Business advice from Ronnie Coleman

Some great bodybuilders from a generation ago seem to think the recent crop of competitors isn’t very good. Dorian Yates, who won Mr. Olympia 6 consecutive times in the 1990's, said that Brandon Curry, the 2019 winner, didn’t have good muscle separation and conditioning. Ronnie Coleman, Yates’ successor and an 8-time Mr. Olympia, had a laughing fit looking at photos of recent contestants. “Nobody really looks in shape,” he said. Kenneth “Flex” Wheeler, 4-time Arnold Classic winner and another bodybuilding legend, made similar comments. They all agreed that the best of the best nowadays wouldn’t stand a chance against the competition from 20 years ago.

Coleman offered this explanation: “It’s a different era, you know. Everybody competes on a certain level. So they’re looking at everybody else, they’re like, ‘Well, they not that good, so I’m gonna be just like them’ ”.

It’s an important observation. Competing raises the bar, but the trick is to notice that there is no bar. Doing truly great work requires ignoring the competition.