The Latest Definition of a Champion Is a Beautiful Thing

A champion has often been defined as “a person who has surpassed all rivals in a sporting contest or other competition.”

In other words, it’s been all about results. They’ve achieved great things and so they’ve been deemed the greatest, at least for a short period of time, anyway.

This way of defining someone has spread across all fields too — sports, TV, film, books, business, and more. It certainly has a Hollywood-esque feel about it as each person that rises to the top gets greeted by flashing lights and adoring fans.

It gives attention and recognition to the act of winning and that’s it. However, it forgets (or ignores) what makes winning possible — mindset, sacrifice, loss, commitment, grit, courage, and determination. It simplifies all of these key characteristics down to someone who simply wins or loses.

And only those who win get the credit.

Jack Dempsey — A heavyweight champion of the world from 1919 to 1926 — defined a champion in another way: A champion is “somebody who gets up when they can’t.”

Personally, I love this.

I love it because it’s not about a person winning or losing but rather about a person who has the courage to get back up when it would be easier to stay down.

I love it because it doesn’t speak into a champion’s physical strength but rather into their vulnerability. It honours their ability to be real, raw, and vulnerable and shows that it’s these qualities that allow them to be strong and not the other way around.

Perhaps we’ve got it backwards then?

Muhammed Ali — possibly the greatest of all time — knew all about this:

“You don’t lose if you get knocked down, you lose if you stay down”

He also put it another way:

“Champions aren’t made in the gym. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them — a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill”

What Muhammed Ali reminds of us is that a champion is cultivated in the hearts and minds of the courageous long before they achieve greatness. Greatest is simply a by-product of that courage.

It’s what goes on behind closed doors. It comes from the way they speak to themselves, how often they honour their truth, how hard they work without any guarantee, and the commitment they have to their grand vision.

It’s their unwavering will that convinces them that the journey is worth it so they keep on going until it is.

“Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even” — Muhammed Ali

Kanye

Kanye knew a thing or two about this too.

Recently, I watched the Kanye West documentary on Netflix and I was surprised at just how many people didn’t take him seriously at first. People even took advantage of him and manipulated him.

It took him years to get to the point where his music was taken seriously and his message was truly heard.

It reminded me that a champion, above all else, has the ability to believe in a vision long enough to see it come real. That’s it.

It seems above all else that they have immense perseverance and stamina.

They also have the courage to get back up over and over and over again, even when they can’t.

It’s just as Brené Brown said:

“If we are brave enough, often enough, we will fall”

That’s what I love about champions — they’re brave enough to put themselves on the line and risk getting their ass kicked. It’s the same risk that allows them to become the greatest.

For to be in the arena of life means that there are going to be people who disagree, dislike, and judge us. If we put ourselves out there, it’s simply part of the deal.

It’s inescapable — we’re going to get our ass kicked from time to time.

But it’s also just as Brené Brown said:

“If you are not in the arena getting your ass kicked on occasion, I am not interested in or open to your feedback”

David Hyner captured it another way: “A lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinion of sheep”

So, seek the lions in your life. Find those who make you feel alive and inspired, challenged and motivated. These people are worth their weight in gold.

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in a world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” — Muhammed Ali

That sounds like a champion’s way of thinking to me!

Closing thoughts

One of my all-time favourite movies is Cool Runnings. Apart from the classic one-liners like “Sanka, you dead” or “Look in the mirror and tell me what you see” comes the Jamaican swagger that only Jamaicans have. But there is also profound wisdom that shines through too. Wisdom such as this:

“If you ain’t enough without it, you’ll never be enough with it”

This, of course, is when Derice Bannock — the Jamaican bobsleigh head driver — asks coach Irving Blitzer why he cheated.

His response was that above — if you ain’t enough without it, you’ll never be enough with it. Meaning that he himself needed to cheat in order to win the gold medal to feel complete in his life because he wasn’t complete without it. He then passed this wisdom on to his star driver so he wouldn’t make the same mistake.

This sums up a champion beautifully for me. It shows that they’re not just defined by results, awards, accolades, titles, prizes, and recognition, they are a champion long before such grace is offered to them.

They’re a champion in their own hearts, in their own minds, and in their own self-worth. Their champion is born from their champion character.

Champions aren’t just defined by great achievements though, there are champions everywhere, always. Every woman that’s ever given birth is a champion of champions, every newborn’s first inhale is a heroic act, and anyone who’s dared to dance, sing, shout, laugh, cry, and live without inhibition is a champion of champions as well.

Anyone that’s helped a stranger, saved an animal, or noticed the beauty of what we are a part of is also a champion (in my eyes).

There are champions everywhere.

Will you be one today?