When I was in high school, my guidance counselor sat down with my parents and told them I wasn’t “college material.” They said I shouldn’t even try. But I was accepted to Slippery Rock University in the fall of 1973 anyway, and that moment set me on a path I could never have imagined.

Just a week into school, I wandered into the barbell club. I’d never seen weight training before, but something drew me in. At first, I was ridiculed. Every time I tried to lift, other lifters laughed and criticized me. I realized quickly that the only way I would survive—in the gym and in my classes—was to outwork everyone. No excuses. Every single day.

That mantra carried me through. The discipline, perseverance, and focus I learned under the barbell changed my entire life. I graduated cum laude with my bachelor’s degree and summa cum laude with my master’s. The truth is simple: lifting weights taught me how to succeed. It gave me a blueprint for how to approach everything else in life.