As a lifelong San Francisco 49ers fan, I hate all things Dallas Cowboys except for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. They are so athletic and glamorous. You must be a superb athlete to pull off those high kicks and split jumps in their famous “Thunderstruck” routine. I watched the show Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team years ago, and I’m now watching the latest version on Netflix.

Oh, the drama and sadness when DCC Director Kelli Finglass and Head Choreographer Judy Trammell tell a rookie candidate she will not make the team. Most girls give a tearful and final, “Yes, Ma’am” before they leave the facility.

I don’t blame the aspiring cheerleader at all for being upset at not making the team. Most of these women are accomplished dancers. They give up their lives to train and practice to make the team, and they hold down full-time jobs because being an NFL cheerleader doesn’t pay. (The women did fight for better pay and received an increase recently)

To be invited to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleading Training Camp is no small feat. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are a juggernaut and the most recognized Cheerleading squad in the NFL, if not all professional sports. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleading team considers itself the best of the best and has high expectations for its team members. Candidates will get cut because their kicks were just too low, and low kicks are not tolerated.

The training camp itself is akin to any in professional sports, and is run with precision, intensity, and focus. The goal is to get the cheerleaders LOCKED IN with their routines, and make sure their skills and endurance are top-notch for the actual season, just like their football-playing counterparts. A rookie candidate was late for her uniform fitting after she clicked the wrong link, and director Kelli Finglass said that could have meant a game-day bus was missed. There is no room for slacking or low effort because slacking and being low-effort in training camp would translate to slacking and being low-effort during the season, and that is not the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are world-class.

This month, my theme is World Class Training Camp.

I’m getting my mind right, getting locked in with my habits and routines, and making sure my skills are top-notch for this next season of life.

I am listening to Robin Sharma’s book, The 5 AM Club, and from the beginning, the term “world-class” is said repeatedly. Years ago, I was in a trainer networking group where the leader would constantly preach to us about being world-class fitness professionals. He trained world-class athletes, so he knew what he was talking about. I had forgotten about the term “world-class,” or even what it meant to be world-class, because that just hasn’t been my environment in the last few years.

“I think I need to get back into the mindset of being world-class and having world-class standards,” I said to myself.

So, here we are at the beginning of February for World Class Training camp. As in true Geneva fashion, I had a pregame. In January, I fasted and set intentions for the year ahead. I also got convicted of YouTube stalking to minimize distractions, so now I am ready to turn up the intensity and focus.

Formally Joining the 5 AM Club

The first order of business is to formally join the 5 AM club. I have already been doing this, but now I have language to hold me accountable. The idea is to set aside the first hour of the day for exercise, reflection, and growth. I have been waking up early without an alarm clock. I have always preferred early AM workouts because I like to start the day with energy, and there’s less chance I’ll skip them.  I am running a twelve-week experiment of the 5 AM Club. I believe it is the first step toward getting my mind right and back to world-class standards.

My morning routine now is either exercise or it is a power hour of reading and writing. When I did my five-day fast at the beginning of the year, my prayer was for wisdom because praying for “the thing” would be pointless if I didn’t have the wisdom and discernment to be able to nurture, cultivate, and maintain “the thing.”  I prayed for wisdom, and then it occurred to me that there’s a whole book of the Bible written by King Solomon, who is called the wisest man to ever live (even though he did a lot of dumb things). During my power hour, I am going through the book of Proverbs and finding it deeply insightful. We need wisdom, discernment, and common sense more than ever before because that is what will separate those who will be led astray by deception from those who will not bow.

So, this is my first formal assignment in the World-Class training camp. The idea is to build my self-discipline by forcing myself to do hard things. I thought I was doing that by cutting out wine for six weeks and banning myself from YouTube stalking my favorite Nigerian YouTube podcast guest, but it looks like I need to get my own version of Thunderstruck to step up the intensity in my life. I won’t be doing any kicks or jump splits anytime soon, but I can get up early and join the 5 AM Club.

Yes Ma’am.