Win or lose

It was madness i thought, fear had wrapped itself like silk around my neck, coiling such beautiful limbs, whispering its idol song. How do we do it to ourselves, allow the sweet honeyed dew of fear to catastrophize our lives no matter how sweet our success would be. It is easy to allow others to plant their doubts in your mind, to contaminate you with their issues, and to strangulate you with what their insecurities amount them too in their minds. Yet this is your journey, this is your field, you must be more than a ball without a strategy, without a team, without a net, you must be a game that has been well thought out, organised, strategised and set to score. With a winning mentality, we begin to win at life. With a loosing mentality we might as well be benched.

Football Fantastica:What was Michigan States secret

Michigan players, including linebacker Devin Bush (10), celebrate in the final minutes of the 42-7 victory over Penn State, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press

42-7 Damn thats deep. Shea Patterson struck gold with his defense, Michigans offensive line has been the story of the season. So what was the secret sauce behind such a successful strategy? 

From being one of the worst units a year ago to one of the best in the Big Ten through nine weeks this year. U-M pounded the ball against Michigan State, a top-notch rush defense, two weeks ago. It neutralized Penn State's heralded pass rush Saturday and ran for 259 yards.  

What was their secret Sauce? Impeccable teamwork, dynamic discipline and a belief in their potential. They did the hard plays, cultivated the practice and with single minded determination, achieved incredible success.

Many of us want a great win but we dont commit the plays to the practice. Imagine how many gruelling hours of training these plays took to perfect, the hours at the gym, the sacrifices each team player had to make. Imagine the focus, the hunger it took more than just faith. To walk into your glory, preparation is key at all times, you must manage your time and structure it, and cultivate more positive thinking more importantly learn from your losses. That is what this team did , and they exceeded themselves.

Life's Ring

Ive heard people say to each other " the struggle is real," so is the fight. Warrior, lionness, champion and braveheart. Life will push you till your at full tilt, it will carve a self that you may not recognise in your reflection. It was a self in the shadows all along. When your in a real fight you know your stance, your head is high, shoulders up, fists prepped, you have your dignity to think about after all there is a world watching. Life has put you in the ring, old fears and anxieties lurk like wolves hunting for a carcass, but they wont be feeding today. Today you have a gameplan, today you have a strategy, you must prepare to execute it at will.

Joshua Pavis: Man on a Mission

As redebony mentioned previosuly, I am a hockey player, currently playing for the Great Britain U21s and the University of Nottingham. From now on, I will be sharing brief accounts and thoughts of some of my experiences as an international hockey player; from travelling across the world, to how I prepare for a game, to what I get up to, in my spare time, well what little of it I have. I hope you enjoy it. It starts off as one lesson a week at school, something that school has to do to ensure we are doing enough physical activity. Then it becomes a hobby, something to pass the time when you're bored with your mates on a sunny Summers day. After a while, it becomes your passion, something you are always thinking about. And then, before you know it, it becomes you're life, the only thing you worry about. We always hear about the ‘Power of Sport’ and how it changes people’s lives. For some people, it didn’t just change their life, it became their life. When all your everyday decisions are influenced by sport, that’s when you know it’s more than ‘just a game’.


The path to success, however, is not easy, the early starts, the long training sessions, the gruelling pain, the setbacks, the sacrifices. So why do we do it? Why do we put ourselves through it? For me, it’s simple. I want to be the best! And I hate losing, like really hate it! Back in 2016, we won the annual Sultan of Johor Cup, a prestigious tournament held in Johor, Malaysia. We beat India, in the final, to lift the trophy. Being 16 at the time, I had never experienced anything like this. Having thousands of local fans, cheering for us, was something I could never have imagined, when a year later, I was just playing hockey at school, but preferred football and cricket. I was representing my country, and not only that, but we were winning too! Two years later, we were back in the final of the Sultan of Johor Cup. Heading into the final, we were undefeated, winning 5 from 5, including victories against Australia, India and hosts Malaysia. However, in the final we underperformed, we lost 2-0. You could put it down to a number of reasons, poor execution, complacency, fatigue, but at the end of the day we just weren't good enough. Reflecting on the tournament, I thought back to 2 years ago and that final, but it was all a blur, yes we were the Champions, but we hadn’t been the best time throughout the tournament, yet this year, finishing second, didn't do our performances justice! Which perhaps best highlights another reason why I love sport. It is unpredictable. Whatever sport it is, nothing is for certain, nothing is guaranteed. Which is perhaps why it feels so good to win!
 Josh Pavis Instagram: @joshpavis
Twitter: @josh_p14

A timeless classic: Beat the Bully

People who are jealous of you have a habit of tearing you down, then copying every single thing you do. As a leader, you have to be aware that in life there are winners and there are looser. Those who set themselves up to loose and fail by cheating, by faking skills they don't have in order to justify an inadequacy they've felt all their lives. Someone sick did this to me, most of you who follow my blog and follow me on Facebook know my story. I was severely bullied and alienated from the rest of my community by a guy and his family who were upset simply because, I just wouldn't sleep with him. His mother had been acting cruelly towards me, competing with me, until I later discovered she had severe mental health problems. This was a woman on the fringe. Yet lest not focus on that lest focus on how i asserted myself as a leader throughout this whole situation as this turned into a witch hunt. I was called Racist names, people were told to avoid me, and harassed consistently by this guy's family and his friends. They were determined to keep me at the bottom, I am rising to the top. I now have an agent for my book, I am working with the phenomenal miss central London GB, have a host of connections which include Royalty and I'm hosting an event with Richard Bransons mentee. I've been through the depression, I've been through the why he's, there is always something about you that makes that person feel inferior.They target you because their weak and joining together to make one person feel small makes them feel strong. Never keep their secret. The mother who was the instigator would cheer on the kids for calling me sadistic names, she would spread vicious and malicious lies about me throughout the neighbourhood. I'd have families with really bad reputations, families I'd never given the time of day too , bonding together, to say things like ' don't go near that girl,' because I was different. It is not your job to cloak a coward in shadow, do not hide their malice in myth , if someone really wants to help your character, they would look you directly in the eye and challenge you, on these flaws they say you have. Weak people and those who lack social skills, use malice as a way to bond. They don't have social flair, these are people you probably wouldn't give the time of day too, so what is the other option, they use stupidity, nastiness,and cruelty to draw you in.  These are people you wouldn't give the time of day too . If your so ugly, if your so flawed, if your so less than up to par why are they so taken up with what your doing, wearing, how your talking. Bullies have always been bullied themselves, or abused in some way, jealous and something about you is pretty amazing. So keep being amazing. Avoid them, ignore them, for me these people will never get my time. It is precious. In this lifetime if you see someone outnumbered don't join the pack, you wanna be a leader not a looser.