Why Do We Chose to be Average?

It was Friday morning and we were headed to our morning conditioning just trying to wake up. My teammate Emmanuel Holloway was listening to the HipHop Preacher Eric Thomas when I got in the car. If you guys haven't heard him speak, check out the video at the bottom of the post and it will change your life I promise you. Anyways, the subject he was talking about was Be Phenomenal or Be Forgotten and it immediately struck me. I began to question myself as to why some of us chose the latter. Some of us choose to just be a face in the crowd that just goes along with the flow instead of using the Phenomenal talents that God placed in us to do something "Great." I began to wonder about myself first and foremost. I asked myself the same question and wondered to myself am I being Phenomenal? Am I making all the right strides to be "Great?" First off, I know that God has blessed me with so many great things and talents, but do I use those natural talents to be Phenomenal? I don't think that it's a bad thing to question ourselves when it comes to trying to become better. Honestly more of us should be asking those questions so that we can all help build each other up to be "Great."

Most people believe that they strive to do something Phenomenal, but I think we set the bar too low for ourselves, so that we always reach our goals. When we reach those low goals, we never have to endure the struggle or the pain of not accomplishing what we initially set out to do. Instead we just give ourselves a false sense of self pride and accomplishment. Eric Thomas thinks that one reason we are average is because we look at all these celebrities and sports figures and try to live vicariously through them. These people are being Phenomenal and its easier for us to imagine ourselves at the same point as them instead of going out and trying to be Phenomenal. We make decisions in our lives each and every day on trying to be better from the friends that we choose to hang around with to how we chose to do our job. You might not be at that dream job or that dream place in your life, but don't be average. Strive to make everything you do and every decision you make take you toward being Phenomenal. I'm going to try my best each day to make decisions that will allow me to be Phenomenal because I never won't to be Forgotten. Everyone was placed on this earth with multiple gifts and talents, but it is OUR choice as to how we use those gifts and talents. Do we use those talents to do Phenomenal things and stand out in the crowd? or Do we just use 50% of those talents to be average and be Forgotten? The choice is OURS guys and I dare you guys to choose wisely everyday. I'll leave you guys with this quote from Eric Thomas, "Embrace the struggle because without struggle there is no process, so embrace the struggle and remember that a setback is a set up for a major comeback." Stand out of the crowd and be allergic to Average as Eric Thomas would say. Till next time guys! Have a Blessed Weekend.

Another Adventure

Hey Guys! I know its been a long time since you guys have heard from me and I'm sorry about that. I'm going to try to give you guys a quick recap sometime soon, but for this post I want to talk about the new adventure that we are on. The summer has come and gone quickly, and most basketball players know that it's time to get ready for a new adventure wherever that may be. A lot of guys will be going to different teams, different countries, and different situations. They will go into their new situation not knowing what to expect and wondering how they will adapt. Thankfully, I have been extremely blessed to go back to a place I call my home away from home.

For some of you that don't know, this past season I had the opportunity to play for a team in Ravenna, Italy. I had the same feeling that most do with the great unknown. You worry about where your going to be living. Are people going to be able to understand me? Am I going to be able to shop at the grocery store? Even simple things like, am I going to have a TV? Most people haven't experienced moving to a new country not knowing at all what to expect and they have no idea what were talking about and why we would be so silly to worry about those little things. But, those things even as silly as they might seem, bring us back into our comfort level and make us feel as though we are HOME! As I said before, I had no idea what to expect coming into Ravenna. My worries and all the little things that we worry about going overseas was immediately put to rest with how hospitable the people were.  The town of Ravenna welcomed us with open arms and we really felt as though we were at home. Things were a little easier because of the other American Adam Sollazzo. He did a great job of showing us around and letting us know that if we need anything to not hesitate and call him. That hospitality the people of Ravenna showed us struck a deeper connection for us more than any other situation we had been in the past.

This summer, I was blessed again to receive an offer to comeback to that great place and in my heart, there was no hesitation to go back. So here I am, back in my Home away from Home with my role being that of the veteran American. It is now my job to show the new American Emmanuel Holloway the ropes and help lead him to have the same experience that I had the year before. I can't foresee what is going to happen on the basketball court for us as a team, but I do know that Ravenna will always be my 2nd home and I will always forever be grateful for the city that helped make us feel as though we belonged. I hope that I can help Emmanuel feel the same way that I do now about Ravenna. It's another adventure, but this time feels more like a Homecoming! Till next time.