As I am sure you are now aware, the Milwaukee Bucks won the 2021 NBA Championship. What makes this achievement noteworthy, besides Giannis Antetokounmpo’s amazing performance, is that the last time the Bucks won a championship was in 1971. That’s 50 years, a half-century, 5 decades, 18,250 days. Any way you write it, it is a long time coming.
What we can learn from the Bucks feat is that if you stay committed and focused on your goal and work hard, good things will come your way. Of course, there will be setbacks, and it may take longer than you initially planned. Ask the Bucks, but yet, here they are champions once again.
Now not everyone can be THEE champion, but that isn’t always the most important thing. When I was younger, I was a motocross racer; I loved everything about it, the bikes, the sounds, the smells, the competition, the excitement, the risk involved, all of it. Well…maybe not exactly all of it. One season there was this other rider. I can’t remember his first name, but I’m pretty sure his last name was Juba, as I saw it on the back of his jersey more times than I care to remember. I could NEVER beat this guy (unless he fell off or broke down); it became a bit of an obsession for me to beat him, if just once.
I watched him ride at every opportunity. During practice, I would always try to follow him to learn his braking points, his corner entrance and exit speeds, how far he would clear a jump, the lines he would take. Anything I could glean that would benefit me, along with my own hours of practicing. As the season moved on, I took what I learned and steadily got closer and closer. When the season had finally ended, I still had not beat Juba…not even once. The following season he moved on to another race class, and we would never compete against each other again.
Now I know what you are thinking; that doesn’t seem like much of a success story. At first glance, it may not appear to be one, as my total dedication to one goal had not been realized. But, what was achieved is more important than one race win. From this experience, I became a better rider, and the following season was more successful than any prior. I also learned patience and respect. So if you do experience initial setbacks, keep going, find ways to learn from them, and try new techniques and ideas. In the end, you may not be the champion of the world, but being the best you can be is true success in itself…
So, no matter what your passion may be; a sport, business, art, music, crafts, writing…stick with it, create, grow and expand, who knows maybe one day you too will be a champion. And hopefully, it won’t take 50 years!
In the words of Samuel Beckett – “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
– Charles Arjavac, Marketing Manager
Shachihata Xstamper 