Ever have those nights where you just can’t sleep? Every so often I will have a night just like that. I may be completely wiped out, but nothing helps me drift off until deep into the night. It doesn’t happen often. But it happens.

I am having one of those nights.

My brain works in a very interesting way. It never shuts off. And I’m not complimenting myself because believe me, sometimes I wish it did for a bit. My mind is constantly running with what’s next. How to grow my business, what to plan next, what will benefit my clients the most, what video idea can I implement, how can I separate myself from the crowd, how do I need to grow myself to improve as a person, and on and on. Now, most of the time, I am very thankful that I work this way as it helps me to be pretty productive. But it also has some negative side effects. One of those being that every now and again, it won’t let me sleep!

So here I am, during that hour that you are really only awake for a handful of reasons (you start work quite early, you are just arriving home after a late night out, and I mean the type of late that is pretty much completely unproductive, or, you can’t sleep). I’m even posting this the next day so you don’t know how late it is. Believe me, you don’t want to know. And here I am, suddenly wide awake, accepting that I’ve entered the zone where it will be some time before I drift off, doing what I do best…. thinking.

I’m thinking about my favorite movie of all time. Space Jam? No, that’s a close 2nd. Kazaam? Uh, no. Shaq is funny, but not that funny. How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days? Not quite…

The Matrix. 

I have been fascinated by this movie ever since it came out in 1999. It’s pretty much got it all. It’s a thinking man’s movie, yet it changed the scope of special effects forever. Never seen The Matrix? Has it been a while? Did you see it once and just didn’t quite get it (believe me, don’t feel bad, you definitely need multiple viewings to get it completely)? No sweat. Before you read the rest of this post you must click here and watch this.
Quick recap… The human race ended up in a war with the “machines” that they created. The machines won. Since the machines got their energy from the sun, the humans last ditch effort to win was to black out the sky. They did this successfully. Unfortunately, the machines figured out a better energy source to keep themselves going. You and me.
Humans became the life source for the machine world. But in order to keep the humans alive and producing what they needed to survive, the machines created a computer program –The Matrix–. This program was a computer generated world that was just that, a computer program. Every human energy source was hooked into this program, simulating real life as you and I know it. Normalcy. You and I were simply a battery for the machine world, yet had no idea about it whatsoever, because our minds were tricked into thinking that we were living a normal, every day life. As Morpheus said in the clip, it was a “prison for your mind”. Scary thought when you put it in those terms. Yet…

How easily can you fall into this trap as a basketball player? So easily that you don’t even know it’s happening. That’s right. Gradual change is often the most effective form of change. A chipping away of sorts. Kind of like Andy from Shawshank Redemption chipped away at his escape tunnel for years and years, there are things that are chipping away at you, at this very moment, creating a prison for your mind, that has you on the path to not fulfilling your true potential as a player. Let’s call them enemies….

What are some of the enemies that are trying to make you a slave to mediocrity?
-Fear… Fear of faliure. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of embarrassment. Fear that you won’t be accepted. Fear that you won’t make the team. Fear that you will not live up to the pressure. Fear that you will fail in critical moments. Fear of being criticized. Fear that you simply don’t have what it takes. Ever heard any of these whispers in your ear? For some, this is motivation. For many other’s this becomes paralyzation. Fear grinds you to a halt. It chips away day by day, cutting into your workouts. Eating at your motivation. After all, avoiding all of these things altogether is a heck of a lot better than potentially going through them. Right…?

-Laziness… Ever feel like not working out? Good, you’re human. Now get your butt out there and make yourself better today. Laziness comes in many forms also, but it ends up in the same place. You not only end up NOT getting better, but you simultaneously end up getting worse as well. Laziness, tiredness and apathy can justify anything in the world to get you to stay on the couch today. And they can make it sound extremely appealing. Besides, you can get better tomorrow. Right…?

-Distractions… Now more than ever, you can be busy, occupied, doing stuff. You know the drill so I’m not going to waste my time telling you all the things that you already do. Ever had the intention of playing a video game for 30 minutes and it turned into 4 hours? Of course you have. Ever get online just to check a few things, and next thing you know two hours had vanished from your life because you made the not so wise choice to check facebook? Yep. Well it’s no big deal, so I got distracted for a bit, I’ll get to my workout later. Right…?

These, among many other things, are your enemy. They are dead set against you fulfilling your potential. They even work together as teammates in order to ensure that this doesn’t happen. THEY ARE YOUR ENEMIES AND YOU MUST RECOGNIZE THIS. Listen to Morpheus once again by clicking here. The enemies are everywhere, especially the distractions (did you see it). Feeling hopeless in your fight against them? You shouldn’t and here’s why…

Remember back in the first Matrix scene you watched, Morpheus presented Neo with a choice. He could take the blue pill, be re-inserted back into the Matrix like nothing ever happened, and continue to be controlled. Or he could take the rep pill and begin to fight the enemy and break free. You now have that same choice. IT IS ALWAYS IN YOUR POWER TO CHOOSE.

The power of choice is the most precious and taken for granted gift that we have. When these enemies consipire against you, it is your choice whether or not to fight them. Whether or not to accept them. Whether or not to believe them. The only voice that truly matters is your own. Who cares if someone tells you that you’re not good enough. Work harder and prove them wrong. Their voice does not matter unless you allow it to matter. It is your choice.

Reality is what you make it. Make it YOUR reality. You decide to be the best player you can be. You decide to maximize your ability. You decide what your reality is. Are these enemies real? Is fear real? That depends on your mindset. Is the spoon real? Click here to find out how Neo discovers that it isn\’t.

Make no mistake, these enemies are coming for you. They want you to sit on the couch. They want you keep playing xbox. They want you to have 1,000 friends on facebook. They want you scared to fail. They want you to use excuses. They desperately want you to care about what other people think of you. They want to exhaust your mind.

They don’t want you to bend the spoon. They don’t want you to bend your mind.

What will you do? What will you choose? What type of player will you be? Who will you become? It is up to nobody but yourself.

But how? It’s everywhere?

You are correct. It’s takes practice, a ferocious passion, and skill. But the simplest thing it takes? Action. Listen to Morpheus one more time for your final instructions.

“You have to let it all go. Fear. Doubt. Disbelief. Free. Your. Mind”

Who knows, you may become so powerful that you exceed what you thought was possible…

Bullets

And then, you might get even better…

More bullets

Choose wisely.

I gotta get some sleep.

bt