What If?

As I eluded to in my first post of this two part thought, work ethic and "talent" are really only one half of a formula for success.  The other is being in the right place at the right time.  Some call it chance, I call it providence.  Either way we are fortunate to be in situations that we can use as springboards to do the amazing and fantastic things that our hard work and resolve can take us to.

What I mean by that is, consider if you had been born in another part of the country, or another period in time, or had not had the fortune to meet certain people in your life who introduced you to certain concepts and ideas.  You would not be the same person you are today.  Basically, life has a path for you but you won't know where that path can take you till you actually explore it.  Furthermore, along that path you will have myriad choices to make which will determine the final route of that path.

I think about the Nike "What If" commercial from 8 years ago when I think about how easy the present can be different just depending on the choices and actions that comprised our past.


Understand that if you are in a situation that allows you to excel, don't turn your back unless you have a surefire means to excel in another arena.  This video shows all these athletes excelling at other sports, but what happens if the decisions in their life led them to be excellent at nothing?

Learn to understand who in your life can help you succeed and can offer you an avenue to progress.  For young athletes, they should look at coaches, teachers and mentors as those who have been placed in their lives not as obstacles to success through their discipline or standards but rather as enablers to a better future.  Coaches should look to their peers and even their athletes as a means to learn more about people and broaden their horizons.  Life is full of choices, and the success we have in life will be based on how well we react to those choices.