Let’s jump right into it.
How many of you have reached your goals of 10 years ago? How about 5 years ago? A year ago? For those who say yes, your story is admirable. For most of us, the world we’re living in is probably a bit different from what we expected, for better or worse, but should that stop us from dreaming?
It is the human condition to feel that all is right when we are working towards our goals and aspirations. Earning the promotion we spent long hours in the office for, completing a marathon, building a romantic partnership—all can bring us a sense of purpose in life. Surviving the death camps, Viktor Frankl later wrote, “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”
The thing about plans is that they don’t always work the way we imagined. Forces that are out of our control will rock the boat, and if you’re fortunate, the boat won’t sink. As much as we manifest our future, there is no expecting the unexpected. Whatever will happen, will happen, no matter how much you plan.
A former boss, who had made his money building commercial office spaces, had a favorite expression post-COVID: “Men plan, and God laughs.” If true, then it is confirmed—God is a woman.
Okay, now that all the women are gone, let’s talk about the 2% Rule, but if you’re still with us… welcome, you’re about to gain some elite sporting wisdom. The 2% Rule suggests that only a tiny margin of athletes at each level are good enough to get promoted to the next higher level in sport. 2% of House players become Rep players, 2% of Rep players become Junior players, 2% of Junior players become… and you get my point. Even at the highest level in pro sports, the superstars of the league are, as you guessed it, 2%.
Now, I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a challenge to me.
The popular story is that the best athletes are promoted because of their hard work, discipline, and constant improvement of their craft. This is all true. As it goes, Connor Bedard isn’t a superstar by fluke. When he broke his wrist, he drilled one-handed in the backyard. When he was on vacation he brought his gear. No wonder he has a generational wrist shot.
The same can be said for soccer legend Christine Sinclaire. Born in a country where the soccer fields are under a sheet of snow for months on end, she defied the odds to be one of the greatest in her sport. The long winter hours she spent training in the basement paid off. She’s a Canadian sporting icon.
What is it that allows the likes of Christine and Connor to take it to the next level? Natural talent? Hard work? Luck? There’s a quote sometimes attributed to Phil Kessel: “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” Due to forces out of their control, these athletes were born with natural talent. A talent that was taken advantage of through hard work, perseverance, and a lot of good luck.
We’ve all had moments of wishful thinking. We imagine how great we would have been if only our luck was different. We’ll call them “If onlys.” Maybe it’s your injury. Maybe it’s your eyesight. Maybe it’s your hometown. If only things had been different, you’d be different. If only things had been better, you’d be better. If only.
The point is that you can’t decide if you land on someone’s foot coming down off a jumper, or what your optometrist tells you at the follow-up, or if you’re born in Winnipeg. Those are unlucky circumstances, you can’t control that, and if you can’t control that, what can you control? It seems easy enough to account for hard work to win and complacency to failure, but anyone who has experienced both sides knows there are no guarantees in life.
What if Connor had never broken his right wrist? Would he have developed such an accurate wrist shot? Would we even know his name? Or say if Christine was prevented from practicing inside during the winter for fear of breaking a window? Would she be a star? Maybe not. I’d go as far as to say that the chances are pretty low. Like a hot summer day with a cool breeze and a Corona lime, the conditions that produced these stars were just right. If things had been different, we’d probably be thinking about someone else altogether.
Okay, seriously, now that the ladies are definitely gone—boys, I need to ask: what are you guys doing to increase your bench press PR? Seriously, I want to stack two plates. It’s killing me.
That’s heavy. 225 lbs, yes, and the possibility that much of our life depends on luck – actually, it’s hard to tell how much depends on luck. Maybe most of it.
It’s funny because if you’re successful and you’re reading this, you might hate this theory. Born into great privilege, blessed with a special talent, or plain outworking the competition, the people who have made something of themselves are as long gone as the female readers. Maybe the successful believe I’m jealous. It’s hard to be jealous of good luck but, granted, those who have found success do possess something special and I’ll get to that.
For anyone who is down on their luck right now, you might think differently. When life is sucking, and someone tells you that your only way out is through good luck, it might add to your sense of hopelessness. That is not what I’m suggesting. There are layers to this.
Life is a luck sandwich—what options do we have? And what does this have to do with strength? That’s quite simple.
We can spread on some special sauce. If we need to eat the sandwich anyway, sauce makes it go down easier. That special sauce is mayo, or mustard, a bit of relish mmmm… sorry… the special sauce is strength, and each of us has great inner strength, no matter our luck.
No one wants to be a coward but it’s the coward who, when faced with the inevitability of his own shortfalls, refuses to fight for a better life. At times, life is unfair. For some people, their whole existence is unfair, and it feels natural to blame the world. I wouldn’t recommend it, and neither would Nietzsche.
I’ll admit that I read some philosophy, so that you don’t have to. In a world dominated by luck, your decision to seek empowerment is your choice. Nietzsche figured that this desire to be the best version of yourself is a feature of human consciousness, though popular morality tries to limit that imagination. Happiness is what you feel when you push through those restraints and find improvement. He called that type of person a Übermensch which translates to Superhuman, and that’s about all I know about Nietzsche.
Strength is when you commit to a back check when you turn it over. It’s when you shoot 45 on the front nine and 37 on the back nine. Strength is showing up to practice even though you might be cheering from the bench for most of the game.
It doesn’t matter where you start. It doesn’t matter what advantages you possess, or don’t possess. What matters is that you keep dreaming and, crucially, you prove your beliefs with action. It’s up there with the best ways we have of fighting against luck.
In fact, it’s usually only when you show up to the game that you find out where you need the practice. That discomfort is what breeds growth. Blaming the world and pitying yourself hurts you more than the temporary relief it brings—action is the only lasting remedy.
Yeah, working hard, making sacrifices, being an asset to the team even when you’re in pain—that’s way more difficult than the alternative. But as anyone who has worked towards something knows, there’s a line you can follow to build your inner strength. Dream. Strive. Put in the work. Adapt and pivot. Build the world you want to live in. Reach your potential.
Every superstar faced the 2% rule and everyone overcame those odds with strength of will. No matter our position in life, great strength is inside you, and remember that you aren’t on this path alone—it’s okay to ask for help. We are stronger together.
Support My CMHA Fundraiser
I’m currently fundraising for the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) as part of my effort to run the BMO marathon. Mental health is an issue close to my heart, and every contribution helps support those who need it most. If you’d like to support my cause, check out my GoFundMe page and consider donating. Together, we can make a difference!
And as always thanks for reading! Please, consider subscribing to my page to receive automatic updates when I post. I’d really appreciate it. Until next time.
Becoming Superhuman 
Leave a comment