Do you remember sitting at the breakfast table staring at the face of a celebrity/athlete staring back at you from the side of a Wheaties box?
Did you ever wonder what it would be like to have your own face staring back at you from that box?
Or what it took to get there?
I’m not really talking about marketing even though that does go into it, but rather the driving force behind that athlete getting onto the box.
I’m talking about motivation. I’m talking about that internal drive that pushes all of us outside of our boundaries and into something greater than we had originally imagined in our heads.
(To take a step back, Wheaties cereal used to showcase popular athletes of the time on the front of their boxes. I don’t know if I’m dating myself here or if Wheaties still does this. I have to admit to not even go down the cereal aisle in the supermarket anymore.)
But what did it take for that athlete to get to the point where marketing and advertising execs would want that particular athlete’s face on their product?
Was it just their motivation?
Or was it something else altogether?
What does that athlete symbolize? What does that person mean to the general public and why would their mug be so great to be on the front of a breakfast cereal box?
It doesn’t take good looks to get onto the Wheaties box, although that never hurts.
It does take athletic skill, achievement and some level of fan recognition.
But what is behind all of that?
Do kids get into sports because one day-if they work hard enough- they can also be on the box?
I think that there’s something else at play here.
Sports and any kind of physical activity are hugely popular with kids. Some parents might push or encourage their kids to be active while others find it all on their own.
They like the play, the strength, the energy, the competition that comes along with being active and playing in sports.
But once that novelty wears off, what is left in its place?
Some will abandon sports but some will continue on.
Some will give it up when it stops being a “cool” thing to do or when they’re body changes and doesn’t respond like they had wanted.
And some will still continue on.
What is it about those who keep going? Who keep trying?
Is it then all about motivation?
Is that when they start getting measured for their very own Wheaties box?
No, not yet.
At this point, it starts being less and less about why they got into sports or physical activity in the first place and more and more about what they are receiving from it.
You don’t get motivation from sports, but you get some other, very precious gifts.
You get health, friendship, discipline, leadership, agility, a positive self image, courage, endurance and self satisfaction.
You get gifts that are less measurable, less tangible but gifts that will take your life further than would have been possible if you had given up at a younger age.
This is where motivation starts to kick in.
When the tangible starts to fade away into lesser importance and the intangible becomes more and more vital. This is where true motivation comes from.
So what about you?
Where does your motivation come from?
From the desire to wear short shorts? From the need to wear a dress in a smaller size?
Or does it come from someplace deeper? Some place where you can’t quite put your finger on?
This becomes true and lasting motivation.
When you can stop asking for tangible or physical things- even that Wheaties box- and start looking at the bigger picture, that is when you’ll be able to tap into your unlimited potential, your unlimited ability, your unlimited motivation.
This is where your body will change into something better; this is where your mind will change into something better and this is where, you as a person, are truly meant to be.
