I say live strongER

I want to be the best.

In college, I had a professor give me one of the greatest quotes I've ever heard in person, "Greatness comes from the sacrifices of those who strive to be perfect."

In the Bible, the book of Matthew tells us, "Be perfect, even as your Lord in Heaven is perfect."

Obviously, stuff like this motivates me in different ways, depending on what role I'm playing that very moment, as a journalist, coach, etc., but believe it or not, there are people out there who don't want to be at the top. Some people are just find coasting in the middle of the pack, being good enough.

That doesn't work for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the best at anything I do. Trust me, I'm the first to admit that. It doesn't mean that I have to like it, though, and it will never stop me from wanting to get there.

I'm better for wanting to be the best. The key there is those two letters, the ER. I was thinking yesterday, I need to put a little more ER into my life. I was heading to the gym, and I looked down at my Livestrong rubber band. Livestrong is a great campaign, through NIKE and Lance Armstrong, and the amount of money they've raised has made a difference, I have no doubt.


But then I start to wonder about the concept. You wear this band around your wrist to remind you to live strong everyday, but why stop there? I want to live STRONGER.

Tell me to be good, and I'll be better.

Tell me to be hungry, I'll be hungrier.

Tell me to work hard, I'll work harder.

This is the fundamental attitude of success. Strive to outdo the expectations, strive to outdo the competition, and strive to outdo yourself. Some people don't like this attitude you say? Well I've learned that other people's opinions don't add up to a lot, and you can't let them slow you down. I'm guilty of that. But if you truly do live in your own reality, all that noise will be too far down to hear from your seat on top.

A few quick thoughts...
- I really am tired of being a jobber. What's a jobber? A jobber is someone who is built up minimally and paid to lose to those who are viewed as higher up on the card. This term absolutely may be translated into the world of television. I've been jobbed out so much the past couple years, I forget what it feels like to win every once in a while. One would think that commitment, work ethic, and putting out a good product on a consistent basis would move you up the card, up the depth chart a bit, but that's not always the case, because at some point, someone has to put you over. Usually that either comes from management or the willingness of an older, more established "star". Let's just ask, which one of those things is LESS likely to happen?

- I did not enter a Finals prediction, but I think that the Thunder is the hot team, and they have home court advantage. Taking game 1 was huge, but not a clincher. A win over the Heat tonight though, and it might just bring the big trophy to OKC. Neither team matches up well with the other though, so I expect a high-scoring series with some good games. I think that's what most basketball fans want anyway.

- We all have letdowns and get bad news. It sucks. Keep fighting. When you're lost in a maze and you run into a dead end, you can either sit in the corner and cry about it, or backtrack and take a new route. Think about it.

- Always stand up for yourself. No matter what position you are in, don't let anyone talk down to you, play you, patronize you, or intimidate you. Remember, you're very good at what you do too, even if this person doesn't see you in that same light. You'd be surprised, too, at the type of person that does that kind of thing. Bullying is a problem in the adult world too. Don't let yourself be a victim. Trust you work ethic and ability, and fight back.

Well, as always thanks for reading and sharing this post. Remember to follow me on twitter and to live in your own reality. And lastly, remember to live STONGER every single day, stronger than yesterday, stronger than anyone else.

-- Travis

Striving for perfection

In the Bible, Matthew 5 verse 48 reads, "Be perfect, even as your Lord in Heaven is perfect." To me, that's one of the most motivational verses I have ever memorized. Of course, the Bible goes on to teach that there's no such thing is perfect, and I agree with that. There's always a way you can be/do something better.

That leads me to the second quote I'll include in this post, it's from a professor I had at Radford who told me, "Greatness comes from the sacrifices of those who strive to be perfect." He didn't think much of it when he said it, but I literally typed it up and printed it as soon as he said it, and talked to him about it after class.

I remember having successful games in my playing career, and people would come up and say, "wow you scored such and such points, and you didn't have a turnover, and blah blah blah." It's a great feeling to earn that praise, but when someone asked me how I though my game or practice went, I'd always start off with my biggest weakness or my team's biggest weakness and what I can do to improve it. To me, that's striving to be perfect.

Through this constant commitment, you stay modest and grounded and real with yourself, but you also should gain confidence in yourself as well. You will never be a perfect shooter making everything dead on, and trust me I've put up millions maybe even billions of shots in my life so far trying, but through all those shots, I became a better shooter, and learned to have confidence that if I was asked to take a certain shot, I have a pretty good chance of making it.

I know there are people who disagree with this philosophy, but for me, at the gym working out tonight, the thought that I have to be perfect made me work that much harder and get that much better, and I'll take it.

I tried a Met RX cookies and cream protein bar tonight, and I'll admit I was a little disappointed. I'm not huge on protein bars and stuff, but I'll grab one on occasion, and right now, my top two are Power Bar Bites and Wheaties Fuel Bars.

Every time I hear 3 Doors Down "When you're young", the chorus of the song seems to apply to my television career right now:

You give what you give 'cuz they make you,
Trapped inside a place that won't take you.
They want you to be what they make you.
It's already over and done, when you're young.

3 Doors Down is a solid band, and they're one of those bands that always have had songs that seem to speak to me, so I can appreciate that.

Good news, my left knee and right ankle are almost pain free. I am almost able to fully leave the ground on a jumper/rebound/finish without pain. Hopefully when I work out tomorrow, I can test out my wheels for real.

Well that's it for tonight. The way I look at tomorrow, it has to be a good day, and I have to be the one to make it that way.

-- TP