If you follow me on Twitter (@KennyEller) or have liked my mevsMJ.com Facebook page, you’ve probably seen me mention the push-up challenge over the last couple of weeks.

Thank you to those of you that have partaken in the fun!

Simply put, I pick a player that I think will score the most points during an NBA game and commit to doing 5 push-ups per point scored.  20 points = 100 push-ups and so on.

Well, that’s the modified version anyway.

The Story Behind the Push-Up Challenge

The original push-up challenge was born in 2008 during the NBA Finals.

I would routinely have my brother and a couple of friends over to the house to watch games.  With me loving challenges and competition (Are you ready to play yet MJ?) I wanted to make the Lakers vs. Celtics series a bit more interesting since none of us really had anything more in the game than just a love for hoops.

At the time, McDonald’s was running a special on cheeseburgers on certain days during the week for something like 59 cents each.  This will be relevant in just a bit…keep reading.  Oh and yes, back then I ate fast food much more than I do now!

So as the guys got to the house, I announced something like, “Let’s have a push-up challenge!”

Of the four of us there, everyone was really into it, except one, so they asked what the challenge was.

On the fly, I explained that we would all pick a different player and do 5 push-ups for each point that player scored.

AND

To make sure that we all pushed ourselves, the person who picked the weakest player would be penalized every single quarter.

The penalty was, if your player scored the fewest points, resulting in you doing the least amount of push-ups, you had to eat a McDonald’s Cheeseburger at the end of each quarter.

Also if your player finished the game with the least amount of points scored, you had to eat another cheeseburger.

So if we all picked strong players, we all had a chance at the penalty, on top of a lot of push-ups.

That was the goal anyway and it started out just as planned, for 30 seconds.

My brother called out, “I’ve got Kobe!”

I said, “I’ll take Pierce.”

Another friend said, “Give me Garnett.”

Kendrick Perkins?

And then Karol, who stands a legit 6’5” (I’ve measured him with tape measure) and who vehemently detested push-ups (he does have long arms), let us know with a laugh that he was taking Kendrick Perkins.

During the 2007-2008 NBA Season Perkins averaged 6 points in just over 24 minutes per game.  He ended up mirroring that in the playoffs.

Kobe on the other hand averaged 28, Pierce 19 and Garnett 18 in the regular season and their numbers only improved in the post season.

Can you see where this is going?

You got it, that night my good friend; the other “KG”, did just a few push-ups, but ATE 5 CHEESEBURGERS!!!

Seeing him get up for each “cheeseburger penalty” at the end of every quarter and then at the end of the game was one of the funniest things ever!  We all had a good laugh about it!

Who knew that would be the last meat he’d eat?!?!

He immediately thereafter went vegetarian and then later vegan and while I’m sure he’d give that night a lot of the credit as the turning point in his dietary ways, we can’t forget about Kendrick Perkins!  For without Perkins, who knows what Karol would be eating these days?

That was the last night we included the cheeseburgers in the challenge.  I think it was more due to them not being on special, than Karol’s unwilling indulgent experience, but for whatever reason we kept the challenge to just push-ups.

That’s the story behind the push-up challenge.

OK, there’s a game tonight!  Who’s In?!?!

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Connect:  Twitter (@KennyEller) and mevsMJ.com Facebook Fan Page.

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If you’re new to the site, I set out in August 2010 to get a game of 1-on-1 vs. my childhood hero Michael Jordan.  This site is about that journey…through every valley, to every mountain top of triumph!

A large part of me wanted to end the post there, with one word.  That one word pretty much sums it up, so if you have other things to do, you can stop reading now and just know that you should begin your passion project NOW!

If you are still reading…thank you!  As Heavy D & The Boyz used to say, “I’ve got nuttin’ but love for ya, baby!”

Passion Project (my definition):  A journey fueled by passion alone.  A journey where money and or fame isn’t the end goal.  (e.g., Playing Michael Jordan 1-on-1 :-), Walking Across America, Being Ridiculously Extraordinary, taking a melody and turning that into a song being sold on iTunes, writing and publishing a book because it’s fun and you can.)

My NOW Moment

My original goal was to begin me vs. MJ: My Journey To Jordan Camp in the late stages of 2009.  As you know, I didn’t end up launching until August 22nd of 2010.

Why August 22nd?

Because August 22nd was my NOW moment.

Prior To My NOW Moment

I was like most reading this post.  I had dreams and aspirations that “the majority” might say are unattainable.  I had a BIG dream that I was afraid to let the World know about.

In the late stages of 2009, I attempted to write for 30 days straight to build up enough content for my prospective launch.  After 10 days or so the doubt and “is it really financially wise to do this now?”, “can I do this?”, “Would Mike Jordan really play ball with me?” got the best of me.

I stopped with a handful of post outlines completed.

Mid January, I attempted to start up again.  My goal was then to launch on Jordan’s Birthday, February 17th.  February came and went.  The content wasn’t good enough.  I didn’t have enough of it. How would I ever keep this site going?

I watched Seth Godin’s “Quieting the Lizard Brain” and said, “Yes I need to SHIP” and put my birthday of May 25th as the deadline for launch.  I turned 33 and still no me vs. MJ.

In June, I emailed my buddy Karol and told him I’d be launching soon.  June and July passed.  It was still just me…no MJ.

August came and with that also came Michael Jordan Senior Flight School.  The same Jordan Camp I will attend in 2011.  I kept thinking back to a post I read on May 31st.

A portion of Tyler’s, On Top of The Cage post, Perfection: Why Overcoming It is the Key to Your Success, said this:

“My articles contain more spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors than I’d like, and I’m okay with that.  I’d rather share my ideas with the world than spend hours revising every word.  It’s more important to produce than be perfect.

There’s a saying my boss uses to describe this: “Looks good from my house.”

Most perceived imperfections are so minuscule that they aren’t worth fretting over.”

I wanted everything from my design, to my content to be top notch.  I wanted every reader’s eyes to crave it and their minds to smile.  I wanted it to be perfect.

I thought about Tyler’s post, communicated through email or iChat with Karol and got encouragement, called my brother and asked him to do a banner for me within the next five days and decided to begin.

Just as the Jordan camp ended, my journey began.  It began because without a single step, no progress can be made.

August 22nd was my NOW moment.

My Advantage (The Wisest Decision of My Life)

A lot of you know and love Karol Gajda.  I know and love him too (like a brother of course…haha).

Karol walked into a banking center I was managing around five years ago.  We chatted a bit about banking and basketball.  A few days later we were at one of the local courts shooting around.  We’ve been friends ever since.

Anyone that knows Karol, or follows him through RidiculouslyExtraordinary.com, understands that he sees the World so inspiringly different than the majority.

Having people like Karol in your life is exactly what everyone needs.

For me though, my advantage didn’t begin with Gajda.  When I was 19, I made a conscience decision to remove all negativity from my life and to only surround myself with “pro me” people.  People that LOVE me and will encourage me.  Doubters and pessimists got punted like the late, great, Reggie Roby used to punt the football when Danny Marino didn’t lead the Miami Dolphins to a Touchdown.

I told myself that in my life I had no time for anything but positivity and I acted on it.

That was the wisest thing I ever did.

My advantage isn’t that I happen to know a Guru like Karol. My advantage is that I have surrounded myself with people that encourage me and want me to accomplish amazing things!

Good news is you can do the same.

When to Punt (Tangent Time)

People whose jokes are at your expense. PUNT!

People who see the World half empty. PUNT!

People who tell you your ideas are silly. PUNT!

People that want you to do well, just not better than them. PUNT!

Anyone that doesn’t support and or make you better. PUNT!

Oh and just because you have history with that person doesn’t matter.  That’s why it’s called history.  Just because you’re a nice person doesn’t matter because being nice doesn’t mean you should subject yourself to negativity.  Be nice to yourself for once.

What Happens When You Have Support (My Advantage Continued….)

When you have true support, all the dreams and aspirations begin to LIVE when you let them out of the nice little box you keep them in and begin the journey.

As I’ve gotten back into basketball in an attempt to give MJ my best game, I’ve had tons of support.

My brother, did the banner for this site and created the identical replica of Jordan’s Rookie Card with me and my info for my About Page.  He has also kicked his basketball back into gear and we now play two times a week.

I’ve had high school basketball buddies reconnect with me and begin playing hoops with me too.

My wife has supported this journey and never once been upset when I head to court in the mornings and evenings or am locked away in my office working on content at all hours of the day and night.  She has never said that I shouldn’t spend money to go to basketball camp or to buy anything associated with this journey.  She understands how important this experience is to me.

My buddy Karol, has responded to the numerous and I mean numerous emails filled with questions on every subject you can think of when it comes to this journey.  He has done so with patience and thoughtfulness.

I’ve had friends think of me when they get cool opportunities (post on this coming soon).

I’ve had friends, who I took to lunch for their birthday, demand to take me to the bookstore after and buy ME a gift to encourage my journey.

I’ve received an amazing amount of warm words of encouragement from family and new and old friends alike.  Each and every one of those words pushes me forward and is so appreciated!

YOUR Next Step

If you’ve been putting off your dream, as I did, make a decision RIGHT NOW to do that no longer.

There is no journey or dream that is unattainable.

As my last post said, It’s Not Going To Be Easy, Nor Should It Be!, but that’s the fun of it all.

What To DO NOW!

Great!  You’ve decided to pursue your dream!!  Right??

Be excited!  You’re already one step closer to living it!  Streamers are falling from the ceiling already!

Here is what you DO NOW!: Set a timeline for beginning (within the next two weeks if possible) and a completion date (this was easy for me because Jordan Camp is in August of every year).  If your dream doesn’t have a predetermined completion date, then set one for yourself.   You need to program your mind for urgency!!!

“I Don’t Have A Support System Like You!”

If you thought that or spoke that, let me add one supportive brotha to your support system…ME!

Need encouragement, hit me up!  Need to believe in yourself and your abilities, hit me up!  Need a gentle or non gentle nudge, hit me up!

I’m here for ya, like so many are here for me.

YOUR EXACT Moment!

Remember, you can be encouraged by the smartest and most loving people this Earth has ever had walking its vast land, BUT the journey BEGINS with YOU!

Your EXACT Moment is NOW!

A couple of years ago a buddy of mine, Karol Gajda, brought the 80s phenomenon over to my house and I kept it.  I would sit around on the couch in the evenings and work on it.  When my wife and I would travel somewhere and she drove, I would work on it then too.  Then once I learned how to solve the rather famous cube, I would solve it daily.  Most of the time, solving the Rubik’s Cube was the last thing I did before I went to bed.  While I wasn’t as fast as the kids on YouTube, I did get fairly quick.  Certainly faster than anyone I knew who could solve it, which was no one.

I haven’t picked up a Ribik’s Cube in more than eight months.

Just because I CAN solve it, does that mean I should?

My brother and I, this past May, were at Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics.  As the teams were warming up, we were discussing the less than stellar play of Vince Carter.  Vince’s struggles in the series had been the choice for many water cooler diatribes in the Orlando area.

The reason people were frustrated with Vince was because of his capabilities.  Because of what he’s done in the past.  Because at one time not too long ago he was a baaaaaad man on the court.

If the 12^th guy on the team screws up, everyone yells at the coach for putting him in.  When a superstar doesn’t perform as expected everyone wants to know why!

In our seats as they were going through shoot around, I said to my brother Bobby, “Vince just shot one left handed!  He doesn’t even seem like he’s into it!  He needs to warm up GAME SPEED!”  I went on with something like, “Mike Jordan would never prepare like that!”

Bobby then responded with something that I thought was quite profound.  To paraphrase, he said that don’t you think it’s not about the money, because Vince has plenty.  It’s not about just basketball, because he’s done it his whole life.  He said he’s done it all.  The warmups over and over, the games over and over, the travel over and over.  Don’t you think after +25 years of hoops, he can just turn it on?

While my expectation is that Vince give basketball his everything the way Jordan did, that really is such an unfair thought process.

Vince Carter is a nice guy and there is a lot of great that comes with that.  While I was still at the television station some years ago, they sent me to Daytona to cover Mainland High School’s football team.  Vince had just won the Rookie of The Year award in the NBA and happened to be on the sidelines for the game.  He was encouraging to the players and very approachable.  He was a nice guy then and I’m sure he still is today.

The fire in me wants him to squeeze out and use every drip of his talent, but honestly have I done that with mine?

Have you?

Just because he CAN does that mean he wants to or should?

To all those whose faces are red and vocal chords burning from screaming, “HE MAKES 20 MILLION DOLLARS!!!”  I say it’s irrelevant.  He happens to do something that generates a lot of revenue and because of that he is compensated.  Sure he is paid highly to produce highly, but his past says he is more likely to produce than not.

Maybe, just maybe, he plays the game because he CAN, not because he has the same desire as others.

Vince Carter and I are basically the same age.  Both lay claim to the year 1977.  Both graduated high school in 1995.  Both possibly on a mission today to do something many feel is unlikely.

I know Vince can be dominate on the court again.  He’s got all the ability any player could ever dream to have…still.

Just because he CAN, does that mean he should?

It’s an interesting question to ask.

How many reading this post show up to work daily and do something more because you CAN, because you have the ability to do it, than due to your desire to excel in the given field?

It’s a question that makes me want to reach into the unknown to see what I might be able to grab if only I extend myself a bit further in what I’m truly passionate about.

I hope it does the same for you.

Just because you CAN, doesn’t mean you should.