Every once in a while, you meet an amazing person that truly inspires you. That is exactly what happened at our quarterly Nashville marketing conference a few years ago. The incredible Hulk, Lou Ferrigno, shared some of his life lessons with our team.
Lou had a rocky start in life. At the age of 4, he had a terrible ear infection that resulted in him losing 80% of his hearing. Like all children, he was ill-equipped to handle the ensuing ridicule and rejection that comes with being deaf and unable to speak well. His fear of the constant ridicule led to fear, anger, hate and suffering. As a young man, he was told, repeatedly, you are deaf and you can’t do this or that because of it.
He refused to accept the negativity the world dished out. He saw a Mr. Universe magazine and it inspired him to want to build and grow his body into a muscle machine. After training and winning Mr. Universe in 1973, he found at the winning interviews that nobody could understand him. This setback encouraged him to strengthen his speaking skills. He then went on to win Mr. Universe again in 1974 but this time – the world could understand him, which launched into his now famous acting career. He spent many years performing as the Incredible Hulk. His origin story was inspiring and encouraging. Next, he shared 4 key life lessons that he learned, applied and embraced to become the legendary Lou Ferrigno.
Get your pens and paper ready……
- Embrace Your Fear. To get the most out of life, replace your fear hormones with confidence hormones. Do this by strengthening your body so that your body and mind can work in sync. Confront your fear. Write it down. Take action so that you release the power it has over you.
- Believe. You must have passion and believe in yourself. Forget competing with the world. Believe in yourself and better your best. This process will build your belief in yourself and fuel your passion. Once you truly believe nothing is impossible, success will be yours. By believing in yourself and building your confidence, you will see positive fingerprints in all of your relationships and that process will attract more positive energy to you.
- Delete the negative. If you have people around that are negative, get rid of them. Don’t let the world tell you what you cannot do. Instead – tell the world what you will do.
- Maximize your personal power. The mind and body are connected, designed to work together in harmony. When the world told him he could not, Lou built his body and that process fed his mind, confidence and belief in himself. He competed against himself, bettered his best, built himself into the amazing body builder and actor he became. According to Lou, “If you don’t feel good, it affects your mind and decisions about all areas of your life. It’s critical to eat well, rest and take good care of your body so that your mind and body work in harmony and you maximize your personal power.” This will fuel your confidence and that along with belief in yourself and truly believing nothing is impossible will help you reach success at whatever you commit to do.
Lou’s story was amazing, inspiring and encouraging. Are you struggling with success in one or more areas of your life? If so, I encourage you to take his advice. Surround yourself with positive people, coaches or mentors. That’s one reason we go to Nashville every quarter. We have a family of amazing people that constantly encourage, inspire and challenge us to do our best. To learn more on this process or Lou, check out his website at https://www.louferrigno.com. I’d also encourage you to read “Think & Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. If you believe, you can achieve.
Dedicated to your success,
Jennifer