Surround Yourself with People That Have Passion
As we get older, we realize that quality is better than quantity. We focus on having many friends or knowing many people, to having a tighter circle with friends and people that are reliable. What I look for in a friend, is does he or she have passion for what they do? Do they love doing what they do and do they work hard at it? My passion is the game of basketball, but I have surrounded myself with people that have a passion for other things. I get along with those people even though we are not passionate about the same thing. As a coach, the student-athletes that have a passion about the game of basketball and love it obsessively, are the players that I want to help the most. Because I can always help someone that wants to get better and will do whatever it takes to succeed. If you are passionate about working hard where you are working at, your boss will most likely be willing to help you succeed and promote you. There is no doubt in my mind that passionate people will be successful. Because even when they fail, they will get back up and try again. They will find a way to be successful with doing what they love
Being Passionate Doesn't Mean You Will Always Be Liked
As I have stated, quality is better than quantity. If someone in your life is uncomfortable with you or cannot keep up with you, then they are not willing to work as hard as you do. As a Christian, I purpose to strengthen my relationship with God. I do this by going to church twice a week, going to a Bible Study twice a month, serving once a month, leading Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) at the school I work at, and taking strong stances for what The Bible says. I am willing to work hard and grow as a Christian, and as I am growing, I am realizing people are not willing to work hard on their relationship with God. So as I grow, and they stay the same, we get to a level of being uncomfortable, to where we no longer get along or "speak the same language". Never does that entitle me to be better than them, but in any aspect of life, the people that work hard at what they do, will get better at what they do than the person who does not work as hard. People will say this about Christians, "Oh well you think you are better than everybody else, huh?" When in reality, we are saying the exact opposite of that, because we are saying, "God, I am not perfect, I cannot do this on my own, I need your help, I am in need of a Savior. Thank you sending Jesus to die for me, He is my Lord and I will worship Him." Admitting you are a Christian is a humble statement. But the people who are not willing to strengthen their relationship with God, will not experience the blessings that the people who work hard on their relationship with God. So do not listen to outside noise, to people who try to bring you down. You have a dream, run with it! You may fail or it may not turn out the way you expected it to, but do not count yourself out without even trying. I never lost sight about being in the NBA, as a player, I tried hard every single day to get there and did whatever it took, and I fell short. But as a coach, I must have that sight again. No matter what people tell me or how unlikely or how hard it may be, I am going to try and if i fall short, I will not be too far off. Shooting for the sun and landing on the moon is accomplishing something. But if you shoot for nothing, you will hit it every time. People that do not work hard
Passion without Action, Is Just Talking
I have heard many players say they love the game of basketball, but they love it for the good parts. The wins, the crowd, the popularity, you name it. But those same players do not like the grind of waking up early, running, lifting weights, practices, getting good grades, etc. It is just like in a relationship, falling in love is easy, but building on that love takes patience. You can love someone for their good qualities, but can you love them in the hard times? We will all be put to this test of seeing if we truly love something or someone. As a player in high school, I did not like coming off the bench, I wanted to be a starter, but in order for me to still play the game I love, I had no choice but to accept my role. In college, I did not just want to be a practice player, I wanted to contribute more to the team on the court. But if I did not accept my role, I would not have played and learned from a great coach, and I would not have played in one of the best sport venues in the world. I did whatever it took to experience the rewards that the game of basketball had for me. I loved the game, and with love, comes heartbreak. It broke my heart when I lost games, it broke my heart when I was cut from teams I wanted to play for. I had so many thoughts of giving up because I thought my hard work was not paying off. But because I love the game obsessively, I will do whatever it takes to be around it. We all have a love and passion for something. Do no let negative people tell you that you cannot be successful in doing what you love. Do not let the love for money, overcome your love for what you are doing. Love for money will cause you to do anything, and you will be miserable because you will end up so far away from what you love. Have a passion that lives forever, and you will see success come along with it
