Bet On Yourself 😤
Growing up not far from Toronto, I had the privilege and opportunity to watch live sports several times in my childhood. The Toronto Raptors were my preferred sports team to watch and I loved the excitement, the electric atmosphere, the chanting and yelling, and basketball.
I loved watching Vince Carter, T-Mac, Junk Yard Dog, and Muggsy Bogues but looking back, I didn't understand the game that well, I didn't know the professional and personal dynamics involved and emotionality involved. I wasn't invested in the players, didn't know about the player development or the drafting process very well.
I fell off the Raptors following for about a decade, only loosely watching the Bargnani, José Calderón era but started watching again the last 3-5 years.
I love the come-up stories now. Fred VanVleet. Yuta Watanabe. Dalano Banton.
There are uncountable stories of players with insurmountable odds with a chip on their shoulder, a head-down mentality and a drive for excellence that persevered and excelled.
Bet On Yourself
There's something self-fulfilling about sports that skirts the limits towards self-delusion that manifest success. Some of these players are destined for greatness, predicted to be once-in-a-lifetime superstars. Others are unpolished gems that grind their way to stardom.
Fred VanVleet for example embodies that sentiment in my mind.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JawRQYuChd4
In sports, to be successful, there has to be a level of pride and self-worth that matches if not exceeds the respect given to others. There is a willingness or eagerness to embrace challenge and adversity that can be lost in other careers.
Having had the opportunity and privilege to educate others and mentor others, perhaps it's solely a subconscious semantic technicality, but mentees attribute their lack of performance or lack of understanding to a difference in experience. "You know better because you've been working longer". In professional sports, there is a youthful drive to topple the experienced, surpass and conquer the old and a degree of audacity that accounts for rookie bravado.
A "Respect All Fear None" mentality. (shout-outs to Kinjaz)
Bet On Yourself
In my mind, applying this mentality towards one's own life is necessary to grow. Waiting for others to bend over backwards for you or look out for you or step up for you is dependent on the serendipity of who you meet. I have been fortunate enough to have awesome mentors who support, guide, and push me but I know many people who don't have those same support networks. This is why well-connected people seem to succeed in their fields. A strong professional and social network fosters connections and opportunity. But for the people who don’t have that skill or developed network, there has to be a calm confidence in one’s own skills to first stand your ground and proudly display your craft or talent — and know that your craft or talent is valuable.
Fred VanVleet went undrafted. He wasn’t a big name. He wasn’t on anyone’s radar coming up relative to the superstars of the NBA. And yet he climbed and grinded. Fast forward to the 2019 Toronto Raptors Run and he was a crucial part of that championship run.
And sports does a magical thing that connects the audience with these athletes. It makes you feel connected to these underdogs, these unknowns, and you root for them the same way you root for someone just like yourself - a nobody.
Bet On Yourself.
Why wouldn't you bet on yourself? If you don't bet on yourself, why should anyone else bet on you?
There's a weight to those words - a sense of self-accountability that requires you to deliver on your words because talk is cheap and action is required. If you say you want to be an artist - Bet. Now show me what you’ve got. Believing in yourself and giving voice to that belief means that you take yourself seriously and you truly aspire to do something that you say you will do. Laughing off your dreams or aspirations, saying you are dreaming too big or too greedily only serves to sow doubt in your head, give you an excuse to not perform, and undervalues your words.
I remember when I first graduated and was looking for a job, my uncle told me to not be afraid of working hard. Whether it was a Hong Kong 996 mentality or perhaps a personal anecdote of his that he felt was worth sharing, I took it to heart and I do believe I am better for it.
Working hard is good. Being valued and compensated appropriately is a different point of contention. But I do believe that some discomfort and adversity is good for fostering growth. Being comfortable with being uncomfortable and being comfortable with being a try-hard means that you are passionate about your craft. You shouldn’t feel bad about that and if you continue to work hard for years, you might realize 10 years later that you are an expert in your field.
Rising up to the occasion can do wonders for your self-esteem, your ability to manage stress, your perspective on the world and your ability to overcome obstacles and give you the confidence to command attention, express opinions, and contribute value to whatever you do.
So…Bet On Yourself.
What do you bet on yourself for? What do you know, even though you might not be great at right now, that YOU WILL BE great at in the future? Let me know down below!