GROUND ZER0, New York, N.Y.--Jan. 28, 2004 -- Kyle Maynard wrestles the Beast of Terror each and every day, and, he wins every match.
          The high school senior who attends Suwanee, Georgia's Collins Hill High School , dons his wrestling gear and takes on all comers as part of a championship wrestling team on its way to the state finals where Kyle hopes to fare well.

         Before, however, he hits the mats in high school competition, he wrestles the Beast of Terror in his mind and pins him with authority.    Kyle, wrestling in the 103-pound weight class, has no arms or legs.  He was born a congenital amputee.
         He is two and a half feet tall.  His arms are stubby, ending at elbow length.  His legs extend to his kneecaps.   But that doesn't stop him from standing tall against competitors who misjudge the ferocity of his will or the strength of his body and spirit.
         He even played football on his sixth-grade team as nose guard.   He was able to thrust his body against onrushing players, tripping and tackling them.
         Yesterday, his story appeared on HBO, a reminder to anyone who thinks life has dealt them a bad hand that one can wrestle the Beast of Terror and become a Sentinel of Vigilance.
         That's Kyle's attitude.

         And, he has a couple of Parents of Vigilance to thank for it.
         His father and mother had some hard choices to make about raising Kyle, who has three sisters, none of whom are afflicted with any handicaps.   Should they coddle Kyle?  Or, treat him as "normal."
         "It was hard," his mother said, "to not want be his caretaker.   We decided to teach Kyle how to live on his own, and didn't do things that might make him feel dependent on us."
          Kyle's father, a former wrestler in school, urged Kyle to compete.  
          "I grew up with the attitude of self-respect.  I learned how to do things myself, and that I was a normal as anyone with limitations."

          He admits when Fear attacks, he employs Courage to overcome it.   And when Intimidation looms, he grits his teeth and uses his Conviction to keep his focus clear.  For example, in his first year of wrestling he didn't win a match, but he continued, despite the odds.   This year, as senior, his record is 16 wins and five losses.  He has his eye on winning at the state finals.
         And when Complacency sticks its head up and tries to drive Kyle into the dark, dank corners of the Beast of Terror's lair, he employs Right Actions for future generations.
         "I believe I am an example to a lot of people that anybody can do anything if they set their mind to it," he says.   "There are a lot of kids who feel less than others and when they see me doing what I'm doing, maybe they will think more of themselves."
          Recently, Kyle won the World's Strongest Teen Title in Atlanta, Ga. when he bench pressed 240 pounds 23 times.
          Opponents who, with arms and legs, face him on the wrestling mat make a mistake if they underestimate his power, says his wrestling coach, Cliff Ramos.   Kyle attacks his opponents, using his stubby arms and sheer muscle to twist his opponents into a pretzel.  
          "He just doesn't quit," Ramos said.
          And the Beast of Terror loses every time Kyle competes.   Winning isn't the key to the power of Kyle Maynard: competing is.
          It is easy to teach a child to be dependent by not issuing a child challenges when faced with the wrath of the Beast of Terror.    A child, for example, having problems in school with studies may have the idea that he or she is "stupid" or "not as smart as," or "not as gifted as" others.

          I felt that way.   I was a poor student, gathering a "D" average in high school.  I felt Intimidated by others and wasn't encouraged at home to study or to excel academically.   It was only when I went to my school counselor in my senior year and asked what my I.Q. was that I found out I wasn't "stupid."   In my mind, I equated my lack of performance to a lack of mental ability.   When I realized I was "substantially above normal" I began to bear down, enrolled in Junior College and suffered through a series of "bonehead" classes to prove I could handle the work of college.   
         We create handicaps for ourselves, mental and physical.    These are the works of the Beast of Terror, who rides on our shoulders whispering:  "You're not good enough...worthy enough...smart enough...deserving enough...." and attempts to degrade our self-image, our self-appreciation.
        Unless we are prodded by outside stimuli, we often believe the Beast's whispers, we become seduced by his grinding at our substance, and weaken in the face of challenges that lay before us as tests of our will and character.
        This is where the Parent of Vigilance plays the most important possible role in the development of a child.
        A Parent of Vigilance must assume the role of a coach, urging a child to face Fear, Intimidation and Complacency with Courage, Conviction and Right Actions that benefit future generations.
       Kyle Maynard's parents assumed that role of Coaches of Vigilance.   They helped him create the mental muscles as well as the physical ones to challenge the Beast of Terror that whispered in his ear:  "You are a victim.  You are handicapped.  You aren't normal.   You deserve pity."

        Each of us as adults face the daily wrestling match with the Beast of Terror.    He whispers in our ears when we least expect it:  "Ahhh, you can't do that, why try."  Or, "You failed at that before, you'll fail again, just give up."   Or, "Your life sucks because you're a loser.  Just admit it.   Look at your life.  It's a mess.   You'll never be happy.  You'll never amount to anything important.   You're stuck in a rut.  You can't get out.   Surrender."
         Oh, the Beast of Terror has long tentacles that can choke the human spirit to death as slowly as drops of water pound holes into granite rocks.    The Beast tries to pin us all to his mat, to hold us down, to twist us into pretzels so we feel like not competing because we'll be pinned again and again.
         But if we look at Kyle Maynard, and take a page out of his book, we realize that nothing can pin us but how we think and act.    There can be little doubt that Kyle often reflects on his condition and asks the question we all do when our lives are under inventory:  "Why me?"

        This "victimization" thinking can turn toxic if we let it simmer and brew in the Beast's cauldron cooking inside our innermost thoughts.    We need to ventilate such thinking as quickly as it appears.
         Kyle Maynard's image can help.   Imagine when you have thoughts of Fear, Intimidation and Complacency that you call upon Kyle to wrestle the Beast.   Sometimes it is good to have a third-party intercede in your behalf, and no one seems to know how to pin the Beast better than Kyle.
         Say, for example, you're thinking:  "Awww, I just can't handle this situation.  To hell with it."   That's a Complacency attack by the Beast of Terror.  Call on Kyle, your Sentinel of Beast Wrestling Vigilance.   Imagine Kyle is a teammate and he's taking on your Beast.   See the Beast laughing at this 103-pound figure, thinking he has the advantage.  Then see Kyle attack, trip the Beast, pin him furiously.
          If you have children, tell them the story of Kyle Maynard.   Use the story of Kyle to remind your children of how Fear, Intimidation and Complacency (Giving Up), can be converted into Courage, Conviction and Right Actions.   Ask your kids when they are faced with dilemmas:  "How would Kyle handle this?   What do you think Kyle would do?"
        If you're a business person, think of Kyle as your manager.   When faced with problems at work that appear odious or ominous or threatening to your self-image, ask Kyle to wrestle your Beast of Business Terror.    In sales and management meetings, bring up the story of Kyle and ask how Kyle might deal with the challenge.  How would he pin the Beast of Business Terror that threatens more sales, or is trying to suck out corporate profits.  

      We all need role models.    Kyle's parents keyed in on helping their son acquire self-sufficiency by reminding him that he was not a victim.  He turned adversity into opportunity, and a handicap into a competitive advantage.
       None of us need to feel less than or not as good as others.    It is easy to fall into the quagmire of Complacency, to think we are trapped by circumstance and events to always be what we think we are.
       But Kyle Maynard reminds us we are not what we appear.   The average person seeing Kyle on the street may say to himself or herself:  "Oh, that's too bad.   I feel sorry for him."   That would be a huge mistake.  It would assume the "average person" was without ailments, without handicaps, without defects of character. 
       Many people with arms and legs feel like cripples at times.   They become powerless.   They cower in Fear, Intimidation and wallow in Complacency over issues.   They forget that Vigilance is a state of mind not body.   They forget the Beast of Terror doesn't care what your body looks like, he attacks your mind, your attitude, your outlook on life, trying to darken it, to put scales over your eyes so you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, to strangle Hope so that you will think the difference between the rut and the grave is the depth.

         Kyle Maynard's story is about breaking out of the death grip of the Beast of Terror.   It is about wrestling the Beast to victory by not allowing the Beast to win by default, by our giving up the battle.
        To assure we are tip-top shape to wrestle the Beast, we need to stay in top condition.  By taking the Pledge of Vigilance, and vowing daily to fight Fear with Courage, Intimidation with Conviction, and Complacency with Right Actions that benefit the Children's Children's Children, we win the battle before we wage it.
        The Beast is not stupid.   He attacks the weak and vulnerable first.    He stalks the unsuspecting, the unaware.
        When we flex our Vigilance muscles, the Beast runs.   He knows we'll pin him to the mat if he dares to engage us.  Ultimately, he's a coward.
        And, if you aren't inclined to take the Pledge for some reason, then do yourself a favor.   Put Kyle Maynard on your right shoulder each morning.
        Let him ride there throughout the day, keeping an eye on the Beast of Terror who rides on your left shoulder.  And, when the Beast begins to whisper to you, trying to put you in the victims role, just ask Kyle to wrestle him.
        You'll win every time.

Jan 27--Warts & Pluses:  Signets of the Beast of Terror