The True Meaning of Toughness.

I recently celebrated a milestone birthday. As I was looking at all the "Happy Birthday" wishes on my Facebook page, I found one from my buddy Gino. I was rather impressed that Gino had remembered my birthday, because 4 days earlier he was on live television in Italy setting a Guinness' World Record. (I have an eclectic circle of friends)

You see, my friend Gino is what circus folk call a strongman. He does things normal human beings would not even imagine doing, mostly involving breaking hard objects over his skull. One time, I was present when Gino lay down on a bed of nails, covered himself with plywood, and had six of us sit on him. I was the smallest of the six. At that time, I weighed close to 400 pounds. You do the math.

Over the years, I have been blessed to witness some of Gino's most spectacular achievements, but nothing prepared me for watching his world record performance. Let me set the context for you. Gino is kneeling with 3 concrete slabs on his head. Maybe ten feet above him, an assistant drops a sixteen pound bowling ball onto his head, shattering the slabs. Two more assistants then replace the slabs and another ball is dropped. And another. And another. The record was to see how many he could break in three minutes. I was wondering who set the original record, or who even thought this craziness up.

As the first ball hit Gino's head, I was cheering. GO GINO, GO I yelled at the screen. Then, about halfway through, my thoughts changed. I had seen the mental preparation he put into these performances. I had seen the toll it took on his energy level. I knew the pain he would feel the next day. And all of a sudden, I was begging my friend to stop. I didn't want to see him put himself through this ordeal any longer. Yet on he went.

When the representative from Guinness presented Gino with his recognition, I think it was the most pride I had ever felt for someone not in my family. I had developed a true appreciation for the preparation, training, strength, and mental and physical toughness required to perform such a feat at such a level.

Earlier today, Gino e-mailed me the link to the clip. I told him I had seen it already. And I told him how his heart was as big as his head was hard.

Most people might find that an insult. Gino takes that as a very sincere compliment. I told you my friends were an eclectic bunch.

Please watch this video. And if you ever come across something you think is too tough to do, think about this feat. I promise you, nothing will seem too tough after this.
Lo show dei record - Rompere 45 blocchi di cemento - Video Mediaset

Take care my friends.
And Bless you Gino.