Let me start by saying there will be no scientific evidence throughout this post. Just my thoughts and experiences.

All my life, I was never "good enough" in the eyes of most. Out of let's say every 10 endeavors I pursued, about 8 of them would directly or indirectly tell me to go fuck myself. Most of those endeavors came on the basketball court. It probably was because I wasn't a genetically gifted, maybe because I had Shaqs and every other kid had more expensive shoes, who knows.

In spite of all this, I wanted to play every single day. Sure, I was discouraged by the number of people who would literally laugh in my face just because I looked in the direction of a basketball, but I wanted to be like my heroes on TV. So I kept playing relentlessly. Of course I improved, so naturally I had to step up in competition.

If I thought I was getting laughed at before, every step up in the competition, you would swear that I would show up to courts holding a TV that was playing Coming To America. It's funny when I think about it now. A 5'3" wiry kid with bifocals asking to play with guys who are above 6'0", deeply involved in weight training and a part of the HS team and local AAU teams. Even a girl that I had oneitis for back in the day asked me "what gives you the balls to even think you can hang with these guys?"

At first, man did it suck. Thankfully, I always had a knack for being able to catch and shoot, so I wasn't complelely useless. But when you're obviously the worst player on the court, it's not a great experience. When a girl gets chosen before you and you have to call next...

Then something clicked. Slowly but surely, I was improving all the facets of my game. I cut out soda and most fried foods and began drinking water like a mad man. I would finish my homework and instead of fire up my dreamcast or N64, I would go to my neighbors house and play on his hoop. Rainy day? Practice now and suffer pneumonia later.

As I stated before, I am not genetically gifted by any means. It was tough to have to practice as much as I needed to because I suffered with atshma when I was younger. On top of that I just didn't have much muscular endurance or stamina period. 15 mins of running and practicing seemed like 15 years sometime. Everytime I wanted to pack it up and just go home and continue playing Shenmue, those voices would pop into my head. The girl that I thought I wanted to spend my life at the time basically laughing at me for my passion. My close friend telling me "maybe you should just ask the coach if you can be a waterboy." My guidance counselor telling me "you're wasting your time with basketball, study harder." All the kids that seemed to have all the advantages over me laughing in my face or not even acknowledging my presence. Call it insecurity, but I needed to shut them up. I needed to show them that I belong on any basketball court with any fellow 9 players.

Although I didn't quite make it to the NBA, I became fundamentally skilled enough for a youth coach to see me as a valuable asset to his AAU team. First year there, we improved by 6 wins and became one of the best 3 point shooting teams in the nation. Where would those kids be if I let people influence me off of my god-given passion?

I say that to say this. Don't let what you think are your defencies hold you back from what you really want to do. If you see a woman you want to spend the rest of the night with (or just the next 15 minutes), pursue her. Don't chase her like an idiot, but goddamn it shoot your shot and make sure it's a quality attempt. And those times you get shot down, embrace them. Getting rejected just means you tried. Who cares if she's feeling you or not? Everytime you look in the mirror, a quality man looks back at you. If she doesn't see that, it's her loss.

But now you have a voice telling you you're not good enough when you don't think you're gonna get that 315 off the ground. Oh, you want that great paying job? Someone is gonna tell you you can't. Prove these people who live life on the sidelines wrong. Turn the tables on them so they willingly give you respect while simultaenously trying to earn yours. Let all those rejections start a fire in your belly and turn it into discipline. I still let voices talk to me every single day, despite the fact that I'm that nigga. I want to stay hungry, sharp. I want to have to prove that I'm the motherfucking king of the jungle everyday. Being at the top breeds contentment. While you're up there, enjoying being fed grapes and having your feet rubbed, the next aspiring apex predator is working to come at your neck. And most likely, what's gonna get him there is a burning desire to show everyone that they were wrong.