As another year of school comes to a close, I hope you take some well-deserved time to celebrate. I hope you feel proud of yourself. I hope you look back over this past year and let the good times over-shine the bad times.
But that’s today.
I hope you spend tomorrow not dwelling on what you have accomplished and how far you have come, but rather how far you can go. The inevitable end of each school year is one that comes with a million new beginnings, and roads that are willing to take you anywhere you want to go.
My only question is, who do you want to be?
The one thing every successful person has in common is at some point, each and every one of them made a conscious decision to take the path of most resistance. They each heard the critics screaming that weren’t talented enough or good enough or smart enough, and I bet you hear those voices too.
But the only voice you need to listen to is the one telling you that goals are meant to be achieved and dreams are meant to get played out on the grand stage of life. So forget everything you’ve been told, because the only thing you need to know is that life is whatever you want it to be.
Today marks the end of another year in school and as you spend time reminiscing about the past, don’t forget about that one question that you will spend years answering: who do you want to be?
Do you want to be remembered? Do you want to be revered? Then now is the time to step up and stand out, so much so that when you get to the starting line, all you have to do is ask, what’s the record?
You see, your choices add up. Both colossal and seemingly insignificant details become sand in an hourglass that cannot be overturned.
If you were to put pen to paper in a narrative of your life, what would that ink say? Think hard, think carefully, because the objective is not to tell the story you want, but rather the story that is.
But the thing is, you get to choose.
You get to choose if you want to settle in your career, in your relationships, or if you want more. And if you want more and are willing to give 100 percent in both effort and attitude, I promise, you will see results; you will watch your choices add up in a story of your life that reflects your willingness to reject the world’s routine of empty boringness. It will be hard, but oh will it be worth it.
Every single person in this world has a dream. Some ignore it, some hide it, some make excuses for it. Some dreams are bigger than others, and will require more tenacity than a rose growing through concrete. Like facing an opponent who’s stronger and faster and better than you; defeat will not be easy, but they are far from invincible. But in the fight to achieve your dreams, your opponent is you.
The limits that will be set on how much you can accomplish will be set by you.
The line between success and settling is drawn by you.
Doubt -- that word that creeps into your mind when you need it least--well you get to decide what it means.
So redefine it. Reinvent the race altogether.
The ending of the 2015-2016 school year means something different to everyone. Some are walking away in good taste, with a sort of highlight reel from ESPN, and others with a plot line for the next cinematic tragedy.
Some are honestly heartbroken to say goodbye to this year, and others crawled their way to the finish line, begging to be put out of their misery.
While this year cannot be erased and will always be a part of you, I hope that you realize the important thing now is the choices you make for the future that lies directly before you. I hope you realize that sports have a season, but building a legacy doesn’t. I hope you realize just how much you have to offer this world. I hope you realize that hard work makes history.
The next great story has yet to be written. I hope it’s yours.
