How Bad do you want to be Successful?
Linked in the button above, you can see just how harsh of a reality it is to make it into not only the professional world of sports, but the college world as well. As mentioned before, on average no more than 1% of college athletes will make it to the professional sports world. If we look at football as an example, 255 students will be drafted in the NFL draft out of the 1.1 Million students that play football at the high school level. If the odds seem to be continually stacked against student athletes, why do we still allow sports to be their only focus? We still owe these students a chance to succeed outside of their sports life. The video below, though extremely inspirational, really hits at home with some great ideas. The first line that hits hard is at 3:00. "When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breath that's then you will be successful." As I said before, the motivation that one can draw from that line is remarkable. However, the application of this idea could be even more remarkable. If we want our students to be successful we will push them and inspire them to succeed in more than just being an athlete or succeeding at a single or individual task. We want to see them grow as a person, a student, and the future of our nation. In doing so we will be able to create even more meaning behind the word successful, by showing that success can come in multiple forms.
This idea is fueled even further by the line at 5:24. "You won't be successful until you say I do not need that money because I got it in here." That the idea of being successful starts with being humble and proud in one's own work; that success will only stem from the effort you put into something, and your ability to take criticism and grow from those around you. Self is one thing that we must maintain in order to achieve anything. Self is one of the most important assets you can ever have, and you should value it and inspire its growth in all the ways you are given the opportunity to do so. Do not squander an opportunity that allows for you to become an educated man. Being educated and successful means more than just having a large net worth; failing to be educated is detrimental to anyone's ability to be successful. The issue behind the concept of education is that we view being educated as holding a degree and often times the ability for one to be able to regurgitate facts when education should be quite the opposite. One should be judged by their ability to take everything they know and have learned and being able to apply it with in their lives. Education is the foundation on which success grows. I will discuss this further as we progress. Education and success should not simply lead to a job. They should lead us to something we love doing.