I like your inspiration and motivation.
Dealing with adversity and overcoming hardship that is making you stronger.
While dreams of being Mr. Olympia is great, I wouldn't get my hopes up too high. Looking at your stats I think your height is already working against you. End by the looks of it, an Ectomorph.... And at 32 years old, if you were going to make it? You would have made it by now.
The money and time these professionals spend at the Olympia level is very high. Only shot you have is lottery or a sponsor. Odds are about the same for each.
Realistically take a hard look at your self and your situation.
Get into a trade. Put hard work into getting licensed as a plumber, electrician, roofer, etc. You can always do shows as a hobby and enjoy the lifestyle.
Earning a living being a pro Mr. Olympia? Not going to happen.
Not trying to shoot you down. It's just not wise to chase a dream much of your adult life and have your family sacrifice in the meanwhile is fucking selfish.
I appreciate your response, I can tell you actually read and thought about what I was saying. Thank you.
I've never actually put full effort into trying to make it, I always ended up pushing it aside for my son as a single father with full custody. Things have changed, my family doesn't sacrifice anything or suffer from this. I think this came off as me just doing nothing other than bodybuilding while my wife works or some shit, that is not and will never be the case.
When my wife lost her job last year I just worked more.
I think there are very successful pros in different classes at my height but, you are spot on with not getting my hopes up, it is a fucking long shot.
I am not putting all my eggs in one basket with this.
I want to get into personal training, so I am studying a lot before I get a certification to train, I don't want to be a cookie cutter trainer either, nor do I want to be a "bodybuilding" coach, I just want to offer anyone a quality service that they can afford so they can better themselves.
I have to have an income, a career, I get that but, Even if I said fuck bodybuilding, fuck gear at this moment in my life, I wouldn't be able to afford a trade school, I can't even get a fucking grant for community College or financial aid. I can go work for the man and just get by, work my life away for someone else, or I can take a shot and build something of my own, something that will eventually help others.
I want to eventually start a non-profit that will directly help families/children in need.
I will need exposure to get my plan recognized by people who have the resources. Bodybuilding can get me that exposure if I fucking dominate and get some help along the way.
This isn't about the lifestyle for me, it's about the struggle, the climb from the gutter, defying the odds.
The reality is this, if I had the determination and confidence in myself 25 years ago that I have now, along with some guidance, I could have done anything and my son and daughter need to learn to live with passion, to have a dream and fucking chase it down because without that they are at risk of living a boring ass life as a little worker ant and being secretly depressed inside because of the damn rat race, kids learn from what they see us do.
To be honest, my wife actually pushed me to do this after I tried to back out because of the odds.
She knows the risks, we have many backup plans, we aren't hurting because I'm pursuing this.
I have a zoom meeting in a minute, so I'm gonna cut this off here.
Thank you again for your input and thoughtfulness.
