Be humble enough to know
That you’re not better than anybody,
And wise enough to know
That you’re different from the rest.

The way that you carry yourself,

The way that you present yourself,

The way that you compete,

The way that you interact with your allies and rivals,

The way that you win,

The way that you temporarily lose,

The way that you care,

The way that you dare,

The way that you strive,

The way that you fall,

The way that you get back up,

The way that you dream,

The way that you recover,

It all goes through a visual filter in every person’s brain to determine two things.

Whether they like and trust you.

And when they both like and trust you, they will root for you.

They will root for you as one of their own.

It is not whether you have or get things in life or sport, but it is about the humanity of the story others can admire; how you lived, how they can relate to your humanity that causes them to root for you.

When someone sees someone else live admirably, they take notice and become a fan.

The ironic thing is my experience in life has shown me that overcoming hardship is the prerequisite to how others see you living admirably.

It is how you handle that hardship that stands out.

Why?

Because hardship is a hard ship to steer.

And as humans, we admire when another human steers that hard ship out of the eye of the storm and back into tranquil waters.

That is worth rooting for.

That is when you will get your greatest applause.

This is a chapter from “Wrestling Rules for Life.”

Which can be purchased at www.johnapassarostore.com