Although I thoroughly enjoy a good game of basketball, I don’t keep up like I used to.  I’m simply guided by my youngest daughter’s love of the game and root for her current team, which has always been a favorite, the Chicago Bulls. After reading various articles online, I found my way over to one entitled The NBA Is Lucky I’m Home Doing D*** Articles. I was intrigued, and love a good read so I continued scrolling.  The article was written by Dion Waiters. He’s a guard for Miami Heat (it is likely I’m one of the few people that didn’t know this).  And although the article is filled with a wide array of valuable insight into this young man’s life, what caught my attention were the words spoken in reference to others mockingly saying things like “He thinks he’s the best.”  His mental response was, “Hell yeah I do, I have to.”And went on to ask:

You think you can survive in Philly without irrational confidence?

You will never in your life hear the words, “I can’t” come out of Dion Waiters’ mouth.

I can. I will. I already did.

Irrational confidence. Those are two words that you don’t hear everyday. Not overly-confident but irrationally confident. Not a confidence filled with pride, but one that pushes you beyond the boundaries that attempt to confine and box you into what some would consider a ‘normal’ life. The typical 9 to 5, white picket fence kind-of-life.  There is an alternative, it’s called Greatness.  And greatness is achieved when you believe in yourself. When you tell yourself “I can. I will. I already did.” These are traits and characteristics that a leader must hold, this is the ladder that must be climbed in order to reach the next level. Your next level. Robert Frost’s poem ‘The Road Not Taken” dutifully gives us a glimpse into this extra mile that some take.  It is the road that in the end will surely make all the difference during your journey of life.

For instance, if I improve my eating habits and exercise on a more regular basis, my body will function at a higher capacity. When my diet and exercise regime remains consistent, I’m more energetic. My focus remains clear, more work gets done.  This one commitment improves Clea as a person. Multiple areas of my life are improved and become better. So I urge you to aim higher. To put in the additional work that reaps additional benefits.  After all, if you put in the work necessary for success, you may very well be…the best.

Perhaps your call in life does not end with you being the best within your chosen field or plight, your road to greatness should remain unwavered. Let’s not run this marathon of life looking back to see if other runners are gaining ground; but remain focused on improving self, so that self can improve our families, and our families can improve our communities, and our communities can improve the world we call home.

There’s an inward focus that must take place in order to achieve the greatness that lies within you; overcoming man’s greatest opponent of all time, one’s self.

TheCLMac