While in the village of Ihie in Nigeria visiting family for the holidays, I had several priorities.  The first was to relax and enjoy my family, the second was to prepare for my upcoming chieftaincy coronation and the third was to teach my 10 old year nephew about the joys of training with regards to preparation for sport.

My nephew is a basketball player with a dream of playing in the NBA.  Our regimen four times a week was to go for a run in the morning with a very structured but important warmup beforehand.  Depending on what day it was, there was usually a series of sprints that followed the run.  After the cardio stuff, we would finish off with various calisthenics including a predetermined number of basketball shots.  

I really wanted to see if this was a kid just doing some wishful thinking or if he was someone willing to put some action behind his dreams.  So I pushed him hard on the runs just to see what kind of attitude he had. I knew that he was in a state of discomfort.  Would he just quit and walk, would he get angry and give up on his goals, or would he decide to fight for what he says he wants.

Well, I saw many different personalities come out.  Although my nephew impressed me tremendously at the beginning of the first week, I realized that when the pressure came, he started to back off.  While it is reasonable to expect a young person to exaggerate different signs of fatigue in order to show that he is trying, I really knew that he had so much more in him.  Through my extensive experiences from a career in sports, I have learned to read emotions very well.  In addition to this, he was always able to finish off with a strong sprint at the end.  So I was positive that he was saving way too much energy, which could become a detrimental habit to achieving his dreams.

There were little victories throughout the rest of the week, involving technique, mindset and overall grit, but my nephew totally shocked me on the Tuesday of the third week when he performed with the intention of beating me.  The result was that he ran the best 25 minutes I have ever seen him run.  I could tell he was in extreme physical discomfort but here is what I think made a significant difference. He realized that he could perform even when when he was tired; that he had to focus on what he wanted rather than on the obstacles; that he could amaze himself if he could push past his fear.  

My hope was that my nephew would realize that getting what he wants does not come for free.  There is a price to pay and regardless of age, that price has to be paid with dedication and sweat.  I cannot fully express the pride I felt as an uncle seeing my nephew mature and show dedication beyond his years.  I now fully believe in his dream and have confidence that he has demonstrated the kind of attitude necessary in order to become someone great.

It is January 2009.  What do you need to do to step it up?  Are you willing to sweat for your dreams?  It doesn’t matter what your dream is.  There are some things that will be uncomfortable as you push closer towards achieving your goals.  Are you saving too much energy anticipating a strong sprint at the end? Doing so may compromise your performance in the present.  Are fears of pain and discomfort holding you back?  Figure out what those fears are and face them.  Understand that real growth usually comes when we put ourselves in the struggle.

We can have anything we want but most people don’t know what they want. Not even an idea. Imagine making a decision to go on a trip but not having the slightest idea of where you’re going. We have millions of people virtually willing to do anything to get onto our shores just to have the opportunities that we have. But the reality is that millions of us grow up in this society and never utilize the opportunities given to us. The majority of people will spend more time planning their weekend party than planning their career. More people will spend more time planning their christmas vacation than they do planning their entire lives.

Do you have a clear specific plan for your life and know where you’re going to be in 1,2,3,4,5 years? Do you know by how much you want to increase your income by 10,20,30 percent over the next 1-5 years? What job have you decided you want in the next 1-5 years?

Have you ever tried to hit a bullseye on a target that you can’t see. It’s very difficult. In the same way if you don’t know what your life or job looks like how will you recognize it, how will you prepare yourself for it.

I’d like to offer a very simple remedy. Sit down and write everything down that you would like to achieve in the next 5 years. Your health goals, your income goals, your material goals, home, car, travel, clothes.

Tomorrow we will discuss the what to do next after you write down what you want to achieve in the major areas of your life.

Remember to “Energize” today.
Nick