I like to draw inspiration from wherever I can whenever I can; church, friends, family, athletes, whatever helps. I was able to find some inspiration in a magazine; ESPN The Magazine to be specific. One of the magazine’s recent editions highlighted lists. One of the lists that peaked my interest was one from Texas Rangers’ outfielder Josh Hamilton.
Ten years ago, Josh Hamilton was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and was labeled “a can’t miss prospect.” He was so good, the scouts were so confident that he’d be a future hall of famer that he was drafted #1 overall. After a battle with substance abuse he was out of baseball for a while. A few years ago he came back with a vengeance; sober; clean and realizing the promise so many people saw in him a decade ago. Josh Hamilton’s list is entitled “Priorities” and is tattooed on his arm. His list included:
1. God
2. Family
3. Humility
4. Sobriety
5. *Baseball
*#5 is impossible without #s 1-4.”
Inspired by his list, I decided to make one of my own. My list includes:
1. God
2. Family
3. Humility
4. Career
5. Patience
I’ve always had lofty goals and high expectations for myself. I strongly believe in the saying, “Shoot for the moon because even if you miss you’ll land amongst the stars.” Ever since I can remember my dreams and expectations of myself have always been astronomical. Now that I’m older and more mature, that hasn’t change. However, to achieve your goals, one must have priorities. If you want to be a professional athlete, your priority should be on your body and your sport.
Priority #1-God
I’ve always been a God-fearing man and have never had any misconceptions about the source of my strength and health. Despite the fact that my friends and I at times have jokingly likened myself to a certain superhero (Superman), I know that anything super about me comes from Him. Knowing this, I keep my focus on God, so that I never lose sight of what’s important.
Priority #2-Family
I love my family despite how crazy they are and how crazy they make me feel at times. They’re part of the reason why I work as hard as I do. My success has never been just about me, it’s always been how can I help my family and make them proud. At times they don’t say much, but over time they’ve made it abundantly clear how proud they are and how much faith they have in my ability to achieve greatness. It’s little things like that, that encourage me to work harder and why I love them so much.
Priority #3-Humility
Because of the success I have experienced during my lifetime, the lofty expectations of family and friends and the supreme confidence I have in myself, at times it can be mistaken for arrogance. At first, I doubted that I even possessed such an attribute. However, I’ve realized that the first step to solving a problem is admitting that you have one. “My name is The Diplomat and I have a problem with arrogance.” There I said it. To combat this character flaw and the one of my priorities is to be more humble. The past year and half has definitely humbled me, more so than I could have ever imagined. I’m not sure if God is done teaching me this lesson, but if He isn’t, I’m willing to continue to learn.
Priority #4-Career
When I think of priority #4 for me, I hear Trey Songz and Drake’s song “Successful” playing in my head. Who doesn’t want to be successful? But what is success? Success means something different to everyone. To a recovering alcoholic or drug abuser it may mean sobriety. To a first generation college student it may mean going to and graduating from college. From a person who has always struggled to read and write, it may be strengthening their reading skills. Success to me, in regards to my career means going to work every day and enjoying what I do. Success in my career means making enough money to experience some of the finer things and life and provide for my family.
Priority #5-Patience
Patience is a lesson best learned through heartache, pains, trials and tribulations. How else does one learn to “be still and know”? Many of us pray for patience but are unwilling to sit and wait for the lesson to be learned. Patience takes time to accumulate. There is no “Patience for Dummies” book you can buy on Amazon. There is no class offered at the local community college about where to find it and how to improve it. Patience comes from enduring tough times and being wise enough to sit and wait for God’s direction. It’s not an easy task and something I’m still working on. However, I know that when I’m able to have more it, I will be a much better person for it.
Being able to prioritize is a sign of maturity and is an important step in personal growth. Having a long list of things we’d like to do, accomplish, and improve on is nearly pointless if there is no order to the chaos that is our list. Sit down and think about the things that are most important to you in your life. Maybe your list looks like mine, maybe it’s completely different. Whatever it looks like, write it out, post it on the wall, in your car, on your computer at work, facebook, somewhere you’ll see it often as a reminder of your imperfections and the things you need to do to get closer to perfection. While perfection is an unattainable goal, that shouldn’t stop us from striving towards it. We benefit from the pursuit of perfection.
Well, until next time. Stay up and stay blessed!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Nostalgic
“Now everybody got the game figured out all wrong
I guess you never know what you got till it’s gone…
If you don’t know by now, I’m talking about Chi Town.”
Kanye West-“Homecoming”
The other night I received a phone call from a good friend and former co-worker in Chicago while he was at “Initiation Night.” “Initiation Night” is the “unofficial official” welcoming the newest class of attorneys. It’s an opportunity for bonding, to get to know your co-workers outside of the office, and to let your hair down and relax.
As he began to talk and I heard all this noise in the background, I contemplated telling him to call me back later. However, hearing all that noise in the background brought back fond memories of the many initiation nights I attended and how much fun we had on those Wednesday nights, and how we were always charged to “ring the bell” the next day. (I explain it to you one day M.S.). Anyway, upon learning that I was on the other end of his conversation, my co-workers began to ask for the phone and he began to pass it around. Now at the time, I was cooking dinner and entertaining company, which at the time meant nothing to me because my Chi-town family was on the line. To hear that they still think of me the way I think of them, that they miss me as much as I miss them and that they can’t wait to see me just as much as I can’t wait to see them, really meant a lot to me.
I knew when I was there and when I left how special that office was and the people that made up that office and if I had to make the same decision to leave again I would. It would be harder but it would still be the same. They know I made this move because it was in the best interests of me and my family. Even with that said, I still get a little nostalgic and long for those Wednesday nights; I still miss being in court with some of the best attorneys in Chicago; I miss having lunch together every Friday and the office meetings (HA! That’s a lie).
The moral of the story is I miss them like crazy and if they’re reading this, I wish you all the best and want you to know that I’m always thinking of you. I’m planning to visit real soon, just trying to nail down some details about my schedule before I make any arrangements. Plus, you all are more than welcome to come visit me here in South Florida. The weather is great, we have a “real” beach, good food and I’m here; enough said. Lol.
Before I forget, shouts out to everyone on the transfer list. Whether you wanted it or not, you got it. Now you just have to deal with it the best you can, learn from it and grow from it. Always remember adversity builds character and pressure builds diamonds. You can’t expect to improve without experiencing some hard times. Special shouts to the “Irish I-talian”, you’re one of the most professional people I’ve ever met and I wish you and your fiance’ the best in your future endeavors. To “The Tallest Guy I’ve Ever Worked With” thanks for answering my questions and showing me the way when I was lost. To “The Best Social Chair I’ve Ever Had” I miss you dearly! To my “First Office-Mate” I admire your zeal, your passion, your determination and your strong will; don’t ever lose it and don’t let it blind you. To “My Brother from Another Mother” I miss you homie (Pause) and I can’t wait to kick it with you soon. Keep me posted on what’s going on, I’m never more than a phone call, text or BBM away.
I hope all is well can’t wait to see you. Until then, Stay Up, Stay Blessed!
I guess you never know what you got till it’s gone…
If you don’t know by now, I’m talking about Chi Town.”
Kanye West-“Homecoming”
The other night I received a phone call from a good friend and former co-worker in Chicago while he was at “Initiation Night.” “Initiation Night” is the “unofficial official” welcoming the newest class of attorneys. It’s an opportunity for bonding, to get to know your co-workers outside of the office, and to let your hair down and relax.
As he began to talk and I heard all this noise in the background, I contemplated telling him to call me back later. However, hearing all that noise in the background brought back fond memories of the many initiation nights I attended and how much fun we had on those Wednesday nights, and how we were always charged to “ring the bell” the next day. (I explain it to you one day M.S.). Anyway, upon learning that I was on the other end of his conversation, my co-workers began to ask for the phone and he began to pass it around. Now at the time, I was cooking dinner and entertaining company, which at the time meant nothing to me because my Chi-town family was on the line. To hear that they still think of me the way I think of them, that they miss me as much as I miss them and that they can’t wait to see me just as much as I can’t wait to see them, really meant a lot to me.
I knew when I was there and when I left how special that office was and the people that made up that office and if I had to make the same decision to leave again I would. It would be harder but it would still be the same. They know I made this move because it was in the best interests of me and my family. Even with that said, I still get a little nostalgic and long for those Wednesday nights; I still miss being in court with some of the best attorneys in Chicago; I miss having lunch together every Friday and the office meetings (HA! That’s a lie).
The moral of the story is I miss them like crazy and if they’re reading this, I wish you all the best and want you to know that I’m always thinking of you. I’m planning to visit real soon, just trying to nail down some details about my schedule before I make any arrangements. Plus, you all are more than welcome to come visit me here in South Florida. The weather is great, we have a “real” beach, good food and I’m here; enough said. Lol.
Before I forget, shouts out to everyone on the transfer list. Whether you wanted it or not, you got it. Now you just have to deal with it the best you can, learn from it and grow from it. Always remember adversity builds character and pressure builds diamonds. You can’t expect to improve without experiencing some hard times. Special shouts to the “Irish I-talian”, you’re one of the most professional people I’ve ever met and I wish you and your fiance’ the best in your future endeavors. To “The Tallest Guy I’ve Ever Worked With” thanks for answering my questions and showing me the way when I was lost. To “The Best Social Chair I’ve Ever Had” I miss you dearly! To my “First Office-Mate” I admire your zeal, your passion, your determination and your strong will; don’t ever lose it and don’t let it blind you. To “My Brother from Another Mother” I miss you homie (Pause) and I can’t wait to kick it with you soon. Keep me posted on what’s going on, I’m never more than a phone call, text or BBM away.
I hope all is well can’t wait to see you. Until then, Stay Up, Stay Blessed!
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