Do you deserve success?

“If you haven’t made the sacrifices necessary to reach the level of success you’re trying to achieve, you have no one to blame but yourself. The only way to get what you want is to be worthy of receiving it.” Ayodeji Awosika

Michael Jordan

Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, NC where he highlighted his athletic career by playing basketball, baseball, and football. He tried out for the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year, but at 5’11” (1.80 m), he was cut from the team, deemed too short to play at that level.

Moving back to the JV team he did not give up. He was always to the first to practice and the last to leave. While he lack a few inches in height, he more than made up for it in heart and discipline.

In college people saw he was talented, but no one saw his true greatness

He was picked third in the NBA draft

He exploded on the NBA scene, but only after constantly practicing for a decade

Lenny Cooke –

He was the number one ranked high school basketball player in the country, even ranked higher than Lebron James

At 6’6″ – 206 pounds Lenny had potential to become great

Scouts marveled as his natural ability and feel for the game

But Lenny had one problem he was not disciplined.

He assumed because he was gifted he did not have to work hard.

He felt entitled a top draft pick.

When he turned 19 in 2001, he was academically ineligible to play according to high school athletics’ rules

In his off time he was not disciplined to his sport and did not put in the effort practicing.

Draft time came and Lenny was not called.

He ended playing overseas for the Philippine Basketball Association for the Purefoods TJ Hotdogs, followed by a stint with the Shanghai Dongfang Sharks but ended up washed out.

At the end of a documentary about him he was sitting on a couch, overweight, unemployed watching an NBA game He even said Lebron James is his favorite player.

It shows you can have all the talent in the world but it will go to waste is you don’t build on it.