Lance+Armstrong


 * Biography**

Chrissy Meagher The Most Generous Man in the World Lance Armstrong was born on September 18, 1971 in Plano, Texas. He was an exceptional athlete since his early childhood and began competitive swimming and running at age ten. From an early age, Lance found himself to be different from most of the other children. Most of his classmates from Plano, Texas were primary focused on football, and Lance struggled to even play during his football game. Lance was talented in endurance activities, and he even rode his bike to school every day since elementary school. The other children were not accepting to Lance’s diverse talents, and they viewed him as an outcast to the typical American child. Lance’s family was not wealthy like most of his classmates from Plano, and it made him aggressive and frustrated to be considered different from the other children. Also, Lance grew up with his adoring Mother and his abusive Step-father. His step-father never treated his Mother with respect and Lance experienced a great amount of anger built up inside of him. However, Lance found relief and happiness when he was riding his bike, and it was a healthy way for him to release his anger through cycling. Not only did cycling help Lance feel better about himself, but he also found he is exceptionally talented at it (Gunderson 2009). When Lance was sixteen, he officially became a professional athlete and held many records in sprint-course triathlons. Even though Lance excelled in triathlons, he and many others recognized his great talents in cycling and began to focus primarily on competitive cycling. When Lance was nineteen-years old, he qualified for the Junior Olympic Cycling Team and became a national Amateur Champion. In 1991, he began to race in the competitive, lengthy races and that is when he became well-acknowledged for his talents. In this year, he completed in his first Tour DePont, an exhausting 12-stage cycling race cover 1,085 miles in 11 days. This is one of the most well-known cycling races in the world and only the best cyclists are invited to compete in this nearly impossible competition. In 1996, Lance Armstrong became the most well-known cyclist in America and was ranked 7th best cyclist in the nation. He became sponsored by Team Confidis for a starting salary of $600,000 a year (Gunderson 2009). Early in 1996, Lance competed in the Tour de France but struggled to breathe during the race. He was forced to drop out of the race on day five because his breathing conditions were unbearable. In October 1996, Lance Armstrong announced to his family, friends, competitors and fans he will not be competing for an extended period of time because he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. This shocking news put everyone in awe of how the healthiest man in the world could be diagnosed with cancer. Testicular cancer is not the most severe type of cancer and is usually curable, but Lance was too stubborn to tell anyone about his re-occurring symptoms throughout the year in fear his health condition might interfere with his training. When Lance finally called his doctor in October, the doctor found large tumors, similar to the size of a golf ball, had spread to his lungs and was the reason Lance had struggled to breathe during the Tour de France (Gunderson 2009). After finding out he was diagnosed with cancer, the next day he underwent extensive surgery to remove the cancerous testicle and immediately began his chemotherapy treatment. After the surgery, doctors recognized the cancer tumors had spread to his brain and lungs giving him a slim chance of survival. They told Lance that the odds of surviving were less than fifty percent and expected Lance to begin to feel helpless, however, Lance never lost hope while undergoing intense cancer treatment and used the bike to overcome his struggles. The doctors would find Lance on his stationary bicycle in his hospital bed, or if he was feeling well enough, he would be outside riding his bicycle for hours. In the beginning of his cancer treatment, Lance’s body did not react to the chemotherapy like most cancer patients, which includes extreme nausea, dizziness and exhaustion, was capable of training through the beginning of his cancer treatment. One day Lance was riding his bicycle outside the hospital and suddenly collapsed on the side of the road. The chemotherapy was beginning to deteriorate at his muscles and bones and causing him to lose his lively energy. He still managed to get on the bike for his daily training, but some days were more difficult than others (Gunderson 2009). When people saw Lance on his bike during his chemotherapy treatment, they could not believe a person’s strength to train through such conditions. People took pity on Lance because there seemed to be little hope he would even survive cancer, and it was too depressing to see a man with no hair, no body fat, and constantly with a look of determination. When others question his training through cancer Lance responded, ‘"Cycling is so hard, the suffering is so intense that it's absolutely cleansing. You can go out there with the weight of the world on your shoulders, and after a six-hour ride at a high pain threshold, you feel at peace"’ (Armstrong 2010). Lance was accustomed to pain from struggling through difficult bike workouts and was confident there was nothing that could defeat him, not even cancer. After Lance’s first round of chemotherapy, he had brain surgery to remove the tumor from his brain. The operation was very successful, but Lance was forced to have three more rounds of intense chemotherapy. After months of hospitalization and nearly experiencing death, the treatment had worked and Lance was finally cancer free (Gunderson 2009). Lance said about his experience with cancer, ‘“…The best thing that has ever happened to me” (Armstrong 2010). Even though cancer put Lance through a great deal of pain and misery, he still manages to view it in a positive way. During Lance’s months of hospitalizations, he found a new meaning in life and that was to help others. He started brainstorming ideas of how to fund money for cancer research, in order to help cancer patients increase their chances of survival and to help the avoidance of cancer for the future. When he was undergoing chemotherapy for the second time, he organized a cycling road race in Texas to raise money for cancer. It turned out to be a very successful cause, and Lance found great relief from helping others fight cancer and realized this was just the beginning of his future cancer fund (Armstrong 2010). When Lance was released from the hospital, he immediately began to train for the next big cycling race, despite how he felt from the slow recovery from his cancer treatment. His training was not going as well as he hoped, but Lance refused to give up on his dreams even when his sponsor, Cofidis, released him from his annual salary. It seemed that sponsors and fans had lost faith in Lance’s success in cycling and encouraged him living without racing would be the best decision for him. Lance’s stubbornness and desire never gave up on him, and he continued to put his head down and pedal through the pain no matter who believed in him. Lance trained for no annual income for months since it seemed as if no one would sponsor him ever again, until United States Postal Service saved his career by becoming his sponsor. In 1998, Lance began to competitively race again, but it was more of a struggle than he imagined. These beginning races were extremely tough, and Lance did not finish even close to the top finishers as he used to before his battle with cancer. However, in 1999, his racing took a turn when Lance signed up for the Tour de France, and Lance was overwhelmed and inspired with the love and support he got from his fans and cancer supporters. Lance received inspirational cancer stories from cancer patients or family members of a cancer patient, and it gave him a realization he was not just riding for himself, he was riding for all of those struggling for their life with cancer. Lance won the Tour de France in 1999 for his first time. It was one of the most touching events in the history of sports, and he touched the lives of every person who has been affected by cancer (Armstrong 2010). Today, Lance is considered to be one of the most heroic figures of our time. His cancer fund, known as the Live Strong, has raised millions of dollars for cancer research and has created many ways, including the famous Live Strong band, for people to continue to donate money. Lance won the Tour de France six more times after his tremendous win in 1999 and continues to have great success on the bike. His success in athletics will always be important to him, but his cancer forever changed his life to be a better human being. The cancer inspired him to never take a moment in life for granted, and he believes spending time with his family and friends is more important now than his training. In the public eye, Lance always appeared to be inhuman on the bike, but his diagnosis with cancer he proved he just like everyone else affected by this deadly disease.

“Explanatory style refers to a set of cognitive personality variable that capture a person’s habitual means of interpreting events in her or his life” (Friedman& Schustack ). Today’s society has developed a negative explanatory style which has affected many Americans. It seems people today become too focused on their own problems they never seem to realize tragedy is a part of life. There are two ways to view the negative events that occur in life, pessimism and optimism. Pessimistic individuals dwell on the negative and optimistic individuals are capable of finding the positive from a negative event. Lance Armstrong is considered to be optimistic because he refuses to partake in these negative beliefs that exist within today. He has been through many struggles but finds happiness by overcoming his difficult times and promotes people should follow in his cognitive beliefs. Lance is the perfect role model for today’s generation and is living proof that a positive cognitive style can lead an individual to great success. “Explanatory style refers to a set of cognitive personality variable that capture a person’s habitual means of interpreting events in her or his life” (Friedman& Schustack ). Lance did not always view life in a positive way, but cancer ultimately changed his perspective. When Lance was growing up, he was aggressive and angry with the unfair treatment he experienced in his childhood. Lance’s Father left him and his Mother when he was six years old, and his mother worked extremely hard for Lance to live a good life. However, they struggled to make payments and Lance did not come from money like most of his classmates in Plano. Most days Lance felt like an outcast at school and dealt with his anger by getting into physical fights with his classmates. Also, football games were the highlight of Plano and most boys started playing at an early age. Unfortunately, Lance tried to fit in with the rest of his class but did not find success in football and spent every game on the bench. Lance took pity on himself during his childhood and felt angry about his unfair life (Gunderson 2009). Since Lance’s mother did not have time or money to drive Lance to school, Lance rode his bike to school every day. However, this was not a punishment since Lance found relief from his bike and found that it was a healthy way for him to release all of his aggression (Gunderson 2009). Like most Americans, Lance developed a negative explanatory style and was very pessimistic during his early childhood. He was pessimistic by experiencing feelings of jealousy towards his other classmates for being wealthy and living with two stable parents. However, Lance became optimistic about his life situation and was able to find meaning in life through his exceptional talents on the bike. At first Lance was embarrassed to ride his bike to school because it was a reminder that his Mom did not have the time or money to take him to school. However, Lance realized he might not have been able to find his talent if he was not forced to ride his bike to school. Lance was considered to be an optimistic person through his competing years, but his perspective on life completely changed when he was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors told Lance he might never be able to ride competitively ever again if he was even lucky to survive his battle with cancer. Most cancer patients do not handle their diagnosis in an optimistic way and many people become depressed during their hospitalization. However, Lance did not let his cancer restrict him from living his life and pursuing his dreams. His biking kept Lance from feeling sorry for himself and allowed him to view his cancer in a positive way. Lance never lost sight of his faith during his time in the hospital, and his positive spirit allowed him to recover more quickly than the doctors predicted. When Lance defeated his battle with cancer, he claimed cancer was the best thing that ever happened to him. Cancer helped Lance to develop a selfless, optimistic point of view about life, and cancer helped him to realize life is too short to only focus on training. Being an athlete, he felt forced to live a selfish lifestyle in order for him to be successful. Lance’s primary focus was training which made it difficult for him to help others since his training was too time-consuming and exhausting. However, when Lance overcame his battle with cancer, he never promised to take a day of life for granted. Suddenly there was so much Lance wanted do with his life and the most important was to help other cancer patients live another day. Today, Lance lives a life filled with love and happiness, and it is due to his positive cognitive lifestyle.
 * Explanatory Style**

It is evident Lance is a unique individual with creative personality traits by choosing to live a spiritual life through Humanism. “Humanism is a philosophical movement that emphasizes personal worth of the individuals and the centrality of human values. It includes the appreciation for the spiritual nature in a person and emphasizes struggles for self-fulfillment and dignity” (Friedman & Schustack, 2009). Humanism consists of “being-in-the-world” and being fully self-actualized, and Humanistic followers are usually unselfish human beings with a positive view of the world. They have complete control of their inner id to avoid listening to our unconscious feelings, and it takes great discipline and strength to possess this personal control. It is questionable to understand how Lance is capable of overcoming many obstacles to be one of the most generous and successful individuals of all time. The main causal to his success and generosity is from his Humanistic views on life. Lance mostly developed this humanistic perspective on life when he became diagnosed with cancer. Cancer gave Lance a new perspective that life is never meant to be taken for granted. The doctors revealed the cancer may take away his life, but Lance refused to accept his death. Lance felt he was too young to die, and he deserved another chance to live. Lance’s possible death gave him a new spiritual perspective on life and gave him an eye-opening experience that he has not fully lived yet. When Lance was undergoing severe cancer treatment in the hospital, he made new life goals for himself that would make his life feel complete, which primarily focused on how a difference in other people’s lives. Even when Lance was in great pain in the hospital, he was constantly thinking about how to help other cancer patients. Throughout Lance’s athletic life, he felt the need to be selfish to be a great athlete; however, his cancer demonstrated athletics should never be the center of a person’s world. Instead of always thinking of himself, Lance developed a humanistic, spiritual view of life that made him live with meaning. His meaning was the organization of a cancer research fund that has become one of the most world-wide cancer funds in the world. Lance’s humanistic beliefs lead him to begin his unbelievably successful cancer fund and to became the most generous man in the world Lance’s athletic accomplishments are the reason Lance is the most well-known cyclists ever known in the world. As a competitive track athlete myself, Lance has been an inspiration in my athletics. He spends hours every single day training to be the best, and I desire to have this same determinism as Lance. There are many days when I am on the track doing a hard workout, and it just seems impossible to finish the workout. My legs want to give up on the workout but my mind never will let me. This feeling I experience during workouts is how Lance must feel all the time during his bike workouts. It takes a person with great strength to be able to push oneself through a workout that just seems impossible, and this is why Lance’s determinism and hardworking personality has made him the incredible athlete he is today. Lance’s daily routine focuses on training and lives an extremely disciplined lifestyle. Most people do not have the determined personality to live this type of life that requires him to be indifferent from the normal person. He eats a strict, healthy diet and spends up to six hours a day doing nearly impossible bike workouts. The sacrifices Lance makes and effort he puts into his training is the reason Lance has been able to be such a successful athlete, but his most desirable personality trait is his appreciation to be a competitive athlete. Lance is the type of person to never take anything for granted, especially his exceptional athletic talent, and Lance is unlike most typical athletes. Most athletes make their career about their annual income and forget about the passion and drive to play the sport they once loved. Even when sponsors refused to support Lance after his recovery from cancer, and he was forced to sign with a low-paying sponsorship after his battle with cancer, but it did not affect Lance. Lance did not hesitate to accept this sponsorship because money did not matter as long as he could race. This type of attitude demonstrates that Lance is the most inspiring athlete and individual America has ever seen. Lance is my inspiration on the track, but he is also a heroic figure to me. My Mother was diagnosed with cancer three different times in my lifetime, and I spent most of my childhood and teenage years visiting her in the hospital. Cancer ultimately took her life, but she stayed strong throughout her battle with cancer. My Mother is the bravest individual that I have ever met, but with her health condition there were many difficult days. I remember when my Mother was undergoing chemotherapy she lost the energy to get out of bed or felt too nauseas to even stand up. Looking back on these depressing moments in the hospital, made me question how Lance did bike workouts during his cancer treatment. Chemotherapy takes a toll on a person, and it completely wipes out a person’s energy, but Lance proved he is inhuman. Most people cannot even find the energy to go to the gym on a daily basis, and Lance’s devotion and desire allowed him to train for at least three hours a day while experiencing chemotherapy. This type of personality and heart is extremely rare in today’s society, but Lance has the motivation to win even when he is near death. Since my Mother’s battle with cancer, I have completed many walks and bike rides raising money for cancer and most of these funds have been sponsored or organized by Lance Armstrong. Lance is the most compassionate, generous cancer donator in the world, and he has helped raise millions of dollars for cancer research. Lance even created the idea of the cancer bracelets that has become the most popular piece of jewelry in America. Cancer is becoming the most deadly disease in America, and there still is no cure for cancer. Although, it is because of Lance, there is hope that cancer researchers may be able to find a cure, so family members can experience their loved one live another day. Armstrong, L. (2010) //Lance’s Bio.// 10 April 2010. Lance Armstrong. [|http://www.LanceArmstrong.com]. Friedman, H & Schustack, M. (2009). //Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research.// Jefferson City, MO, Library of Congress Cataloging. Gunderson, L. (2009) //Lance Armstrong Biography.// 1 April 2010. Bio True Story. [|www.Biography.com/articles/Lance-Armstrong].
 * Humanism**
 * Discussion**
 * References**