Everything in life needs a foundation to build upon. At the core of anything that is successful is Hard Work! Let’s be real - most people are willing to do something if they believe it'll be easy or if they won’t fail at it. Others will attempt something until they hit the point where they realize that they'll have to give more in order to get where they want to be. It’s at this point a choice has to be made: either turn back and say "I tried but it became too difficult for me" or stay put and tell yourself "I’m going to roll up my sleeves and get down in the dirt and put the truly hard work in."
Real hard work doesn’t start until you are confronted by your limitations, fears, and weaknesses. This is where your will is tested and how badly you really want something comes into play. Here, the choice has to be made to put the hard work in let go of what the end will be, and just grind. Actions always speak louder than words. Hard work doesn’t discriminate; It shows itself in physical, mental, and emotional appearances.
Let’s look at Paul as an example. Paul was a very small kid who started out shooting the ball from his waist, but he still couldn’t get the ball to the rim. Paul says to himself, "By this time next year, I’m going to shoot the ball with good form and be one of the best players on the floor."
He starts to do push-ups in his room, goes for runs, does some research, finds ABP, and joins. He starts using the ecosystem and shows up four times a week to do personal training and skill development, works on his mental performance, and leaves every session exhausted because he has given everything he has.
In just a few months, his parents take notice, saying how Paul now has a spark in him. They also noticed that he had grown in shirt sizes and could see more muscle definition. When they ask him about it, he just smiles and says "I’ve been working." Paul grabs his breakfast and heads off to school. There’s an open gym later and Paul can’t wait to get there. When he arrives, he goes down to the basket, warming up and going through his shooting routine and his mental imagery. The games start and he’s just having a great time because his shots are falling and everyone keeps passing him the ball.
This illustration is an example of what happens when someone loses themselves in their hard work. Another example comes from MVP Giannis, who says it takes more than skill to make it to the top of the NBA.
In life, we often get what we work hard for. The choice to be or become is up to us. Hard Work builds our confidence and self-esteem, it breaks down our limitations and shows us what’s possible.
If you are putting the work in, don’t stop your opportunities are coming. If you’re ready to make that choice and put that serious/obsessive hard work in like Giannis talks about, then we know that we will be seeing a lot of you at ABP.