Biggest Lesson from Olympic Weightlifting with Maya Laylor

Clance: So what’s the biggest lesson that you’ve learned that weightlifting has taught you so far in terms of being an individual?

Maya: It has taught me to do you, no matter what anyone says about you, the comments you hear, just do you. People, whoever, people will like you, you’ll find your people, not everyone is for you. That’s what I come to understand. Before I’d be like, oh I’m in the gym training, being aggressive all the time. I kind of feel like, I feel like I’m too aggressive for the men. Then I found Moose, he likes me for being aggressive and I’m like, you know what, whoever’s gonna like me, he’s gonna like me—me, being a beast on the training. He understands my mentality.

Clance: I’m so proud because it’s hard because you have all these, the society terms of being a strong woman and it’s not accepted, you should be meek and you should serve. Instead of understanding that it’s okay to be a strong woman, it’s okay what you have to do, what you need to do to get where you need to get going. And it’s okay. And I so much thank you for, it’s hard to put into words. You just helped me grow as a coach, me as a dad helped me understand a female at a deeper level. You know what I mean?

So I really wanna thank you, mama. I love your work ethic. We have this mantra: can’t stop, won’t stop. That’s what it’s all about. Can’t stop, won’t stop. If you’re in my way, what we’re going to do, we’re going to run you over. If you’re in our way, we will run you over. Straight. That’s it. So you just go do what you gotta do cause you are a good person. You are a great person and don’t let anybody tell you not because you are. Those who know you or care about you know that.

If you don’t have haters, you ain’t popping. I’m sorry. I gotta get real. That’s it. That’s how we talk, we got rep. You don’t have haters, you ain’t popping. If you ain’t doing something that people have to look at and say, well, you ain’t doing nothing. You ain’t making no waves, but your record speaks for itself. Your record speaks for itself. Facts.

For the strong women out there, for the women who are going through what you’re going through, because this is super important. This is the deep stuff that a lot of women in your field, your sport are experiencing. Not only your sport, tons of different sports, you know? So for that young girl out there, and the thing about I love is you write your blogs and we’ll go to competition. Out of the blue, a parent will come to me and say, my daughter read Maya’s blog, she was my superfan. It blows my mind.

How do you address a female who wants to dominate their sport? Whatever. It doesn’t even have to be sport, what’s your advice for them?

Maya: My advice is to just keep working hard. If you feel like you have the aggression and you need to use it to get through your training, use it. Forget whoever’s watching, the comments they make, forget it because at the end of the day, you’re going to be on the platform, your competition that is what’s gonna get you to win your gold medal. At the end of the day, forget what people say, the looks, the comments, just do you, because that will get you the gold medal.

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