What’s up guys?? Do you think it’s time to build an arc or is this rain going to stop sometime soon?!?! Guns n Roses should’ve made a song called “October Rain”.  So you know that confidence is vital to your game and your life. The more confidence you have on the court (or in the classroom, etc), the better you will perform, there is no doubt about that. Confidence comes from hard work and building on your successes and your failures. People who succeed at the highest level also have the highest level of confidence in their abilities.

However, there is a fine line between being confident and being cocky and arrogant. Now, here’s the thing. When you’re on the court, a cocky swagger is definitely not a bad thing. I walk differently down the court than I do down the street. It’s more for me than for my opponent, it’s a mindset that I carry on the court. It helps me perform. You see it all the time. You see someone on the court and they’re just a killer, but off the court they might be the nicest person in the world. Here’s the point. How do you carry yourself off the court? Do you carry a healthy level of confidence or do you carry an unhealthy dose of arrogance? I have had plenty of slices of humble pie in my life, on and off the court. All well deserved I might add. I have found that being confident in your abilities, but being humble at the same time, takes some work and some practice. It’s worth working on. Let me give you an example…

Everybody knows how incredible LeBron James is as a basketball player. Nobody knows this more than LeBron himself. 2 time reigning MVP, all world player. His game has few weaknesses (although for the life of me I can’t figure out why he doesn’t have a post game at this point). In addition to his game, he has done well since he’s been in the public eye of staying out of trouble and being very well-liked by the public. If you asked most people, they respected his game, and even if they didn’t like him, it was probably only because they were a Celtics fan. But that all changed this summer. Once LeBron took the sporting public on his personal roller coaster, everyone suddenly had an opinion. For most, it was not positive. Why? Because he left the Cavs? No (at least not outside of Cleveland). It was because of the manner in which he went about it. Now there is no question it’s takes a large ego and sense of self to be that good and to have the spotlight shine so brightly upon you. But did he really need to have a one hour special focused solely on him? Did Bosh and Wade do that? Did he really need to not contact the Cavs until 9:01 to inform them of his “decision”? Did he really have to make such a production out of ultimately a simple process? Most people’s opinion at this point is clear… No. LeBron’s inflated sense of self got him into trouble. So many of the people that liked him now feel opposite, simply because he couldn’t stay humble. He has transformed himself into one of the most liked athletes and celebrities in the world to one of the most hated. Quite a transformation for someone who didn’t even commit a crime.

Confidence is extremely important to your game. It’s even more important to your life. But being humble? That is the “Heat” that will propel you further.

Agree? Disagree? Tell me your opinion on this topic….

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