25th April - Never Lose Focus

I don't care what it is you want to set your mind to, I only care about if you have enough self-belief to truly know deep in your soul that you can achieve it. If you bear with me, you'll realise this isn't a third diary entry in a row about Tyson Fury, it's actually a post about examples. Physical embodiments who show us that what we aspire to is not just a dream. You can call them 'inspirations' or 'icons', but they don't have to be famous, or clad with high celebrity-profile. It could be your Auntie Doris, or that bloke Kev who runs the local community centre. 

In the case of Tyson, as is well documented, we saw a man who - just 4 years ago - was 30 stone in weight, depressed to the point of attempted suicide, addicted to drugs and alcohol, and as such, his mindset was so skewed that he was even - now somewhat forgotten by the media - guilty of a series of bold homophobic and sexist remarks. What followed was a renaissance and resurgence - both physically and mentally - to the complete polar end of 'extreme' in a way few could have imagined. Whether you'll believe me or not, my closest friends (some of whom may even recall such a conversation), will fortify my claims of what I'm about to recall is 100% true. 

Mid-2017, and with the world in the midst of 'AJ' fever, the British public had found a new hero, and immediately cast their former Champ aside, labelling him 'finished'. Bookies backed the claim, with Fury drifting out as far to 20/1 to come back and defeat his British rival in future if they ever crossed paths (for reference, he's now 1/3). It was during this moment that I told my closest pals that it would not be the much-hyped Joshua, or even fearsome American big-hitter Deontay Wilder, who would reign supreme in 2/3 years' time, but instead... Fury. Like a phoenix, reborn from the ashes. 

My reasoning for such prediction was knowing that the only adversary for quality, and natural skill, is effort, and mindset. If Tyson was able to control the latter half, then the former would follow naturally. Never bet against a man blessed with the all important character of perseverance. It's something I personally possess in abundance, it's something many of you reading this will also possess, especially when digging deep to unearth it. Steven Bartlett was a nobody until taking the gamble to set up his own business. Avicii used to make demo tracks in his bedroom as nothing more than a hobby. Sylvester Stallone was once so poor, he was forced to sell his dog just so that he could survive by putting food on his table. My point? Is that no matter how devoid of hope or inspiration you may ever feel, there are always shining beacons around us who prove that, with a little skill, and a lot of willingness to graft and never lose focus of your aims and aspirations... 

... You can, and WILL, achieve everything you want to in this World.