It's your turn

So what do you do when it’s your turn? I was asked this question by one of my friends (Bird Dog) and it has kinda stuck with me. What do you do when it’s your turn? How often in life have we yearned for the opportunity to show off our skills, to have that chance to let the world know who we are and what we are about? And then when that moment arrives, what do you do? Do you take advantage of that brief instance and show the world that you too can fly or do you whither under the pressure, letting the spot light steal your shine. Wanting an opportunity and being prepared for it are two totally different things.

I remember when I was a child and all I wanted or could think of was being a professional football player (this came after I wanted to be a tap dancer, cab driver, and heart surgeon lol Oh the dreams of a child). I desperately wanted to go to the NFL and be amongst some of the greatest athletes on the planet, having the opportunity to place my talents against theirs and see who the best was. Me being a sports fanatic, I watched a lot of ESPN and one thing that I always noticed was how horrible the pre/post game interviews were. It sounded as if these athletes were speaking to a person for the first time, always fumbling over their words and making cliché comments. I don’t know why it rubbed me the wrong way but it did, to see athletes, more specifically black athletes get in front of a microphone and speak as if they were in the third grade really pissed me off. So since I knew that one day that would be me in front of the microphone, giving a pre/post game interview I began to practice in the shower. Yep, you can ask my mother lol I used to be in the shower acting as if I had just won a championship or suffered a tough loss, I would practice speaking clearly and putting my thoughts in order to insure that I did not sound like some of those guys I was watching on T.V. Going to the NFL was my dream and I worked very hard to get there and all though I came up short I was still prepared for the moment, if it was ever going to be my time to shine I made sure that I was ready.

When I think of that question, what do you do when it’s your turn? The answer has to be two fold, when it’s your time to shine you have to do just that, shine, you have to let go of all doubt and any insecurities, this is “your” time. But before this “time” comes you must prepare for it, you have to be willing to accept your dream as a reality and live as though it is real. Those moments of preparation are invaluable and you do yourself and your dream a disservice if you are not willing to put in the work. To this day I still maintain those practices of a child living out his dream, even now I act out scenes that take place in big board room meetings, or acceptance speeches given for exceptional work in this arena or that, visualizing my name at the bottom of articles I read in GQ, ESPN The Magazine, Sports Illustrated and countless others. So, what do you do when it’s your turn? Well if you’re me, you show off and show out because you have been preparing for this moment your entire life.