"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

Failure is an inevitable event that happens to the best of us. Keep in mind we're human and we make mistakes. Some accept the result and others vow to change it. MJ is a great ex; getting cut from his Varsity tryout as a hs soph, he vowed never to feel the pain of failure; he said the pain hurt so much that it motivated him so that he would never have to feel it ever again. Charles Barkley added once, "If you're afraid to fail, you dont deserve to be successful." I heard once, it's not whether you failed or not but whether you're content with that failure. Go hard and keep on pushing, in anything, school, athletics, life, relationships, family, work, etc. Never let up, don't give an inch. PLus, remember the last time you, in this case for basketball, lost a game and use that as a motivator. Come back twice as hard, stick with it.



Like the Dr. Seuss title, don't cry, be glad that you experienced this moment; it teaches you to work harder, develop a positive attitude, not one that sulks because things didn't turn out the way you wanted them to. You need a strong, positive mindset and view challenges as opportunities in disguise, as I once read before from someone. Failure, challenges, obstacles make you better. It comes down to how bad you truly want and desire it. A friend of mine at AU was upset during the beginning of a semester because his schedule was a complete mess and he fell behind as a result. I told him, sometimes, people just have to work harder than others. Same goal, just different amounts of effort, focus, preparation, desire, etc. Attaining that grade is possible, just ask yourself how bad do I want it? I usually think back to classes which I did poorly in and promise myself, I will never let this happen again; anything in life. One Jordan's comebacks, which I found most amazing, is his dedication to never let failure drag him down. MJ, during the playoffs vs ORL when he came back from retirement, made a mistake, turned ball over and CHI lost the series.
MJ made a promise to himself that this can never happen again and the next season, CHI had 72-10, the best team record ever. Also, in hs, he said getting cut from the team left a pain so deep in him that he never wanted to feel again. You need to approach things with mindsets like this: be accountable, learn from mistakes and ask yourself, how bad do I want it? Will I let this happen again? Be accountable and honest, never let failure stand in your way again.

MJ's known for, "I can accept failure but I can't accept not trying." I remember a video, where his mother said once it seems too hard, at that moment where you just want to give up, remeber to just give that much more effort and things will turn around and if not, say I can walk away once I have given it my best. I stop when I know I have no more to give. Keep pushing and you'll find something within you, that you didn't know was ever there.
















There are defeats more triumphant than victories. ~Michel de Montaigne


At times, with school, athletics, relationships, family, jobs, etc, I think if I hadn't failed, I would be totally different, oblivious to many things in life. I wouldn't push my self and wouldn't work hard at anything, just letting life pass me by. Challenges and failures taught me more about myself.

The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed. ~Lloyd Jones


To sum it up, life, basketball, relationships, family, work,

Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald