What Steph Curry can teach us about
Greatness
As seen on Everydaypowerblog.com
The sensations. The inspiration. The
phenomenon known as Stephen Curry is here and its very real. The rumors of him
making 70+ three pointers in a row in practice. Making Impossible shots. Even
scoring with his eyes closed while being covered by two defenders. What he has
produced in a few short years is nothing short of great. Since he is a walking,
breathing, living legend. What can he himself teach us about greatness?
Let’s look at his back story first.
Although his father played for 16 years in the NBA. Stephs natural ability was
over shadowed by his stature for years. Although he could produce. Top schools
never called to recruit him because he simply didn’t fit the status quo “size”
of a typical player. This leads us to the first of our Steph tips to
greatness.
1. You can defy the odds.
The
NBA was founded on June 6, 1946. The gates to enter this organization are
guarded very closely. Guarded by regulations, standards, and expectations from
the organization and diehard fans. Mr. Curry shows how companies and people can
be prisoners to their own perspectives and biases. People constantly judge what
they think you can do by how you look. They are kept from recognizing
uniqueness because their trained prejudice or “expertise” won’t allow their
minds to wonder outside the criteria box that the system has taught them to
look from.
What I’ve personally taken from Mr. Curry
is that you are the exception to the rule. You can in a sense, defy their
gravity. You are good enough. It may take some tweaking and expanding to get
better. But YOU ARE meant for your calling. Give it time and you’ll fill out.
Because although he was short and scrawny. In one year Steph curry exploded to
6’3”. At that point he not only looked the part. But what he did behind the
scenes helped him surpass their expectations. Those shadow moments served as a
platform for Mr. Curry to build himself in the dark. Steph tip number two
addresses these moments.
2. Recreate Yourself
Although Steph was hurt by the constant
rejection. His remedy was to make his skill so outstanding that how he looked
wouldn’t even matter. So he decided to tear himself down and start from
scratch. In his junior year Mr. Curry still shot from his waist to gain extra
strength to make his shots. But to go the next level he needed to shoot
properly with his arms and elbows. This meant abandoning the shot that got him
to star status amongst the high school elites. He understood this. To
achieve greatness. Change is a necessity and not a luxury. He did it at a
high cost. There were times he couldn’t make a shot for a while. Moments where
his brother saw him outside crying because he felt so discouraged. But Steph
persisted. Let’s fast forward to now.
Stephen Curry is the standard for amazing. He is undoubtedly the best
sharpshooter of this generation and arguably of all time.
Here’s the question. Are you willing to
totally reconstruct yourself? To be great, cosmetics won’t work. Simple
makeovers disqualify you. Stephen shows us that digging deep, tearing it all
down and doing the foundation work is necessary to qualify one for that upper
echelon success in your chosen craft.
What does this mean for you? Your
mentality has to be assessed and challenged. Your attitudes must be addressed.
Any part of your being that is programmed against success has to be uprooted.
Even if that particular thing has served you relatively well. Remember the
biggest enemy of great is not bad things. But its good things.
3. Handling Injuries.
There’s a point in everyone’s life where
weaknesses are exposed. Failures and fears creep in. The point where you are
hurting and can’t do anything at all but sit and heal. We are talking about
injuries, and Mr. Steph Curry has had his share. Known for his paper thin
ankles. He has been on the injured list quite a bit. These kind of injuries can
take a toll on your confidence and ability to perform. Imagine sitting in a
chair. And every time you sat in this particular chair it broke. You would not
trust it. It’s the same thing with injuries to the body in this sport.
Everything is about form and position. And trust me ankles play a major part in
a shooters ability to keep form, create, and make shots. Steph has had these
injuries and has come back from them as if they never happened. He carries
himself with such confidence as if he’s not in the least bit concerned with it
happening again.
How’s does this correlate to our lives?
Well, we all get injured. Some with sicknesses, loved ones suffering, death of
a loved one, broken promises and relationships, business failures, etc. Your
ability to handle the injuries effectively makes the difference between you
being successful and you being forgotten.
4. Stand by what you believe in.
In today’s society people are afraid of
their own shadows. Thanks to CNN (Constant Negative News). The irony is, we
live in a “free country” with “free speech.” But the price of freedom of speech
is public backlash and ridicule. It seems like people study on how to negate
and twist everything you say. Like who goes around looking to be offended. But
since there is so many fearful people. Bold people like you, myself, and Steph
Curry stand out like a pig on an alligator farm.
Some athletes wear their lucky socks.
Michael Jordan wore his college team shorts underneath his Chicago bulls
uniform. Steph Curry wrote his favorite scripture (Philippians 4:13) on all of
his shoes before each game. This is very bold. Considering how society does a
lot to censor and shun religious beliefs. This has served Mr. Curry in a major
way because now he doesn’t have to write it on his shoes anymore.
Companies began to see his growing
popularity and wanted him to market their products. So as expected the leading
sports apparel companies did. Nike was a go to bring him aboard. Steph only had
one request. “I want my favorite scripture on the shoes.” Nike said no and gave him a slap in the face
offer of 2.5 million per year. But when you know what you stand for there’s no
compromise. Stephen walked out on the deal. Under armor offered four million
and accepted his request. Nike didn’t see fit to match the offer. So he went
with the company that supported his values. Now it’s rumored that under armor’s
decision by 2024 is set to be worth 14 billion dollars.
“If you stand for nothing you’ll fall for
anything.” Malcolm X
Knowing who you are and what you stand for
is critical to success. Without it you will never be successful. You will never
be fixed on your direction. And other people and their criteria’s will define
you. Simply because you haven’t defined yourself. So as I reinforce this
statement, please understand. Nature permits no holes or empty space. Whatever
has no definition will be defined by you or someone else.
In closing, Steph Curry is amazing. Not
only serving as an NBA champion. But also as a real world role model. He has
defied the odds. Recreates himself constantly especially after devastating
injuries. To top it all off he stands for something. Leaving the blueprint as
he exemplifies true success.
Thanks for reading,
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