIEVING!

Was Muhammad Ali a positive thinker or a positive BELIEVER? Like him or not the guy was mentally "ROCK SOLID". Listen to Ali Click Here and ask yourself is this man a positive thinker or positive believer.

You know how Muhammad Ali didn’t go around saying I think I’m the greatest, I think I’m the greatest. He used to say – I’m the greatest period.

let’s just talk about for… more »

If you were pretending to be what ever it is you're aspiring to be, HOW WOULD YOU ACT?

That's my question for YOU.

In my case as a young wrestler back in the 70's I had the good fortune and opportunity to be in the presence of Dan Gable - arguably the one single person that's had the greatest impact on wrestling in this country.

Gable's impact reached deep to all of us young wrestling "wanna bees". I was 15 years old when I went to a wrestling camp Gable was… more »

Your Not Really Pretending...What You're Really Doing is Visualizing...

There is a Superman inside of all of us...But First we Must Discover Him...and Believe.

The difference between Clark Kent and Superman is their attitude and personality. Clark has one attitude and personality and Superman has another. It is the same with each of us. We all have to first realize we have a Superman inside us and then we must learn to develop and train our Superman.

When a job calls for Superman...Superman must show up. No excuses, it doesn't matter… more »

If Only We Could Have the Faith as a Little Child and Believe in Our Dreams...

Consider These Thoughts from Some Accomplished People:

I tell people I'm too stupid to know what's impossible. I have ridiculously large dreams, and half the time they come true. --Debi Thomas, World Figure Skating Champion.

Ideals (like Dreams) are like the stars: we never reach them, but like the mariners of the sea, we chart our course by them. --Carl Schurz, Missourt Senator from 1869 to 1875. (blue is my comment)

If… more »

By Staying in the Shallow Water (where it's safe and little risk) You'll Only Catch the Small Fish.

Get in the boat and leave the safety and comfort of the shore and go after the Really BIG Fish.

The further you go out the deeper the water and the more risk and uncetainty.

The further you go out the more doubt and fear of the unknown.

Staying on the shore you'll be sure to catch some fish...really small ones though.

Are really small ones OK… more »

This Very Moment is the Only Thing You Can Really Control. It's Called "RIGHT NOW!" That's it! You only Have Control of THIS MOMENT IN TIME.

Obviously YOU can't Change the PAST and YOU can't Predict FUTURE events.

You CAN, however, have a Great impact on Future events by what you do RIGHT NOW!

OUR LIFE AS IT STANDS RIGHT NOW IS A SUM TOTAL OF ALL THE CHOICES, EFFORTS AND ACTIONS WE'VE MADE AT EVERY MOMENT IN TIME OF OUR LIFE!!!

Think about everything that's happened to… more »

It's Not Good Enough That You Learn Your Craft so Well That You Get It Right Almost All The Time...But That You Learn Your Craft so Well That You Can't Get it Wrong!

I Learned That There's a Big Difference Between the Two From John Taylor, a high school team mate from my alma matter, Chardon High School.

What do I mean by this?:

Learning something well enough that we get it right almost all the time still leaves room for mistakes and errors. After all "No Body's Perfect"...Right?...Wrong...You… more »

From the 2008 NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Tournament held in St Louis, Missouri on 3/20-22/2008, only 40% of the the Number 1 Seeds Actually Won! That Means 60% of the Other Winners Out Performed Their Seed.

Consider These Facts:

at 133 pounds the #3 seed, Coleman Scott, Oklahoma State, pinned the #4 seed Joey Staton, Iowa to win the title.

at 141 pounds the # 6 seed J Jaggers, Ohio State defeated the #1 seed, Chad Mendes, Cal Poly 5-2 to win the title.

at 157 pounds the… more »

Stop and Think About Several Important Things You SAID YOU Were Going to do. DID YOU DO THEM? What attempts did you make to do them? How PASSIONATE were you in trying to do them? You get my point.

Say Less and DO MORE. Keep track of what you say and reconcile it with what you actually DO.

I'm not talking about things like "I'm going to win this tournament" or I'm going to land this big business deal" or "I'm going to discover the cure for cancer". Truth is, we can't predict or… more »

In Life by Default We All Give a Certain Amount of Effort and Passion to What Ever it is We Do. The Key to true Happiness, Contentment and Fulfillment is not to Live By Default (by giving only a certain amount) but by Giving 100% (giving it all).

Consider This:

Are you more happy and fulfilled when you give to someone in need...or when you receive something? Do you find that the more you give to someone in need the more fulfilled you are?

As a child I knew my parents… more »