Discipline is Everything

My name is Daniel Michno. Ever since I was a kid, I struggled with being significantly overweight. When I was in the third grade I weighed more than 200 lbs, in the 6th over 270, by the 8th grade I weighed over 300 lbs, and as a senior in high school I weighed more than 350 lbs. I was huge, but even though I was so big, my life wasn’t marked by just being big. It was marked by all the horrible experiences I had gone through.

At the age of three, I fell into a bonfire that was in my backyard where I was severely burned, losing the skin on my hand, and getting third degree burns on my face and eyelids. When I was seven, I was hit by a car on the side of the road, which put me in a coma for three days fighting for my life. When I was nine, I got into another car accident where the glass went through my gums after my face had slammed into the windshield. When I was eleven, I was in a boat accident, which ripped off the right side of my nose. I had lost so much blood that when we got to the hospital, they didn’t have time to numb me. They started to stitch me up, and I felt everything. When I was twelve, I got into another car accident. We rolled off the road into a ditch, and I wasn’t wearing my seat belt, which nearly caused me to break my neck. When I got out of the car, I realized that my knee was wrapped in barb wire, and I had to take it all off. I could go on all day talking about the rough experiences I faced as a kid, but I think you get the point.

In the spring of 2007 though, I faced a new threat. The doctors told me that I was 375 lbs. I remember the doctor looking me in the eyes when he said, “You’re going to die young. You aren’t going to live to see your kids grow up, you’ll be lucky to live over 40.” I remember hearing him say those words and thought, “I’m not ready to die.” I was sick and tired of being overweight, so I started pushing.

The first time I walked into the gym, I remember all the looks I got as I waddled up to the treadmill. It took me 16 minutes to run a mile. Everyone looked at me like I was pathetic. I felt pathetic, but I wouldn’t give up. Being disciplined became more than just an idea, but a lifestyle. Over the course of a year, everyone was shocked at what I had done.

I had lost over 100 lbs! It was never a cake walk, but I never gave up. I would wake up daily and go run on the basketball court at Capital, or hop on the treadmill at the gym. But after a year, I hit a plateau, and at 265lbs, I just couldn’t lose anymore weight. I looked decent, but I just wasn't satisfied. I picked up Strong Man training, cross training, biking, and swimming, but nothing seemed to really take me to the next level. Then one day, I met Mitch Coats. I had already heard of him because I wanted to start training with Kettle-bells, and he was one of the only guys in Idaho who did any sort of training with them.

I went to his gym, and he was very cool. He taught me the snatch, the clean to press, and the two arm swings. He then followed it up by asking, “Have you ever considered training Jiu Jitsu?” I didn’t even know what it was... I told him I used to wrestle, and he had me throw on a GI.

I got on the mat with a little guy named Anthony. I laughed and asked, “How much can you bench?” He simply replied, “Don’t worry about it” then Mitch said go.

It was about 5 seconds before that little guy had his legs around my neck and began to choke me out. I was furious and didn't want to tap out because of my pride, but I was turning beat red because I couldn’t breathe. I was forced to tap... It was an extremely humbling experience, and I had to come back. Mitch told me to buy a GI, and the rest is history. I started training Jiu Jitsu at 265 lbs, and it kicked my butt. I would go home satisfied because it was very fun, but spent because it took all my energy. I started to become tougher mentally and physically than I had ever been before. But then, I hit another bump in the road.

I wanted to compete in a triathlon, so I was biking, training, and running more than ever before. Until one unfortunate day, I was biking down Fairview, and was hit by a car. The doctors said I had the Trio Tear. That is, I had torn the ACL, the MCL, and the Meniscus. They didn’t think I would ever be able to run the same, and competing in the future didn’t look like it was ever going to happen. But I didn’t lose hope, and I never gave up.

I started doing physical therapy as soon as I could, I trained hard, but I trained smart. I knew what my limits were, and I wasn't an idiot about it. Over the course of 9 months - and it was a very long 9 months - I had nearly fully recovered. I wasn't at the same strength that I was, but I was running, jumping, biking, swimming, and training kettle-bells. It was time to put the puzzle completely back together again, so I called Mitch.

I stepped back on the mat. It was a slow start, but I have surpassed where my ability was, and I now compete at 205lbs. For anyone trying to lose weight I would say Just Keep Pushing, you’re closer to your goal than you realize. Nothing is impossible, just believe.

Thomas Edison said it like this: “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Losing weight, or any great feat for that matter, has more to do with your mind than anything else. Be disciplined in how you think, nothing is impossible if you can believe.