The Football Player;
Years ago, me and a few other content creators were planning on living in a gaming house in LA.
It was supposed to be all expenses paid by sponsors at the time, so for a small streamer like me it was the opportunity of a lifetime.
Then, one day, I went to the gym.
My dad had told a few of his friends about it (all in their 60s), and upon seeing one of them, Dan, he told me we needed to talk.
He sat me down and congratulated me, acknowledging how big of a deal it was,
Then he told me a story.
“I used to have a friend, a guy I had met in college.
This man had it all, looks, intelligence, and he was even a promising football player.
His entire life was dedicated to football. Hours of practice a day, every day, for years.
He was so talented that he even got scouted by NFL teams.
But there was one issue,
He was Canadian, playing for a Canadian college, and he was in a relationship.
Being offered to sign with an NFL team was what he had been dreaming of for years, but to do so would force him and his girlfriend to go long distance, and he didn’t think it would last if that happened.
So, he did what any lovestruck person would do,
And he prioritized her over his career, turning down the opportunity to make it into the big leagues.
A few years later he and his girlfriend broke up.
What’s he doing nowadays?
Now he’s in his 60s, living alone in a small apartment, and working a job he’s hated for the last 30 years.”
I remember hearing that story, and staring at Dan with a glazed over look in my eyes, not fully understanding what he was getting at.
“You don’t get it. Do you, son?”
I shook my head.
“What you’re chasing after is greatness.
You’re dedicating thousands of hours, years of your life for this.
You’re willing to move countries to give your everything for this goal, for this dream.
Never let anything or anyone come between you and that.
At the end of the day,
Friends will come and go,
Women will come and go,
Money will come and go.
But what will always stay will be that dream.
When you’re old like me, you won’t remember the friends who left when things got rough.
You won’t remember the women who were only around because you were the talk of the town.
And you won’t remember the thousands of dollars you had to spend to get where you are.
What you will remember, are the things that are permanent.
And there are only a few things that, at your age, you can be sure that are permanent;
The achievements that you’ve made.
The goals that you’ve accomplished.
And the impression that you left on all those that knew your story and watched it unfold.”
When chasing Greatness, what makes the Greats Great, isn’t that they were the most talented, or that they were the best at what they did.
What makes them Great is that they were willing to undergo the Greatest sacrifices to make it to the top.
So what’s the greatest service you could ever do for your future self?
While you sit there and see the people your age chase girls, chase money, or chase acceptance,
You decide instead to chase your dreams.
To develop your passions.
And to take steps every day to become the person you wish you were.
@JChickenWang i was waiting for halloween rein skin to come out for ow1 cuz i missed it last year, cant get it without real money the bastards are trying me rn