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Chukwuma Echebelem

@man__youknowchuum

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Building performance in sport + life
Culture Inspired | Creative by Nature
God’s Son | Visionary
Everyday’s a blessing — live like it

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🎙️Talk to me Tuesday 🎙️

If you love something or someone, you let that person go where they need to achieve the results they’re looking for. Too many times in life, people will tell you that they love you, but they only love you on their terms. They only love you if you’re doing the things they want you to do. They only love you if you’re acting the way they want you to act. In life, let others pursue their goals to be successful, feel supported, and ultimately find happiness.”

Love ~ Chuum

#youvsyou #motivation #fitness #workout #chuum #menshealth #wedothework #breds #dadbod #40andfit #fitnessover40 #fitnessmotivation #sober #coach #onlinetraining #rehab #godsplan taken in United States by @man__youknowchuum

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3 years ago

Basically ….. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

How bad do you want to reach your goals and what are you willing to sacrifice!!!

#coach #fitness #fitdad #youvsyou #iam1stphorm #motivation #love #menshealth #wedothework #therealones #breds #chuum #dadbod #40andfit #fitnessover40 #fitness #wellness #youvsyou #crosstraining #athletetraining #legionofboom #1stphormathletesearch #bethe1 #duespaid#1stphorm #onlinetraining #thursdaymotivation by @man__youknowchuum

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4 years ago

WE WILL BE ………. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

We will be relentless in our pursuit for perfection. We won’t ever be perfect - but in the process we will achieve greatness.

Vince Lombardi

@1stphorm
@asrv
@tpt_getbetter
🎥: @valomedia_

#coach #fitness #fitdad #youvsyou #iam1stphorm #motivation #love #menshealth #wedothework #therealones #breds #chuum #dadbod #40andfit #fitnessover40 #fitness #wellness #youvsyou #crosstraining #athletetraining #legionofboom #1stphormathletesearch #bethe1 #duespaid#1stphorm #onlinetraining taken in Lake Michigan by @man__youknowchuum

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4 years ago

October 7th marks my wife’s birthday.

Where do I even start, my dear?

At this point, you know me better than anyone. The good. The bad. The complicated. The parts I say out loud and probably the parts I don’t.

We’ve been through a lot together. We’ve grown. We’ve changed. We’ve built a life together and traveled terrain that, truthfully, a lot of people probably wouldn’t have survived.

One of the things I admire most about you is your commitment.

When you decide to do something, you are all the way in. You give it everything you have.

I’ve watched you do that as a daughter.
A sister.
A friend.
A coworker.
A mother.
And as my wife.

Unwavering.
That’s the word I would use.

And through all of the big things we’ve experienced together, it’s also the little things about you that have become part of my life in ways that make me smile.

The way you curl up and sleep when you’re tired.
The way you laugh out loud when something really gets you.
That face you make in the mirror when you’re putting on your lipstick.

Some things are glaring and obvious.

Others are these little moments that I’ve seen a thousand times and somehow still can’t imagine my life without.

I’m grateful for you.

For everything we’ve built.
For everything we’ve survived.
For everything we’re still becoming.

And I love you immensely.

Happy Birthday, my dear.

Love,
Chuma

#happybirthday taken in Grand Rapids, Michigan by @man__youknowchuum

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3 days ago

October 6th marks my dad’s birthday.

I love you more than words can really explain.

You are one of those reminders in my life that God doesn’t miss. He knew exactly what I needed when He placed you in mine.

Thank you for the life lessons.
The skill lessons.
The hard conversations.
The wisdom.
And most of all, for standing beside me through it all.

You’ve shown me what compassion looks like. What grace looks like. What unconditional love looks like.

I’ve watched you work your ass off, fight for what’s right, protect the people you love, serve this country, and give of yourself in more ways than most people will ever know.

A lot of who I am has been shaped by the example you’ve set.

So we celebrate you.
We honor you.
We appreciate you.
And we salute you.

Happy Birthday, Pops.

Respect & Love,
Chuma

#happybirthdaytoyou #81 taken in Grand Rapids, Michigan by @man__youknowchuum

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3 days ago

🎙️ Talk To Me Tuesday 🎙️ — GRACE & GRATITUDE

Go together like the two G’s on a Gucci belt.

Sometimes we move so fast we don’t take time to be present. To breathe, process and reflect before moving on to the next thing.

We make a mistake and either power right through it, “have a short-term memory”….or do the complete opposite…

We spiral.

Submerge ourselves in negative self-talk and emotions.

Funny thing is, we rarely give ourselves the same empathy we show others. The same positive reinforcement we give our friends on the phone.

We’re so busy pursuing… chasing… moving that we don’t take a second to look around and smell the flowers, so to speak.

Hell, we don’t get an hour into the day before we’ve already told ourselves and everybody else…

“I’m having a bad day.”

Meanwhile, we’re driving toward one of the most beautiful sunrises we’ve ever seen.

Think about that.

We get so laser-focused, moving so fast, that everything around us becomes blurry.

We don’t take time to be grateful for what we have. To reflect, evaluate and learn. And we damn sure don’t take enough time to give ourselves grace.

So as we move through the rest of this week, take a second every day and be still.

Be in the moment. Reflect on your day. Speak life into your situation. Find something to be grateful for.

I’ve been doing my best to go to bed with grace and wake up with gratitude.

Grace doesn’t mean ignoring where you fell short. Own it. Learn from it. Course correct.

Just don’t live there.

Wake up grateful.

For the air in your lungs. The light in your eyes. The solid ground underneath your feet.

Grace & Gratitude, my baby.

That’s the name of the game.

2 Corinthians 4:15

Love,

~ Chuum

#grace #graditude #ttmt #writers #morning taken in Gratitude by @man__youknowchuum

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4 days ago

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BOY! 🖤

October 3rd marked the day little buddy came into our lives.

He’s tough. Strong-willed. Funny. Serious. Then somehow even more funny. Driven. And blessed with so much talent — including the kind people may not always see from the outside.

Please help us wish our boy a phenomenal birthday and pray for safe travels around the sun as we navigate another year.

Keep pushing yourself.
Walk in faith.
Have unwavering belief in your abilities.
Go to bed with grace and wake up with gratitude.
And always remember to give God the glory for everything you’ve been given.

To your mother’s boy and my bestest buddy…

Happy Birthday.

We love you more than you know.

Love,
Mom & Dad

#Youngcymba #theechebelems #thekid #happybirthday🎂 by @man__youknowchuum

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6 days ago

🎙️ Talk To Me Tuesday 🎙️ — WALK IT OUT.

It’s our daily actions that tell the story.

Not what we post. Not what we say. What we do.

This insight isn’t a mystery. This is the art and power of consistency.

This is chess. This is boxing.

“Don’t talk the talk if you can’t walk the walk…”

Those who know… know. 👐🏿

“The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing…”
- Proverbs 13:4

If you have a plan, or you’ve been given a vision…and your feet hit the ground today, you gave thanks and gratitude for another opportunity to proceed and prosper, then got your ass to work…

Give yourself a round of applause tonight.

Give yourself some flowers.

Simply because you got after it.

Then get up tomorrow and do it all over again to the best of your ability.

For those willing to do that, I salute you !

Because we’re aligned in our pursuit of being individuals who walk it like we talk it.

Whose word is bond.

Who can show you better than tell you.

Who put their money where their mouth is.

Who practice what they preach.

Not for a day.

Not when somebody is watching.

Consistently.

Because eventually you don’t have to tell anybody who you are…

Your actions already told the story.

Love,

~ Chuum

#writers #ttmt #chuum #talkaboutit #motivation taken in The Director's Chair by @man__youknowchuum

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11 days ago

🎙️ Talk To Me Tuesday 🎙️ — TIT FOR TAT.

Too many of us are having interactions where we’re too busy keeping count. We align ourselves with friendships when they best suit us rather than because of genuine love for that individual. We throw around words like love, brother and family with no real commitment to what those words mean.

We gotta get back to simply being moved by the spirit in our interactions. Doing something for somebody because that little voice told us to: buying an elderly person dinner, grabbing someone their favorite snack because something told you that might put a smile on their face, or calling somebody simply because they crossed your mind.

Instead, it becomes…

I did this and didn’t get anything back.

I’m not calling because they don’t call me.

They didn’t wish me happy birthday, so I’m not saying anything.

Tit for tat.

Then there’s announcing everything we do for others. If every time we help someone, give something away or contribute we need people to know…

who was it really for?

Sometimes recognition becomes the return we were looking for. And if everything requires a return, was it really giving?

Maybe we need to look internally and ask why we feel the need to keep track, because keeping score changes the intention. And when the intention changes, so does the integrity of the action.

I’m not saying let people take advantage of you, and I’m not saying relationships shouldn’t be reciprocal. They should….But reciprocity and scorekeeping aren’t the same thing.

Sometimes you call first. Sometimes they call first. Sometimes you pour into them. Sometimes they pour into you. And sometimes you do something for another human being knowing they may never be able to do anything for you in return.

And you do it anyway.

No announcement. No scoreboard. No tit for tat. Just being in tune with your spirit and treating people well—friends and strangers alike.

Because if I have to keep track of everything I’ve done for you to justify what you should do for me…

That wasn’t love…. That was a transaction.

Maybe we need fewer transactions and more genuine human interactions.

Love,

~ Chuum

Matthew 6:1

#ttmt #read #writers #chuum taken in The Bank by @man__youknowchuum

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18 days ago

🎙️ Talk To Me Tuesday 🎙️

STRIPPED — (PART IV) — COME ON HOME

It’s time to come on home…

I jumped off the porch at a young age, and sometimes when you’ve been out there so long, it’s hard to just come on home. Even when it’s obviously the thing to do.

You know how you see a balding man holding on to those last few strands for dear life?

My boy….. just come on home.

Funny, but there’s something in that.

How much do we hold onto simply because we’ve had it for so long? How much do we continue doing because that’s what we’ve always done?

For me, a lot of it comes down to survival.

When you’ve lived in survival mode for so long, it’s hard to live without the chase. The fight… the conflict… something to overcome… something to prove.

Sometimes you’re not even chasing because you need anything anymore.

You’re chasing because chasing is all you know.

Meanwhile, God has been providing things every day worth more than anything I could ever buy.

Air in my lungs. A stable mind. Family. Loved ones. Quality interactions. Real relationships.

Not wishy-washy, sometimey people. The ones who stand with you. Love you unconditionally, but love you enough to tell you about yourself when you don’t want to hear it.

Maybe this is what living in abundance actually means.

Maybe it was never about how much I could acquire, but having enough gratitude to recognize the value of what’s already there.

I didn’t buy the breath. I didn’t buy another morning. I didn’t buy the ability to think, love, laugh, connect, forgive or grow.

And maybe after enough years of fighting, you realize…

you don’t have to live there anymore.

Stop fighting battles that don’t need to be fought. Stop chasing things that don’t need to be caught. Stop proving things that don’t need to be proven.

And just…

come on home.

Coming home isn’t surrender.

Maybe it’s realizing you were already rich.

And somewhere underneath all you’ve stripped away…

there’s freedom.

Funny.

Maybe that’s what this was all about.

Not becoming somebody new.

Just stripping away enough to get back to who I was supposed to be.

Here’s to being FREE.

John 10:10

Love,

~ Chuum

#ttmt #writers #chuum #godsplan #free taken in Grand Rapids, Michigan by @man__youknowchuum

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25 days ago

🎙️ TALK TO ME TUESDAY 🎙️

STRIPPED….. (PART III) — HERE NOW, GONE TOMORROW

“There’s a war goin’ on outside no man is safe from.” — Mobb Deep

I’ve heard that line a thousand times. But the older I get, the more I realize some of the most dangerous wars aren’t the ones going on outside.

They’re the ones we bring home with us. The ones we carry, hide, dress up and drink over.

The ones we cover with money, clothes, cars, accomplishments, relationships—or whatever else makes everything look good from the outside.

SWIPE 👈🏿

See, I’m at a point where I’ve realized… none of it really matters.

Now don’t misunderstand me. I like nice things. I work hard. I believe in success and enjoying the fruits of your labor.

But lately I’ve had to ask myself:

Why did what it LOOKED like matter so much to me?

And that question took me somewhere deeper.

Because honestly, most people really don’t know me. They know the version standing in front of them, not necessarily the kid underneath it.

SWIPE 👈🏿

The kid who learned early that adults could smile in your face publicly and reject you privately.

Who had an adult smash out his car window simply because he was talking to their daughter while she stood outside his car. (True story.)

Who was out of the house at 17. Lost. Eventually couch surfing. Moving my shit around in garbage bags.

Looking for somewhere to belong. Brotherhood. Acceptance.

SWIPE 👈🏿

Finding versions of “discipleship” that preyed on lost young men instead of actually developing their character.

I learned aggression, blind loyalty and how to make fear look like toughness.

I learned how to medicate.

Meanwhile…

I threw a tarp over the whole damn mess with fresh Jordans and a fly jersey.

If I looked good, maybe I was good. If I had something, maybe I was somebody.

SWIPE 👈🏿

Funny thing is, I can remember watching my uncle when I was younger.

Fresh J’s. New whip. Cool as hell.

And thinking:

One day… me too.

Little did I know, he too…

Because the older I get, the more I understand that we are products of our environments.

We inherit more than names, facial features and mannerisms.

Sometimes we inherit ways of surviving, coping an taken in Grand Rapids, Michigan by @man__youknowchuum

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a month ago

Mic’d up with Coach Chuma during an Inner Circle session.

#tpt #getbetter #sportsperformance #athletedevelopment #behindthescenes by @man__youknowchuum

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a month ago