last night I found an old note I kept when I was 16 and reading it completely shattered me 9 years ago I wrote If you don't make it by 18 your life is over if only I could go back in time slap that kid across the face and tell him to stop doing things to himself and just enjoy his childhood I would have done it I'm 25 now but let me tell you something they don't teach you anything in school you know those years between 15 and 18 they aren't your Peak don't be shocked they
really aren't your Peak there your preparation unfortunately I learned that the hard way but before we continue let me tell you this if you're sitting with your family put your headphones on because at the end of this video I'm going to say something from the heart that they shouldn't hear it was 5:00 a.m. in the middle of a freezing 2016 winter while everyone else was asleep I was in the basketball court with nothing but the echo of my ball in my footsteps I was literally alone my fingers numb from the cold as I practiced the
same shot for the 5,000th time the street lights were my only company my friends were posting pictures on Instagram showing off how much fun they were having but I was convinced I was different special the kid who was going to make it part of that elusive 1% you're obsessed my mom would say as she handed me my chilled dinner in the middle of the night and she was right when you're 16 and convinced you've got life all figured out everyone else just sounds like background noise I still remember those tryouts for the club I loved
5 years of Relentless training thousands of hours of practice countless missed parties and family events all for the coach to say kid you're 5' 7 Ines tall we're looking for someone taller than that at that moment I just listened wishing the ground would split open and swallow me from the crushing disappointment it all flashed by the regrets over every wasted moment and every time I failed to balance chasing what I loved with actually enjoying life I Disappeared for 3 months holed up in my room or let's call it my personal cave gaming became my new
life I spent at least 18 hours a day playing se's go in Minecraft height didn't matter failure didn't exist I could be anyone I wanted to be but life threw a curveball that even a million hours of gaming couldn't fix that Thursday changed everything my dad suddenly got sick and suffered a heart attack without warning I was deep into a Seas go tournament when my mom called once twice three times I ignored her was too focused on the game and did not want any distractions but the moment I answered the doctor said if you'd come
come here just 1 hour earlier you might have been able to say goodbye to him you know what's crazy when you're 16 you think missing that party is the end of the world at 18 you believe that not making that team is the end but when you hit 25 you realize none of those were the end they were just the beginning these days my life looks nothing like the 16-year-old me imagined that kid would probably be disappointed there's no NBA contract no earnings from tournaments instead I'm trying to help people fix their lives so they
don't make the same mistak akes I talk to kids in schools helping those who are in the same place I once was the plot twist I'm actually happy happier than that ambitious 16-year-old could have ever imagined because I found something better than success I found purpose listen if you're 15 16 17 or 18 right now I want you to understand something the moment you're in now when it feels like everything the depression the pressure and the fear of failure is suffocating I know because I've been there your life isn't eras some magical Finish Line at
18 it's not about proving everyone wrong when you turn 20 it's about finding your own path even if that path looks nothing like what you imagined I still go to that basketball court I used to train on not to chase NBA dreams but to have fun and remind myself that what we want isn't always best for us and that every stage in our lives leads to another that can be even better than we expected and to that basketball coach who told me I'd never amount anything you were right about basketball but you were wrong about
everything else because sometimes not getting what you want leads you exactly where you need to be and to everyone who's ever let me down or brought you down in life I have just one word for you you
