Heart of a Champion

12-25-10

Today as I got the opportunity to relax and hangout with my brother and best friend Curtis Washington due to him getting 2 days off from Ball at USC I began to wonder, what I could say or do, to help describe to him, what kind of drive he will need to make it to the next level of Ball the NBA. We were watching the Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Lakers and my friend Thomas was dogging Lebron by saying " He could never amount to MJ due to the fact, if he won 6 championships he would always be known for "joining" Wades team in order to do so." That opinon help spark this idea in my head, that its not just about Winning Championships, or trying to become the greatest of all time, or even trying to be the best player on your team. It is truly about working everyday, as hard as you can. to become the best YOU can do and never being satisfied, always being hungry to never accept 2nd place. Its about giving everything you got, then spitting blood to give more. its about knowing what gifts you have been blessed with and learning to play the game with the pride and determination that you should yourself in EVERY aspect of your life. MJ wasn't the best because he won 6 championships. He was the best for refusing to lose. He lead by example, giving everything he had night in and night on and still refusing to accept that as his best. He resized that he couldn't accomplish what HE wanted or be the BEST that he could be without team work and taking the same approach with his team as he did within himself. demanding perfection, and nothing less.. Jordan once said.

'There are plenty of teams in every sport that have great players and
never win titles. Most of the time, those players aren't willing to
sacrifice for the greater good of the team. The funny thing is, in
the end, their unwillingness to sacrifice only makes individual
goals more difficult to achieve. One thing I believe to the fullest
is that if you think and achieve as a team, the individual accolades
will take care of themselves. Talent wins games, but teamwork and
intelligence win championships.”

He discovered, that he couldn't be the best by just doing what he could with his God given talent but he had to take it to the next level. Sacrifice what ever he had left to accomplish being the best that HE could ever do. Lebron isn't as good as Michael Jordan not because of lack of talent, or personal determination, the mistake was he wanted to be as good as MJ to live up that expectation. That is settling for 2nd place, to try and be as good as someone else, is irrelevant.

To have the Heart of the Champion takes more then having the talent or desire. Its being the best that you can on and off the court whether people are watching or not. Giving it all every free throw , every warm up, every practice and every game. Dreams are Just dreams until YOU do something to change it. The most important thing is when you look back at your life, instead of saying maybe I could have, or I should have, you get to look back and say I gave everything I had. Maybe it was enough maybe it wasnt. But NEVER leave anything back, live in the now. But Most importantly, Never underestimate

The heart of a champion.



'I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying.” -Michael Jordan