2014

"Fall seven times. Stand up eight."
-Japanese Proverb


I think one good personality trait is to look at the past and be able to admit when you were wrong about certain things. For example, one regret I have about the Blog is that I oftentimes disliked certain individuals, and subsequently ripped entire families for their unethical political manipulations. Then later, I would think about certain individuals I liked within those families. (And believe it or not, there were many). Some of those friendships may never be replaced, and that's my doing. But what's done is done, and we all have to live with the consequences of our actions. 

How many times growing up, did we hear, "so and so" made this team or that team because of who their father was? Usually they were the kid sitting on the end of the bench, waiting for the score to get out of hand, so the coach would find the courage to get them into the game. My response to the slighted in these scenarios is always, "If you would have been on the end of the bench, you really didn't work hard enough in the off-season to make the team anyway." Because, I'll tell you what, if you're one of the top three players on a team, you won't have to worry about getting cut. No coach in their right mind would let go of a difference maker. 

Having said that, I wish sometimes I would have followed my own advice in this regard. Instead of complaining about not getting this job or that job, or even an interview, maybe I should have simply tried harder to become the difference maker. Hindsight is 20/20. Although a few of the politically connected may have benefited from being such, I probably let my frustrations get the better of me. But I have a feeling 2014 is going to be a year to remember. I do not believe in revenge and I do not waste time making predictions. I've seen too many people seek revenge and fall flat on their faces. Eddie Vetter said, "The best revenge is to live on and prove yourself." Most of the people I wrote about our irrelevant, anyway. They're the ones sitting on the edge of the bench waiting to get in the game in mop up time. They had an opportunity to achieve greatness, and instead settled for mediocrity. The mistake I made was being a little too impatient. When opportunity knocks, a true leader lets him in. All I can say is I have a feeling that 2014 is going to be a memorable one. The stage is set. I have to go. I hear someone knocking on the door...