Have you ever felt that you have a lack of motivation? Well I have been there and with this short story about why I ended up in New York city and where I got my motivation I hope I can inspire you.
It all started when I picked up a basketball for first time in my life. I just fell in love with playing basketball and I told myself that one of my goals in life is to go to college and play basketball. When I told this to people in my team, they laughed at me and told me that it will be impossible to achieve those goals. It was true I weighed around 270 lb and really a rookie. But I would not let that stop me from getting to the top.
My only motivation was my family, trying to make them proud, happy and trying to get them out from where we live. I got in contact with Berkeley and their coaching staff, exchanging some info and I sent them my highlights from my last season here in Sweden. The coach was interested in me as a player and told me that I should come over to New York so he could see me play.
Being as young as I was at that time ( I had just turned 19) I decided that I should take this offer and fly out to New York and give it a try. But as I was getting closer and closer to the flight date, I started to get nervous and I started questioning myself. How will I make it? Can I do this by myself? No one believes in me so how is this going to work? I talked to my mom the last week I was in Sweden and I told her the truth that for first time in my life I was scared. I wasn’t scared of stuff happening to me in New York I was scared of failure and letting everyone down. Then my mother told me something that I today live by, she said “If you do not believe in yourself, than who will?” With that said, I knew that I would make it. Just in two years I have achieved things that many people have not. I have been on presidents list at Berkeley since my first quarter ( Keeping a 4.0 is not easy while playing basketball at a college) and last year I was mentioned as All American Academic in the USCCA and All Academic in HVMC.
I know that these achievements are a lot but to me they mean nothing until I get where I want to be, I have a long trip but I am enjoying it and seeing my mother smiling because she knows that her son is doing excellent is the best motivation to succeed.
I hope you guys follow your dreams and never listen to people who tell you negative stuff. The only reason people tell you negative stuff is because they never had the courage to do it and now they can’t stand to see you succeed. I know that I am smiling every time I see these people that told me that I would never make it.
Hating is bad for the heart, smile while you can!
