If you watch WWE you know who Zack Ryder is. What you may not know is that he should be an inspiration to anyone who has goals and dreams in life.
I am going to be honest, prior to about March I didn’t know anything about Zack Ryder. He was a name that came up every now and then on TV and then he would come out, lose, and would disappear. Not much going on is it? However, in February of 2011 Ryder uploaded a video to YouTube that would change the course of his career and make him a household name.
Zack had started his own campaign to further his career – it was make it or break it time. He laid it on the line. In his web series on YouTube, Z! True Long Island Story, he would take jabs at himself about being on the back burner, almost getting over with the fans, and being put on ice by the higher ups. This series led to him amassing over 10 million views and over 118,000 subscribers in under a year.
Along with starting his series on YouTube he is also very active on Twitter connecting with fans. At the time of this writing he has over 444,000 followers and was listed as one of the top 100 most influential sports personalities to use social media by Sports Illustrated.
Now, why should he be an inspiration? He realized he could be more than what he was being used for in the WWE. He knew he had value and knew the fans would enjoy his work. He was willing to put everything on the line to show the executives and writers that he could carry the ball. In short: he had goals and a plan.
Ryder could have had a victim mentality. He could have kept asking the executives “When are you going to do something for me?”. Instead he asked himself what he could do to help himself – he then went and did it.
Zack is a perfect example what you can do when you have a plan and are willing to take a risk to get what you want out of life. He took it upon himself and proved he had it. In December of 2011 he was awarded the United States Championship which I hope is just a stepping stone in his career.
Take Aways:
- Have a goal with a plan.
- Be willing to take some risks.
- Get rid of victim thinking and figure out how you can position yourself where you want.
- Go for it!
You can find Zack Ryder at the following sites:
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/LongIslandIcedZ
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZackRyder
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/longislandicedz