In my world, I'm
not satisfied by participation awards.
So I recently
found out that I didn't make it to the second round of the Black Weblog Awards
for Best Writing In A Blog and Best Personal Blog. Which is fine because I was
doing a test run to see what I need to do to win either one come next year since
it's on my bucket list of things to do before 30. I'm sure by now that you've
realized I'm a firm believer in learning from my mistakes and failures en route
to becoming a better version of myself in anything that I do. This is definitely
no difference here when it comes to winning an award from this organization and
actually putting the leg work in to do so. That's essentially the essence of who
I am, a hard working individual.
But one thing that
I won't ever do is settle for mediocrity.
That brings me to
the conversation that I had about not advancing to the next round and not
getting the shot at winning. The first thing I was told was to not care about
the award because it's their lost and it's not a mark against me; citing
everything under the sun as to why I didn't win. First and foremost, I didn't
win and I don't make excuses for losing. The simple fact of the matter is that I
didn't make the next round and I effectively lost. Making excuses for not
winning or doing something has long since been removed from my way of thinking.
When I don't get something that I really want, I don't make excuses for why I
didn't get it, I make a way to go out and get it. That's the fundamental
difference between me and the next person: I wipe the blood and sweat from my
eyes, stand up straight and I go back out there for more.
Just remember that
the first step in defeat is admitting it, makes it easier to win the next go
round.
That leads me to
the next point that they tried to make: "at least you got to the table, most
people don't even make it that far". I followed that statement by asking them if
they believed in participation awards for kids, in which they replied with a yes
and that all kids should be recognized for their effort. That is something that
I firmly DON'T believe in. Competition is the life blood of this country,
without it how would you know what you're made of? How do you know what's
instilled deep within you to overcome some kind of odds? I don't believe in
participation awards because it's essentially saying "hey I saw you do
something, it was cool, but it wasn't the best. But hey you still did something,
good job tiger". See no, just no, I'm not here to be made a fool of because I
didn't do the best I could do. There's a difference between winning and just
being patted on the head and made to believe your best has a cap.
Now does that mean
I expect to win every single thing? No that's an absurd way of thinking, no one
can win every single thing in life. I know within myself when I gave it my every
ounce and I've succeeded and got what I wanted out of something. That's one of
the things about going all out and doing your best, sometimes you don't win and
with that you feel better than you won because you elevated yourself to a point
where you're happy with the results that you see. That's no different when it
comes to this blog, the levels in which I have my sights on is that of one of
the best and to own the lane that I'm in.
You don't achieve
success by merely making it to the table, you achieve it by actually
making yourself better than you ever thought you could.
So to all of those
people who feel as though that they're only good enough to make it to the table
and then go home with a doggy bag while everyone has coffee and desert, don't
you're better than that. There are those people who believe in that kind of
stuff and those are actually the people that you need to stay away from because
they only believe that much of themselves. Those are the same toxic people that
I warn you about all of the time and those are the same people that will always
be there to hold you back from your true potential. Shed them now and succeed
beyond your wildest dreams; you can do this.
And to every black
blogger out there reading this right now, I just want you all to know that you
haven't seen anything yet. There is a method to the madness and my insanity will
soon reveal itself as a level of intellect that can only be admired and
respected by everyone across the board.
I believe that
much in myself, my abilities & my dreams; one day you will too.
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