Don't Just Think It. Ink it!

“Don’t just think it. Ink it.” – “Diamond” Dallas Page

I’m writing this article while I watch the 2017 Royal Rumble. Yes, I – the published author, weekly contributor to the Good Men Project, and proud fan of my literary ability – am a wrestling fan. I’ve been a fan for probably thirty years. Ever since I saw Hulk Hogan body slam Andre the Giant at WrestleMania III.

If you believe you’re going to be mediocre then you will be mediocre.

DDP (Diamond Dallas Page) has always been a fascinating figure to me. He’s never been the owner of a bodybuilder-type physique. And he didn’t get started wrestling until he was 35; when most guys are 8-12 year veterans of the business.

Yet in the 90s, there was nobody bigger in WCW (World Championship Wrestling).

The story of Coach Ryan begins with the inspirational words of “Diamond” Dallas Page.

Let’s take a trip back to 2012…

As I have chronicled before, 2012 was a pretty low point in my life. And by low, I considered taking a leap…I won’t go any further with this. You can read for yourself.

But a few months before that almost fateful afternoon, I saw a YouTube video (which has been sadly deleted) that forever changed my life. It was of DDP sharing a story from his wrestling career.

He shares the story of a conversation he had with the late “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes – a legendary figure in the wrestling business. DDP has cited Dusty as one of his most important mentors.

Page was talking to Dusty about his career trajectory. DDP believed he’d gotten into the business as a wrestler too late to make a main event impact.

He was tired of being used in untelevised matches. He didn’t believe he could be in the main event. He wanted to be – as Page said in the video – at the bottom of the top. The guy who went out and had great matches in the middle of the show. The spot that guys like Rick Rude and Jake “The Snake” Roberts traditionally held.

“I know I’m never gonna win the title…”

After DDP was done venting, Dusty shot back something that changed Page’s life forever. In Dusty’s unmistakable lisp:

“What in the hell did you just say to me, son?”

Dusty read him the riot act. Pretty much, if you believe you’re going to be mediocre then you will be mediocre.

After DDP got off the phone with Dusty, he wrote down a goal. He was going to “win” the world championship within five years. It took him a little over four.

After I saw this video, I wrote a blog post. And in that post, I made a declaration.

This is from that blog post:

“Today is Thursday, October 18, 2012. I’m stating that within five years I will be in the creative business. I will be a produced playwright. I will be a writer for TV or movies.”

Don’t just think it. Ink it.

While it isn’t exactly as I drew up almost five years ago, I’m there. While I’m not yet a produced playwright, I am a published novelist. That took me not quite three years.

The path to anyone’s goals isn’t linear. It isn’t a straight line. Your path to your goals is more like the squiggly swirl you make on a piece of paper to see if a pen still works.

Or am I the only one who does that?

There are steps to turning goals into reality. These are in no particular order, only they’re in the exact order in which I coach them:

Write down your goal (in other words, ink it.)
Determine what skills and resources you already possess to make that goal happen.
Set milestones.
Get support!

Did DDP win the world championship without any support? Of course not! He had mentors. He had relationships with bookers and promoters. And he had dance partners in the ring.

But it all began when he wrote down a bold goal and made it happen.

I’m looking to fill three slots in Team Ryan Coaching in the next two weeks. Do you have a goal that scares you? Do you have a goal where you can’t see the finish line? Do you have a goal but are afraid to put it into words?

I can support you with all of this.

Here’s how to reach out: