Once my mother told me she wanted me to be the best that I could be at whatever it was I decided to do.
She said she would support me, as long as I was committed in my endeavors.
Indeed, my mother gives pretty good advice, so I assumed that's what I would do.
However, I quickly learned that sometimes my best wasn't good enough, and settling for my best without pushing myself to greater heights was actually a character flaw.
Being the best that you are capable of is actually a copout.
Sometimes you have to be better than everyone else's best to succeed, to win, and to achieve victory.
It doesn't matter if it is a sport, politics, military operation, business, or just being the best in providing for your family.
If you really want to succeed at what you're doing, you have to push yourself beyond what you think you're capable of, or any limitations that you may have been told, come to believe about yourself, or assumed.
Sometimes you have to look at whoever is the best, go after their best score, and better their best efforts.
There's nothing wrong with winning, there's nothing wrong with being number one, and there's nothing wrong with victory.
Trust me I know.
In my younger days I ran track and I was a miler.
I wasn't the best in the league, well yes I was, but I wasn't the best in all of CIF which is Southern California's high school championship contest.
However, I surely wanted to be.
I remember in one of the semi finals leading up to CIF my coach told me; "just go out and do the best you can.
" Unfortunately, the best I could wasn't enough to win.
I knew it, he knew it, and the stats and my previous performance seem to prove it with empirical evidence.
Nevertheless, there is something that goes beyond the data and the facts, and that is your will to win, your boldness and competitive spirit, and the strength of character to get back up when knocked down, and to never give up.
Yes, I pushed myself harder than I ever thought possible, I went beyond my genetic ability, my coaches expectations, and even my own.
But what happens when you keep beating expectations is you keep raising the bar, eventually you realize that nothing is impossible.
Trust me when I tell you this; being the best you can be is a copout.
If your best isn't good enough, then start thinking about doing better than everyone else.
Find strength in perseverance and go after the competition.
It's all about winning.
It is a very important attribute, you should embrace it, run towards it, and never run away or turn your back on it.
I hope you will please consider all this and think on it, because these words have come at an incredible sacrifice and through much personal challenge.
Trust me - I know what I'm talking about.