My friend, (you may have heard of him), Jason Belmonte, is the number one bowler in the world. He has been for something like eight years. I mean, who’s really counting? (Except, maybe him.)

He is literally living proof that you can do something totally different than what anyone before you has ever done, and not only be successful but rise to the top! Nothing is impossible. In fact, whenever I hear the word impossible, I immediately think of him and how he’s proved that word, and the world, wrong.

He revolutionized the game and showed so many kids that it was possible to bowl in a way that went against every textbook AND still win.

We met in 2003 at the World Championships in Malaysia. It is actually a really funny story because at that time nobody knew him yet. We joke about it now. At the time, people knew who I was but no one really knew who he was, and at that World Championships, people were coming up to me saying, “did you see the kid from Australia bowling? He bowls with two hands!”

I hadn’t heard of him or seen him yet, so I said, “what do you mean? He bowls between his legs, granny style? At the World Championships?” And they told me no, he bowls holding the ball swinging by his side with two hands.

I’ll admit, imagining that before seeing it, even I thought, “well, that can’t possibly work well.” But I went and watched him and it sure seemed to be working for him quite well! Not only is it possible, but you can eventually also be the best bowler in the world doing it this way. Our friendship started at the World Championships in Malaysia in 2003.

For years now, he has been showing generations of young bowlers coming up after him that anything is possible. And now, a lot of bowlers bowl with two hands, including many of my Elite Youth Tour bowlers.

How and why did he start bowling this way?

His parents had (and still do) a bowling center and he started bowling when he was 18 months old. 

Imagine that! At that age, the only way you can throw a ball is on the side of your body. It is just too heavy. And then, since that’s what was comfortable to him he just continued to do that. You see, at that time no one told him “no” or at least his parents didn’t, and it opened up a world of possibilities for him.

He did face his share of No’s though. He lives in an area of New South Wales (Orange) four hours away from Sydney. There were times when his parents had to go to a business meeting in Sydney and they would find a bowling clinic to drop him off at. He was a very young bowler. And he told me, after we became friends, that the coach there would always ask, when are you going to stop messing (he actually said “mucking”) around and bowl the right way?  When you want to stop doing that, then we’ll help you and we’ll help you become a better bowler.”

The “right” way…

Let that sink in for a moment. He was told that what he was doing was not only impossible but wrong.

He was offended. But he’s pretty stubborn when it comes to his own goals and life. So he always responded, well, this is the right way for me to bowl.

Early on, he always had people tell him that he would not be able to reach where he wanted to go in bowling if he continued like that. But he just stuck with it. Oh, and then he just went on to SMASH long-standing records on the biggest stage of bowling: The Professional Bowler’s Association Tour.

If he would have listened to those coaches when he was younger, telling him, “no, you can’t do that here” or “it will be impossible for you to reach the highest level of bowling that way,” he would have changed for them. He would have done it their way. And probably, he wouldn’t have reached the highest level of bowling. Instead, he followed what he felt was right for him, even when it was so different and went against everyone else. He chose the tougher road.

I’m a lot like Jason in that way. We’re both stubborn, and the way I approach life, when other people react and tell me something is not possible, it makes me more motivated to prove them wrong, but also to do something that is really difficult for a lot of people to do.

I believe anyone can choose to be as good as they want to be in anything in life. 

You really get to consciously choose that. And that’s empowering. Many people don’t believe that or take that idea seriously. Or they’re afraid of what it might take to reach that goal. Or they’ve become deflated by facing too many No’s so they never realize their potential. Amazing, successful people like Jason are not “gifted” or just born with a certain talent. They’re driven to succeed. Against all odds. Sometimes even choosing the tougher road.

They’re people who know how to make the impossible possible.

Jason was told he was “doing it wrong” most of his life. Who is to say what is right or wrong anyway?

I’m so grateful for Jason’s successes, as he’s opened up minds in the coaching world too. Even if somebody does something a little bit different with their technique, and it works for that person, who am I to say that what you’re doing is not right for you? And who am I to stop you from pursuing your potential in that direction? Unless you’re falling off every shot you throw… Then I’m going to fix that.

Can you think of other people or instances where someone took the tougher road only to find EVEN MORE success at the end of it?