OVERCOMING ADVERSITY: TIMBALAND’S STORY

Its 2020! A new year, a new decade and a brand-new slate to make all your dreams come true. First of all, I want to remind everybody that I truly dislike the R word (Resolution) I prefer the term “Commitment”. Instead of making resolutions that wont last till Valentine’s day, I would love you all to make a personal commitment to all your goals this year, whatever they may be ; losing weight, eating healthier, building muscle, starting a new business, learning how to swim, being more sensitive and caring, the list is endless folks and nothing can be achieved without commitment, grit if you like.

There will be days when you will fall of the wagon (I should know, but more on that later), days when like kicks you around so thoroughly that you just want to give up and stop trying, that’s when you need to remember that its only commitment and grit that will see you through to the promised land people.

2019 was a year like no other for me and not in the way I expected, there was a death in my family, which I am still coming to terms with. I felt so lost that I haven’t been able to write this blog since April 2019, I suffered a serious injury and have not been able to workout seriously for months and I have a long road of recovery ahead of me, so excuse me if I appear a little keyboard rusty.

However, in every situation there is a lesson and if the adversities of 2019 have taught me anything its that it’s not how hard you get hit, but how often you can get back up (I stole that from Rocky!) So no matter what life has thrown at you, I want to encourage you to take this new year as an opportunity to commit yourself to your goals and aspirations and dig deep to find the grit to soldier on, day by day, week by week, month by month till you hit your goals. Its possible, as long as you don’t give up.

I was inspired to write this post by a story I read on the website of men’s health magazine, it’s the story of one of the most prolific producers of the late 90’s and early 2000’s it’s the story of Tim Mosley aka TIMBALAND. I found it very inspiring and I hope you do too.

Thanks, and do have a wonderful year!

At the worst of his troubles, Timbaland stood at 5 feet 7 inches weighed over 350 pounds, was prediabetic, going through a messy divorce, addicted to painkillers and did I forget to mention that he owed the US government over $4 million in unpaid taxes? Now that’s a lot of trouble for one person!

He was born Timothy Mosley on March 10^th 1972 in Norfolk Virginia and he gained fame as a producer, rapper, singer, songwriter and DJ with an estimated net worth of $85M. Timbaland rose to fame in the 90’s by producing for such acts as Missy Elliot, Aaliyah, Ginuwine, Jay Z, Justin Timberlake , the list just goes on folks. He was riding on a career high and making money but behind it all his health and personal life was falling apart.

Timbaland thinks success arrived to early for him and he took it for granted and at the same time he also took his body for granted. He would regularly spend whole nights in the record studio working without sleep and eating ice cream throughout the night. The days he wasn’t in the studio he would be in the club, he was burning the candle at both ends and something had to give.

His intense focus and dedication to work and partying led to the collapse of his marriage and following a dental operation, he got hooked on the painkiller OxyConton and that’s when things really got worse. He became totally lackadaisical about managing his life and business affairs, when the drug induced haze cleared, he ended up owing the IRS $4 Million in back taxes and was involved in a messy divorce, diabetes was knocking on his door and his weight had ballooned to 350 pounds, death was knocking on his door and he could feel it!

Timbaland credits the love of his 3 children and faith in God for giving him the strength to kick his addiction and get his body back in shape. How did he do this?

First he paid off his debt to the government by selling his house, paying of the IRS and moving to a smaller yet elegant home.

Second he weaned himself off the OxyConton addiction and this he said was the hardest thing he ever had to do in his life “withdrawal was hell” he said.

Then Timbaland focused on losing the weight: to lose weight he took up boxing and skipping and within a year he had lost 50 pounds and his energy levels increased significantly so he increased his workouts to twice a day and was able to drop a further 40 pounds in weight. However for his height he was still overweight at 260 pounds. Now he focused on lifting weights, with compound movements like the squat, bench press, mobility exercises etc.

Finally he changed round his nutrition, gone was the ice cream, booze, fried foods etc .  He does his best to avoid eating any processed foods saying “if it doesn’t run, grow, crawl or swim, I don’t eat it!)

As you can see from his pictures he now has a solid muscular build, but still considers himself a work in progress. The lesson we can take from Timbaland’s story is that you don’t get out of shape overnight and you can never get back in shape over night. He started his journey to recovery in 2013 and he is still on it, what about you? Remember my watchwords for 2020; commitment and grit, they will see you through the tough times.

Thanks and do have a wonderful year, see you next Wednesday!