Keep Your Eye On The Ball

 

WHETHER you're into sports, in business OR even in your personal life, allow me to piggy-back on this age-old quote:  KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL.  Let's start with our careers.  When we were like the upstarts @ the workplace, FUN would have prevailed on us many times [and that's just fine] BUT sometimes, things get stretched to the extent that our eyes get caught up with another thing other than the ball WHICH we need to focus on, UNTIL we lose sight of the ball.  Guess WHAT happens WHEN you lose sight of the ball📗📙📘

From our career, let's sneak into our health.  WHEN we start reaping the initial FRUITS OF LABOR, it's fine we reward ourselves left and right BUT sometimes, WHAT gets sorely missed [OR I'll bluntly say IGNORED] is our health.  Unlimited booze, chain-smoking, frequent late nights and long-night sorties even on a Monday OR Tuesday [WHO says we should only sing TGIF during Fridays?].  Count years OR to be realistic even a decade OR two after, let us hope that that kind of a 'high risk' lifestyle DIDN'T take its toll on your health?  I really pray and hope so BUT I've been through tons and tons of narratives WHERE, many years after, we would be saddened with very bleak updates with regard deteriorating health conditions of people WHO we know up close through the years.  Question is:  Can we still arrest that alarming skid?  Absolutely can BUT if at all, we got to start it early in the game and for the duration of the game we're playing, KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL because if you breach and miss that ball, you might miss the ballgame itself💚💛💜

Business are NOT different from our health and our career.  Businesses, WHETHER we're talking of small-scale endeavors OR the big-time ones, FOCUS is required and that is needed from the time you kickstart your bright and brainy idea until you kickoff that business and for the duration of it, KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL, no exception💥💥💥

Let's swing over to relationships.  I've witnessed first-hand the known diasporas of people working 10,000 miles away from their home country, to earn a living, to support his family and so on.  And I'd say roughly 95% of those very legitimate purposes are achieved.  Fast-forward 10 to 20 years later, can you guess how did things develop and evolve after the dutiful breadwinner steadfastly ensured attending to all his 'financial commitments' to his family?  Many families have been negatively impacted by these labor diasporas because WHAT's missed there is the fact that if the breadwinner is 10,000 miles, there is a good chance he CAN'T KEEP HIS EYE ON THE BALL [even these days with all the Zoom and MS Teams] and before the breadwinner finds out the end-result, the kids he raised [albeit remotely] have grown up off-track, misguided at least😡😡😡

Our takeaway:  Anywhere and everywhere, there is always the BALL we need to KEEP AN EYE.  No one is shielded OR exempted from this imperative.  If we will compile all the travails and tribulations at least amongst people we know, I am very confident that we will secure an uncontestable consensus that we all need to KEEP AN EYE ON THE BALL for the duration of the ballgame we are checked in [UNLESS we want to get derailed OR off-tracked in our journey?  It's NOT too much to ask dude, for us to KEEP AN EYE ON THE BALL, right???

Confusions With Controls

 

Of all topics to thread on, I'd guess 'CONTROL' is one of the most talked about topics [over and over again].  Kinda boring?  NOT really if we can dive-in at least for today.  The very existence of the term 'CONTROL FREAK' indicates our innate need for control can go too far and beyond.  BUT the expers tell us that we humans naturally want to to feel they're steering their own ship.  To quote author Raj Raghunathan, 'HUMAN BEINGS HAVE A DEEP-SEATED DESIRE FOR CERTAINTY AND CONTROL'.  BUT there's a glimmer of hope these days because there is a recent study showing a semblance of that sense of autonomy being the #1 contributor that makes us achieve HAPPINESS💜💛💚

Perhaps then, we should NOT be that surprised that so many measures of our collective mental health seem to be heading in the wrong direction these days.  BUT given the fact that the world looks unlikely to grow less crazy anytime soon, does that mean that we're doomed to be miserable until our lives feel more controllable?  Recent researches however, have disproved this.  And WHILE we may NOT always be able to control events, we certainly can CONTROL our reaction to them, and that can make a world of difference simply based on the fact that there's the primary CONTROL [WHICH we are in CONTROL] and secondary CONTROL [that is beyond our powers]💧💧💧

WHILE it's a foregone conclusion that we humans really prefer primary CONTROL, studies showed that secondary CONTROL can go a long way to promote feelings of both moment-to-moment HAPPINESS and even overall life satisfaction.  WHICH reminds me of that ageless Frank Sinatra song, 'MY WAY' WHERE a man is looking back on his life and he generally feels satisfaction with HOW things turned out BUT it WASN'T all HAPPINESS because apparently, there is a richer notion of WHAT it means to live a good life💥💥💥

Surely, we can easily agree that that's an attitude that DOESN'T downplay the negative experiences of life and yet it allows for a different kind of engagement with life so that reappraisal and learning can occur and lead to much greater satisfaction.  This gets at WHAT secondary CONTROL is all about, being able to fit one's experiences into that much broader narrative of life.  In fact, even events may often get out of our hands, WHICH, in other words, it is HOW we interpret them instead😡😡😡

Our takeaway:  Much as there are many facets of our life WHERE secondary CONTROLS limit WHAT we can do, many studies tell us that we can always CONTROL HOW we tell our own narrative, our own story.  And if this sounds familiar to you, that may be because it is far from the only study coming into that similar conclusion.  OR perhaps, we might recognize this as reminiscent of advices dispensed by many wisdom tradtions, from Buddhism and over to even Alcoholics Anonymous.  At one time OR another, pretty much all of us have been told that IF we CAN'T change something, we should change HOW we think about that something.  Trying to CONTROL WHAT happens might be a recipe for stress and disappointment BUT hey, that's NOT the only kind of CONTROL open to us, right?  WHERE we CAN'T steer events, we can steer HOW we think about them.  There you go, our CONTROLS and CONTROLS dilemma!!!

What If You Know You're Right [BUT You Don't Insist]

 

In the NOT so distant past, we were often taught to FIGHT FOR WHAT IS RIGHT, right?  And that was rightfully so.  BUT things have changed.  The global village we live has evolved.  Everyone is instantly within reach via social media [we DON'T need to place an IDD [international direct dial] call at all.  BUT at WHAT price?  When we get into clashes and frictions, WHAT happens next?  Suddenly the messaging platform becomes hyper-active with messages [a.k.a. arguments] literally overflowing.  More often, we can quickly conclude as regards the flurry of messages.  More often, it's because each party feels he's RIGHT!  SO WHAT IF YOU KNOW YOU'RE RIGHT? My late realization here is that knowing you're RIGHT and choosing NOT to insist you're RIGHT can be a manifestation of emotional intelligence [a.k.a. maturity] 📗📙📘

Even taking things literally, HOW many fatal 'road rage' deaths have we heard of?  Quite a lot if NOT a ton.  After many years on our global village, the mirror has taught me quite a list of lessons learnt the hard way.  And one of the most important one is that we DON'T always have to be right.  The first time you gave in [even if you were so sure you were right], you can bet, you will have one of the most amazing experiences [EVER] in your life.  Seriously.  Been there.  Done that.  Felt it.  And it just CAN'T be better.  That burden of gnawing the argument down to the bone will be over and then you can walk calmly away from that person, BUT more importantly, you will be filled with 'love for yourself'.  Albeit belatedly, you will realize that.  I bet😔😔😔

Let's face life itself.  Have you ever noticed that WHENEVER you'll have a disagreement with someone OR have experienced a conflict of some sort, that you will end up spending lots of time [and enormous effort + strain] explaining and defending yourself, your version of the story OR narrative, going over WHAT really happened, making your case for WHAT you're RIGHT.  And that you do all of that explaining and proving to and for yourself.  Inside our own heads, we are left constantly explaining WHY we're RIGHT and then, we go over to explain WHY the other person is to blame and WHAT the truth is, after all❌❌❌

After all these, WHAT transpired is we end up spending a big chunk of our lives presenting our case before an IMAGINARY jury and in an IMAGINARY court, all of WHICH takes place right inside our head.  YES, have we ever wondered to WHOM are we presenting the case of our rightness?  And WHAT are we hoping OR believing will happen if our IMAGINARY jury deems our version of the truth to be 'CORRECT'?  WHAT happens next?  We end up to use the narration of our RIGHTNESS✅✅✅

Our takeaway:  One key realization I want to share here is that WHEN we stop engaging in our mind's defense of our RIGHTNESS, something interesting and wonderful does happen and that is, we can enter and enjoy our PRESENT MOMENT, LIVING IN THE MOMENT, even if it's noticing the wind again, the trees and its leaves, the skies.  So, WHAT IF YOU KNOW YOU'RE RIGHT?  What gives???

Take A Chance And Go LIVE LIFE!

 

Allow me to quote Irish action star Liam Neeson WHEN he said:  TAKE A CHANCE AND GO LIVE LIFE.  This was his well-quoted one-liner after his beloved wife, Natasha Richardson, died at that young age of 45 years after a tragic skiing accident at Mont-Tremblant in Canada.  WHILE she DIDN'T die immediately, her condition DIDN'T get better.  For this loving couple, they had talked way back that in case something happens, they DON'T want to stay alive hooked up to machines.  Instead, she wanted to volunteer her organs if possible.  Feeling that deep pain, Liam Neeson was quoted many times: 'TAKE A CHANCE AND GO LIVE LIFE.  TELL THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE THAT YOU LOVE THEM EVERY DAY. DON'T TAKE ANY MOMENT FOR GRANTED.  LIFE IS WORTH LIVING'.  WHILE that says a lot, he could have NOT expressed it more than that way.  Look around you, HOW many times have we witnessed bereaved family members sulking in sorrow upon the sudden demise of a loved one???

Let's face it.  WHEN you find yourself stuck at work OR without the person you love, do you think you could probably be living your life better?  WHILE it may be that easy to feel that you have NO control over our existence, from my experiences, I'll opine that it's the opposite in fact.  WHY?  Because it's only us WHO can get to decide HOW to live our life and HOW we would want to live life to the fullest.  Sadly, I am quite sure everyone of us did bear witness [even at first hand] bereaved folks WHO were struggling upon the demise of their loved one.  And often, the unsaid part is the 'unverbalized' regrets, regrets for missing out to LIVE LIFE well enough💧💧💧

The kind of silly question I sometimes heard is:  HOW and WHERE do we start, once we talk about living life to the fullest?  Nothing fancy here, first things first, let us define WHAT HAPPINESS is to us, on our own terms and NOT anyone's else.  True, there will be multitudes of people in your life WHO will peddle their own views as to HOW you should go about your future.  I even always opine that, generally, once you walk into a room with 10 people, expect 10 varying opinions.  The trap here is that some of those opinions will tend to be articulated as FACTS, and it then boils down for you to validate its veracity💥💥💥

And here's WHEN things can turn from good to bad OR from bad to worse.  Seeking validation from others will only ignite and stir your own feelings of inadequacy and that needless pressure, further hindering yourself from living and experiencing life by your own rules.  Others may be happy living a simple yet peaceful life BUT WHEN you no longer define HAPPINESS based on other people's definitions, you will then start to feel lighter and at peace.  Many years back, I did thread those circuituous roads before I realized that I was lost and I had to regain control of things❌❌❌

Our takeaway:  All along, we prioritize things, goals and dreams.  HOW often have we heard us prioritizing PEOPLE?  The defensive ones will blurt out LIKE 'BUT I LOVE THEM'.  BUT HOW often we are able to match our words with deeds?  Again, it aill starts with that firm commitment for the people WHO truly really matter in your life [till your last breath].  Knowing WHO is most important to you further prevents that potential risk of you neglecting OR at least disregarding them, NOT until those last moments of one's life.  To piggy-back on Liam Neeson's touching advice:  TAKE A CHANCE AND GO LIVE LIFE.  TELL THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE THAT YOU LOVE THEM EVERY DAY. DON'T TAKE ANY MOMENT FOR GRANTED.  LIFE IS WORTH LIVING💙💛💜

Are Reality Shows Reeling Us?

 

Are REALITY SHOWS REELING US?  Decades back, WHAT started out as experiments in the western media has turned things around to become a part of our default mainstream programming and alas, even across diverse cultures, we still CAN'T get enough of it.  And even prior to the popularity of these REALITY SHOWS, television and all other forms of media have already impacted NOT just our thoughts, opinions and behaviors.  It has even creeped into our cultures WHERE some things are now becoming the norm rather than the exception.  NO doubt about it, we have taken it in for entertainment per se📘📗📙

Good enough that our minds are designed to really synthesize boatloads of information every day, from our interactions with others to the books we read and the entertainment we seek out.  We then tend to make sense of the world through these pieces of information we gather, and the impacts HOW we live our lives every day.  BUT beyond the daily information we have been absorbing, we are also influenced by our prior life experiences, our family origins, the environment we are raised in and a slew of our other cultural [and sometimes genetic] factors💚💛💜

As these interpersonal and direct influences are more likely to impact our values and even behaviors than REALITY SHOWS, does this mean that we should NOT be concerned about the ways in WHICH REALITY SHOW trends tend to impact us?  Of course, we need to pay attention to the underlying messages in these shows and even explore WHY they appeal to us so much.  BUT the thing is, these REALITY SHOWS keep coming back to us and before we know it, we get 'hostaged' to it💥💥💥

Unconsciously, we end up wanting to know WHO said WHAT to WHOM and WHICH person betrayed another OR WHO compromised their alliances OR made a shady decision that influenced other people.  YES, it's all about the best and worst of human behavior.  YES, it shapes up as akin to an observational psychology class without the lecture OR exams.  YES, often these REALITY SHOWS cause us to reflect on WHAT we might do similarly😡😡😡

Our takeaway:  WHAT I reaized in all these is that REALITY SHOWS are ironically named because they are often far from realistic scenarios.  And even though these programs are 'guilty pleasures' for many of us, we can use them as good conversation starters with friends and even as 'food for thought' within our own minds as we consider our values and HOW we live in ways that demonstrate those values.  So, ARE REALITY SHOWS REELING US?  It really depends if you want to be REELED???

When Technology Becomes Creepy

 

It's NOT debatable, BIG PICTURES are far different from small framed ones.  Let's NOT look farther down than the wide-screen TV technologies that now feature  OLED [Organic Light Emitting Diode]  and QLED [Quantum Dot LED]. More than just the superficial, WHAT seems scary are recent researches proving the parallellism between this significant progression of TV technology along the course of drug addiction.  Surely, you'll be shocked in disbelief with this purported parallelism drawn by those researches.  This is WHEN TECHNOLOGY BECOMES CREEPY❌❌❌

Unfortunately, most of us [and that includes me till now] wrongly assume that confusions between mediated experience and real life are rare and as such, unimportant.  BUT the history of TV technology has been a continuous evolution toward ever more intense stimulation.  The amount of data coming into and through our eyes, ears and brain WHILE we watch TV has been constantly escalating💥💥💥

In that NOT so distant past, viewers gathered in the living room to watch a tiny black-and-white screen, sometimes enlarged by a distorting magnifying glass.  Small thought it was, it was a large increase over the information that had been coming into the ears alone by way of radio.  Radio required its audience to imagine WHAT the Lone Ranger might look like.  YES, TV eliminated that need.  Viewers could now see WHAT he 'really' looked like.  OR at least WHAT he looked like in black and white.  Viewers still had to imagine WHAT he and his sidekick Tonto, and the sunsets they rode into, would look like in color💧💧💧

Some critics have focused their ire on the increased energy that the advanced TV technologies require, the chemicals that make their brilliant pictures.  WHAT is scary are the psychological, emotional, social and even neurological effects these big-screen high definition TVs have, especially on the development of children and adolescents as researches showed that those 'BIG PICTURES' may turn up the volume on WHATEVER emotional responses would have been experienced with a standard representation.  Those studies showed that as our brains evolved in a world with no such thing as modern media, we tend to respond to TV as IF WHAT is going on behind the screen is the real thing.  The parallelism here is drawn between TV and fast food as both are tagged as 'supernormal stimuli' and even the super-sized HDTV is the 'supersized me'💚💛💜

Our takeaway:  WHAT seems interesting are recent studies that showed the brains of children watching TV showed the sort of activity associated with 'FIGHT or FLIGHT' threat responses.  There was also activity in the parts of the brain normally associated with imitation.  Alarming is the evidence showing that children were 'actively processing' the video violence and storing those aggressive scripts in an area of the brain that serves as a 'ready file' for memories that return in a flash and in the end, the child is expected to behave more aggressively.  Scarier is the conclusion that our brains CAN'T distinguish between fantasy and real violence.  WHEN TECHNOLOGY BECOMES CREEPY😡😡😡

Do We Really Need To FAIL?

 

WHO needs FAILURE?  Germans would exclaim Mich!  Mir!  And in Spain it's Mi.  BUT WHO needs FAILURE?  It's like a bullet in one's head BUT here's the stark truth.  FAILURE is inevitable OR unavoidable in our life.  As an analogy, I like to think of failure as the necessary underbelly of success.  In the absence of FAILURE, HOW would we determine then WHAT our successes really are?  That might sound like a simplication and I do concede that FAILURE ISN'T that easy.  YES, I've been through that, ugggh💚💛💜

NOW, if someone would ask me if I would have opted NOT to go through FAILURES [if that was an option], I'll protest and exclaim 'NO WAY'.  WHY?  Because I am cocksure enough that I learnt one zillion lessons from all the FAILURES I have had in my life.  And the reasons are as logical and as rational as it can be:

• FAILURES made me know the chinks in my armor
• FAILURES made me resilient to face humps ahead
• FAILURES pushed me to learn lessons I would have NOT learned from anywhere else in this world

NOT to downplay the fortunate situations of the scions of the rich and famous [I can probably name Baron Trump, the 19 year old son of U.S. President Donald Trump] BUT I'm very sure that if we do an apples to apples comparison, at that age, I learnt lessons a thousand times more than the lessons learnt by Baron Trump [at his age now].  Admittedly, I'll say I am blessed enough because I had much harder lessons than this scion has gone through [and it's NOT his fault BTW].  WHERE else could I have learned those lessons BUT from my FAILURES???

Truth is, overcoming FAILURE is a very important barometer of our agility as it's NOT about FAILURE itself BUT WHAT you do to bounce back [from the grave].  YES, I have to admit that WHENEVER I did get hit by one FAILURE after another, accepting that FAILURE should be as natural as it should be that is, IF we handle things rightly [BTW, there are one too many horror stories WHERE a FAILURE is followed by one fumbling act to another]💥💥💥

Our takeaway:  HOW I did was quite difficult to translate in concrete words BUT WHAT I often did was to strike the balance, picking up the hard lessons from the FAILURE and rectifying the way I did it so that WHERE possible, I WON'T repeat the same mistake [BUT alas, I had a couple of mistakes WHICH I repeated [stupidly of course until I realized that enough is enough].  One mistake I'd like to openly share here in my early FAILUREs, I tended to wallow [and that was unproductive] as belatedly, I realized that FAILUREs are opportunities in disguise.  So, I asked myself, do I really want to miss opportunities spelled F-A-I-L-U-R-E?  Of course NOT😡😡😡

If It's For You, It Won't Pass You By

 

YES YES yowwww, IF IT'S FOR YOU, IT WON'T PASS YOU BY, a very old quote BUT worth revisiting from time to time.  I just CAN'T disagree with this because WHAT's supposed to be yours OR ours will come and WHAT's meant to be will fall in place, WHAT's right will feel right and we just DON'T have to force things out.  HOW many times in life things DON'T come into fruition at the time and circumstances we wanted it to happen?  I'd say probably look back and estimate that roughly half of things I wanted in life DIDN'T materialized on the dot [although a big chunk did come into fruition much later though]📗📙📘

Truth is, fate and destiny are oblivious of the clock and calendars.  IF they have to happen, they DON'T go through with clockwork precision.  LIKE some things come late.  LIKE some people you meet at the wrong time.  LIKE some dreams take donkey years to bloom.  And some moments do slip through our fingers and before we know it, we fail to realize HOW precious and important those moments were [NOT until those moments are gone].  In relationships, sometimes we are hard pressed to believe WHEN we become heart broken because the person you chose someone else instead.  And NOT WHEN the door you prayed would open stays shut💚💛💜

Talking about fighting battles WHICH at times turn out to be a losing battle, HOW often do we push back against a world that ISN'T that quite ready to share with us WHAT we desire and want to achieve?  And HOW many times did we try to rush and push hard just to make things happen our way [BUT it DIDN'T]?  And then, HOW many times did we go through those exercises in futility?  Sometimes, life itself tricks us by initially giving us all the positive and rosy things until things skid❎❎❎

I did bear witness WHEN my expectations will shoot up dramatically because things are falling into place [way beyond my expectations] and as I thought things were running in my favor, things will crumble down.  LIKE we would pursue a career we hoped and prayed for and discover it DOESN'T make sense.  We'll then rise and then we'll fall down.  And then in time, we'll rise again [BUT NOT after lots of struggles along the way]😡😡😡

Our takeaway:  We can be so intellectually upright OR just knowledgeable enough BUT if there's any assurance I can give everyone, we CAN'T possibly have the answers to every question that pops up in our head.  And we CAN'T possibly understand WHAT's happening, WHERE do we go, WHAT should we do every single second of the day.  And to complicate waters that seem murky enough, we CAN'T possibly know WHAT's right OR good OR ours to keep, NOT UNTIL IF IT'S FOR YOU, THEN IT WON'T PASS YOU BY😗😗😗

PASS Or FAIL In Life?

 

A week ago, famous American rock climber Alex Honnold did successfully accomplish his very first climb of a skyscraper and that was Taipei 101, which, as of 2026, ranks as the 11th tallest building in the world.  And here comes Alex Honnold WHO has successfully climbed both in the arctic and even in the deserts.  YET, a week ago WHEN he embarked on that plan to climb Taipei 101, even NETFLIX [who sponsored that event WHERE Honnold was paid a paltry amount of $500,000] WAS prepared with a scenario WHERE Honnold fatally falls and dies.  Indeed a super-scary, heart-stomping attempt BUT this is just one of the concrete examples in life WHERE we are expected to either PASS or FAIL, NO in-between results, NO half-half successes at all💚💛💜

To cut this long story short, Alex Honnold was able to climb up successfully up to the very tip of the tower of Taipei 101.  Enough of that not so breaking news anymore.  The opportunity I want to grab is this PASS or FAIL in life.  WHETHER we like this fact OR not, the harsh truth that in life, there is only either a PASS or FAIL, no greys, no embers, no other colors except black OR white.  Our common dilemma is that sometimes, we [wrongly] think OR thought [in the past] that stopping OR giving up one, two or three notches before grabbing the top plum is SUCCESS by itself which is NOT really the case dude!@#$%?

Many times in the past, I did bear witness [right on the front row] of people giving up even before the ballgame starts.  For zillions of reasons a.k.a. alibi OR excuses, they will never run out of reasons WHY they gave up even before that 'jump ball' in basketball.  WHICH is deplorable to say the least because I witnessed them preparing for that endeavor😔😔😔

NOT to be defensive, many of us were schooled where the academic ratings were NOT so simple enough akin to a PASS or FAIL.  Instead, a student can still have an academic grade of 75% and is still considered as having PASSED the subject, much similar to another student who garnered 99%.  BUT alas, that was our life in the academe environment.  In our school campuses then, we were then being prepared for the realities of life out there but at that point in time, even the most stern headmaster can still hand you a 75% grade and you can then claim to have successfully PASSED the subject.  Once we're thrown into the lion's den, dude, NOT to scare anyone BUT our life turns to that PASS or FAIL situation, nothing gray, nothing in-between💥💥💥

Our takeaway:  At this point, we are often left to imagine HOW this play [in life] plays out in real life as we tend to judge 'winners and losers' NOT only in games BUT even in our lives, sometimes blaming our pitiful selves for failures WHEN in fact, complex systemic issues were holding us back OR taking credit for successes that were aided by people OR even external forces we may be unaware of OR have taken it for granted.  On a personal level, it is critical that we have some sense of control over our own life.  At the same time, people WHO are unaware of this PASS or FAIL reality in life become more vulnerable to be waylaid.  That PASS or FAIL in life, indeed!!!

Are High Achievers Demigods? It's A Loud 'NO' Sirrrrrrrs!

 

Are HIGH ACHIEVERS DEMIGODS?  NO sirrrrrrrs.  They are as human as we are.  They could be traced back across different races and cultures BUT WHEN we lump together all these HIGH ACHIEVERS they share quite a long list of commonalities.  And topping that list is COACHABILITY [as this poster shows].  In the NBA world, the best hoopsters from mostly the Americas and Europe would queue and aim to be part of the Annual Draft, WHERE rookies are ranked and then picked by the NBA teams.  BUT as the old cliche goes, MANY ARE CALLED, BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN.  Such exactly is happening @ the NBA world.  Even if you get drafted, NO guarantees that you'll be a success story.  WHY???

In short, there were many bright and potential NBA rookies WHO were zeroed-in to lord it over the field for quite sometime.  BUT a good number of them are FLOPS no less, FAILURES to be frank.  One is Hassan Whiteside.  After he inked a $100Mn contract with Miami Heat, from there onwards, his performance skidded, his trajectory went down south consistently.  WHY?  NOT because of lesser talent OR potentials.  BUT it's that word spelled C-O-A-C-H-A-B-I-L-I-T-Y.  As this poster screams it all, YES you can have all the intelligence and talent BUT if you DON'T have that COACHABILITY, forget it, you're toast!@#$%?  You might wonder WHAT COACHABILITY has got to do with success if someone is intelligent and talented way beyond the median?  Thing is, you can be a gem OR a rare gem for that matter BUT as you have yet to 'take off' in life, you're a RAW gem, that's it❎❎❎

In the shortest words, a RAW rare gem needs to be harnessed and honed.  The top-tier skills just DON'T happen instantly.  You've got to earn your spurs.  In fact, you need to go through the wringer before you can earn your first badge [and God knows HOW many badges you need as you progress in life].  Take note that even those badges and certifications are NOT cast in stone.  They have EXPIRATION DATES.  WHAT's the need for EXPIRATION DATES then, you might wonder???

EXPIRATION DATES are there for the previous SUCCESS stories to refresh and revalidate themselves.  In short, even SUCCESS is never embedded in stone.  After a 'specific period', you have to 'RE-EARN' it, probably NOT in the same hard way as you endured the first time around BUT nevertheless, you still need to go through the process.  Besides COACHABILITY, we can rattle off ADAPTING TO CHANGE, SELF-DISCIPLINE, SELF-AWARENESS, EMBRACING NEW KNOWLEDGE, EMBRACING CHALLENGES, BALANCING AMBITION and WELL-BEING and YES, RESILIENCE [for you survive WHEN THE GOING GETS ROUGH]💚💛💜

Our takeaway:  If you are still in awe of Mark Zuckerberg OR Elon Musk, that's just fine BUT never get stuck in that state of stupor because they are as human as we are.  WHAT sets them very much apart [and NOT a part] of us are those intangibles, those little little things from SELF-DISCIPLINE down to RESILIENCE.  The least that's expected from us is to increase our own awareness that SUCCESS is NOT their monopoly.  We have the same fair chance, albeit it's a long shot.  BUT can we aim for that SHOT dude😁😁😁