Learn From the Best

In many ways it seems like only yesterday when I made my way to the gym for the first time and my love affair with bodybuilding began. I loved everything about it, especially the possibility of one day becoming a great competitor.

When I started out I was probably as naive as I was passionate. Naive about certain aspects of the sport, both good and bad. I didn’t know about supplements, nutrient timing, Max-OT or Max-OT cardio. I also didn’t know about the use of performance enhancing drugs in the various levels of the sport.

I remember when I first became aware that many top guys in the sport were using steroids. It was like finding out there wasn’t a Santa Claus. It disappointed me but didn’t discourage me. Thankfully I had a strong belief in myself and found role models that helped me stay true to my dreams and I continued going for the coveted IFBB pro card "my way."

I’m not here to preach, I never have been. To each his own and how you choose to go about bodybuilding is your decision, however don’t make that decision because you think you can’t be outstanding if you stay drug free. I am here to tell you that you can achieve great things training naturally and to make your quest easier there are blueprints for success you can follow.

Take a close look at accomplished bodybuilders who train drug free and learn from them. That’s exactly what I did and what I strongly prescribe to you. For example, I remember after the 1998 Team Universe I knew I needed guidance. I wasn’t afraid to seek out help and decided to go to the best. I just witnessed Skip La Cour come back from disappointment in 1997 to smoke everyone and set a new standard for conditioning at that show, so who better to learn from I thought. I modeled a lot of what I did after Skip’s approach. I didn’t try to reinvent the wheel. I didn’t look at Skip and think “he’s better than me so he must be cheating.” I looked at him as someone who has achieved great things and someone I could learn from because he was obviously doing something right.

Unfortunately there are a lot of people missing the boat in my opinion. Rather than learning from the best natural guys they accuse them of cheating and assume they are lying about their methods. You can't have this type of limiting mindset and expect to achieve outstanding results.

If you open your mind and learn from the best, you can unlock your full potential.

Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/

Limiting Mindset

It always amazes me how so many people box themselves into mediocrity by having a limited mindset on what they believe is possible. If you believe something is not possible then you are correct, it is not possible. However, if you believe you can do it that opens up the possibility that you CAN achieve it. If you don't believe you can forget about achieving it and that is the origin of my slogan "Believe. Achieve."

If I would have listened to all of the people who told me it was not possible to build an IFBB pro caliber physique without using drugs I would have been defeated long before I set foot on any stage. I believed I could do it and that was my first step to accomplishing such a lofty and "unbelievable" achievement. I could have had the same genetic potential but had a totally different career if my mindset would have been limited.

It was more than 10 years ago when I decided the NPC Team Universe was going to be my path towards an IFBB pro card. In order to reach that goal I knew I would have to compete with the likes of the greatest drug free bodybuilders of all time. Two of whom I really admired were Skip La Cour and Chris Faildo. They were both competing in the Team Universe and both dominating their weight classes. They inspired me because I knew if they could develop those high caliber physiques drug free than I could do it too.

Skip and Chris were better than me at the time and so were many of the other guys at that level. That was very evident in 1997 when I first competed in the Team Universe and took 9th in my class. Same in 1998 when I took 9th again. Rather than looking at the top guys like Skip and Chris and saying, "they are better than me so they must be cheating" I didn't make any excuses and I didn't have a limiting mindset. Instead I sought out Skip so I could learn from someone who was better than I was.

Fast forward to 2003 and there I was in the overall against both Skip and Chris which was a big honor for me. These were two guys I had looked up to and was inspired by and now I was toe to toe with them battling for an IFBB pro card. What a rush!

So you can see the point perfectly illustrated in my own life story. If I would have taken on a limiting mindset of what I believed to be possible I would never have reached the brass ring. I chose to be inspired and educated by those who were more accomplished then me and I worked my tail off to maximize my own potential.

We all have the same choice. Which mindset do you choose?

Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/

1999 Team Universe

I came across this photo recently from the 1999 NPC Team Universe and it brought back a lot of memories. This photo is meaningful to me because it was my first real photo shoot. The photo was taken in the alley outside our hotel in NYC by Mitsuru Okabe for IronMan Magazine.

It was taken Saturday mid day before the finals so I didn't know at that time that I had won the light heavy weight class. Based on how the call outs went in pre judging the night before I was confident I was in the top 3 and thought I had a chance to win but I would have to wait until later that night to find out for sure.

What a year! 1999 was a very significant year in my career and my life really changed as a result. It was my first Team Universe victory which consequently opened the door to my relationship with Paul Delia and AST Sports Science. I also have to thank Skip La Cour for playing a role in that introduction as well.

I came across some other great old photos which I will share over time but that is enough reminiscing for now. Time to get back to work!

Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/
http://www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com/

Take advantage of every day.

I was recently asked what were the biggest strategies that allowed for my dramatic increase in placing from 2002 to 2003? I would not say it was any different strategy but rather an improvement of my mindset and greater execution of the plan for a longer period of time. Let me explain.....

In February of 2002 around the Arnold Classic time there was talk about the NPC making a rule change that would effect former class champions of the NPC Team Universe. I don't even remember all the details at this point but the summary was that the same people were finishing at the top of their respective weight classes year after year and were not going to be allowed to compete for the weight class but would be allowed to compete for the overall. That being the case myself along with some of the other past champions decided to forgo the Team Universe that year and enter the NPC USA instead. Long story short, that is why I didn't participate in the 2002 Team Universe. I ended up placing 15 in the light heavy weight division of the NPC USA. (As a side note, as the show got closer in 2002 the NPC changed their minds and never followed through with that rule change for the Team Universe. By the time I found out my mind was already fixated on doing only the USA that year so I opted not to change my plans.)

I was disappointed with my 15th place finish at the USA but I also understood this was another level up from the Team Universe. The NPC USA is not drug tested and the NPC Team Universe is. Now some people will roll their eyes and say that the drug testing is a farce at the Team Universe and I beg to differ. In my three victories at the Team Universe I was polygraphed and urinalysis tested on each as were the other champions. Could someone try and beat that test? Of course they could just like they could try and beat a drug test for any event. Are there guys and girls who are in the Team Universe that are taking drugs? Probably so because there will always be some people who will cheat and try and beat the system no matter what but it is not fair to make a blanket statement that it is a farce and assume everyone is dishonest. The drug tests at the Team Universe are very real but this is a whole other topic.......so back to my story.

Top to bottom in each weight class there is no mistaking that the USA is a much harder contest than the Team Universe. Being on that stage against the best and not placing well really inspired me to prove to the world and to myself that I could compete at that level while being completely drug free. I never once used the excuse that my poor placing was because I was not taking drugs and everyone else was. That was not my style. I enetered the USA full well knowing what I was up against so I took my placing like a man and went back to the drawing board as I always did after a contest. I took a day or two to reflect on the experience and the moment I arrived back at AST HQ in Golden, CO I was on a mission to make the top 5 at the 2003 USA and to win the overall at the Team Universe.

Those were two lofty goals and I owned them both from day one. I wrote both proclamations on note cards and placed them in strategic spots so I had to read them multiple times a day...."I am a top 5 USA finisher"...."I am the Overall Team Universe Champion"... Those positive affirmations would drive and direct that entire year for me.

I took advantage of each day of that year unlike any other year prior. I always worked hard for every contest throughout the years but this year was special for me. In 2003 I asked more of myself daily and I delivered.

I followed the same formula of Max-OT training, Max-OT cardio, the same nutritional principles that I did the year before so there was nothing really different in strategy. Like I said, I just did a better job of performing at a higher level for a longer period of time. It was my mantra to take advantage of every day and make decisions on a daily if not hourly basis that would propel me closer to those two goals written with blue sharpie on white note cards that stared me in the face almost every where I looked.

As most of you know I made those two affirmations a reality. I placed 4th at the 2003 USA and I won the overall and IFBB Pro Card at the 2003 Team Universe.

An interesting tid bit about my positive affirmation note cards....My mother and my aunt would come to visit me over Mother's Day each year that I lived in Colorado. My mom later admitted to me that seeing those note cards around my apartment (during her stay in 2003) with those bold proclamations actually made her nervous to look at. She was worried I would take it very hard if I fell short of those goals. Fortunately, we'll never have to know because 2003 was my best year by a mile and a very happy ending to my competitive career.

Don't underestimate the power of writing down positive affirmations. It is one thing to think you would like to achieve "this" or "that" and another to take complete ownership of those goals by actually writing them down as if they are a statement of fact.

Believe. Achieve.

www.jeffwillet.com
www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com

Footage from my final contest.

Someone posted this video on YouTube of my 2003 NPC Team Universe posing routine and overall winning moment. (My name is spelled wrong but other than that, it is a good clip!)

No doubt this was my personal best and as far as I am concerned there could not have been a more fitting way to end my competitive career.




Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/
http://www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com/