Learn To Pay For It

Girls,

Just got done watching our kids lose to our nemesis, East Poinsett County, in a game where  the winner played for in the State Championship….

and we lost by one.  ONE.  O.N.E.

It is so deflating.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m out there practicing, but those are still my kids and I love them.  Seeing them lose sucks because I know they hurt…seeing them lose to EPC sucks even worse.  But this isn’t about losing by one and this isn’t about EPC.  Here is what this is about….

Victory is paid for in advance.

I don’t know what your interests will be when you get older.  It could be band, choir, art, basketball, softball, soccer, gymnastics, cheer….or even academics (that would be nice).  Whatever it is, don’t do it casually.  Learn to commit to something and go all in on it.  Learn to find ways to do things better than anyone ever thought YOU could.  Learn to overachieve.

How do you do that?

Well, let me tell you about how you do it in sports.  When everyone is showing up to practice, you are already there working out.  Shooting baskets, taking grounders, extra conditioning….long after your season is over and long before your season starts.  That is when you perfect your craft.

If it is music and art, I’m sure it is pretty much the same way.  You spend time away from school working to get better.

If you only choose to purse academics (which I don’t think I’m going to allow…everyone has to have something they do), you spend time working at it when you don’t have to be working.

People aren’t born geniuses, most people get there through effort.

Great artists aren’t great at birth or are they born that way, they are great because they paint a lot.

Just because you put in all those hours doesn’t ensure success.  You can spend 10,00o hours shooting and you won’t ever be 7’2, but you will be one hell of a shooter that can help your team.  You will put yourself in a position by paying for it when no one else is willing.

When you are putting in all that extra time, remember that it isn’t about the time.  That is required…but during that time you must learn to push yourself and take your skill set to the brink of where it has been.  That is how you get better.  That is how you pay in advance.

It is a simple formula. Work x time x effort= getting better.