"I think the imagination is something that we're not taking as seriously as we should be, I think your mind doesn't just control things in the sense that you bring things out of the ether, that you bring things out of your imagination and bring them and manifest them in the real world… but I think your mind actually has an effect on how things go in the real world. If you believe in things, they have incredible power over you, both good and bad, and who's to say that's not real." -Kai Greene
These words were said by one of the most influential bodybuilders in the history of bodybuilding, Kai Greene. For many of you who may not know who he is, Kai was and continues to be one of the most famous IFBB professional bodybuilders out there. He has won many titles including multiple Arnold Classic wins. When people see Kai for the first time they see a successful man with a fantastic body that gets to travel the world making money and doing what he loves. What they do not see, is the work that was required to get there. The long days of dieting, the years of being in the gym forging his craft, the disappointments, and rejections.
Kai was actually abandoned by his parents from a very early age. He was held in institutional facilities his entire childhood and belonged to the state. Anybody who sees a kid like this might think: “he will never amount to anything with this kind of lifestyle that was dealt with him.” This is at least what most people thought of him. Kai was an angry kid, with no direction in life, and nobody to show him how to succeed in this world.
But Kai turned all this around. Kai learned the power of thought from a very early age. Kai began working out at a very early age while being a property of the state. He was a very artistic child and had a masterpiece in his mind about what he wanted to create and express. His body was the canvas and the weight room was his palette. Kai quickly saw that the more he visualized and imagined the masterpiece that was in his mind, the more it was coming to reality in the physical world. Kai began talking about competing at the Olympia to his peers as a mere teenager. Nobody believed in him, everybody thought this boy was dreaming. Well, his dreams came true. Kai went on to become one of the top bodybuilders in the world and one of the most influential fitness icons in our modern society.
Kai believed in the power of the mind so much that his famous tagline is “thoughts become things.” Kai visualizes and meditates on what he wants to achieve and truly believes he is capable of doing whatever that task may be. Kai has tapped into his Monster Mindset.and realizes that in order to achieve something great, it requires a specific type of dedication and focus. That one must dig deep and tap into this Monster inside in order to achieve what most people can’t. The exact same way that Kai had such powerful thoughts and truly believed he would achieve his goals, you must do the same thing. You can achieve greatness as long as you have the proper mindset. Because you have to do what you have to do, no matter what it is!
“Until you try and put 805 lbs. on your back and squat down to the floor, then you’ll realize, you know, there’s something else that has to be motivating me to do that, cus there’s no way I can do that and say I’m a nice guy. I might be a nasty other**** behind the scenes, and I’m like ready to really be able to call upon that, when I need to, and that’s what makes me proficient at my job, should it be, being a linebacker, should it be, being a man outside on the line fighting for the country, or should it make me a good cop, or should it make me a good athlete.” -Kai Greene
