And you can't help but be inspired by Jeremy Lin's story. From what I can gather, these are the elements that made up his success story:

He has faith, in himself and in God. It's not enough to just believe in yourself. You've got to also believe that your life is about something bigger than you. This keeps you grounded when times are good and keeps you going when times are bad. 

He kept improving. He's always been a great player with clear moments of greatness, but he was still "rough around the edges" (though, also grossly underestimated). So he kept pushing himself and improving - through the rejections and setbacks. He didn't allow his moments of greatness to cause him to be complacent. And he didn't allow the setbacks to deter his progress as a player.  

He focuses on one step at a time. From what I've observed, Jeremy Lin is working to not speculate about his future, but focusing on doing his best in the current task at hand. This kind of mentality is what keeps you performing consistently. You can't do this though until you truly believe in yourself and in your purpose. 

He was ready for the opportunity. Opportunities come. They come to all of us. Truth is, some of us aren't always in shape and ready to capitalize when the opportunity presents itself. Because Jeremy Lin kept working hard and kept improving, allowing his coaches to do what is necessary with him, he was prepared for the opportunity that propelled him. Your opportunity could come tomorrow, but will you be ready? Opportunities will always come. 

These are great examples/lessons we can take away so far from the rise of Jeremy Lin. I'm happy for him and I think his story will inspire and empower many around the country and the world. Perhaps all of this can be summed up in one statement that Jeremy Lin made to the press:

"I try to trust in God and whatever circumstances he puts me through, grow as a person," he said.

Trust God. Keep growing. That pretty much says it all. What do you think of Jeremy Lin? How does his story inspire you? Leave a comment!

So, just what do you risk facing when you decide to pursue what you really want in life? Well...

1. Facing new territory - this means having to learn new things or establish new relationships.
2. Facing rejections - when you're in building mode, you'll get a lot more no's then yes'.
3. Facing waiting periods - there will be periods of time when there's nothing to do, but wait. 
4. Facing setbacks - things you thought would work out, all of the sudden, don't.  

Now, you can either be excited in your new adventure or you can be worried. I'm convinced that worry is excitement's evil twin. But you can choose who you want to keep company with. Choose to be excited in all of the uncertainties and challenges ahead. Excitement will actually propel you. Worry...not so much.

All of the things above are a part of going after what you want. The ones that push through all of those things and overcome them are the ones that get what they want. Believe me, you will struggle. But, your success will be sweet. Believe me, not many will be with you or stay with you through your struggle. But, you'll find friends for life in those who do. I just recently saw a quote by Will Smith that was brilliant. He said, "If you're absent during my struggle, don't expect to be present during my success." 

My family used to wonder what the hell I was doing with my life. Now, they're not wondering so much anymore - they're proud. But even when they wondered about me and where I was going, they were there for me.  Then, there was a whole lot of people that I thought would support me, but didn't. Let me tell you something: You have to be convinced of your own dreams and desires. If you're not, people will talk you out of doing what needs to be done. They'll talk you out of the struggle and back into the comfort zone. Don't let them do it. 

If you don't pay your dues, you'll lose. No pain, no gain. The race isn't given to the swift or to the strong, but to the ones who endure. This is truth. Don't forget it. 

Let's bring it back to my original thought when I started writing this piece. The part of the struggle I wanted to talk about are the setbacks. They look like failures, but they're really not. They hurt like failures, but they're not. You know how people get thick skin? By enduring setbacks. Eventually, you get callous to them and you just push through them with ease. The guy who believes in himself despite what others are saying or what circumstances would indicate...that guy seems to always end up on top in the end. Be that guy (or gal). 

Setbacks aren't failures. Quitting is failure - that is the only failure. Don't forget that. All the greats endured setbacks. And through those setbacks, they improve or re-invent themselves and they get back in the fight. Like I said in a previous post, it's ok to take a break. But don't quit the fight. Get back into it. For every attempt, you'll always breakthrough to a new level. For each attempt, you'll always get further than where you were the last round. Considering that reality, success is inevitable. The only questions remaining are: "How long will it take? And, whether or not you'll keep trying until it's achieved?"

When people talk about the "overnight" success of something, they're referring to the trigger event that caused it to explode into mainstream consciousness. But, it took years of preparation and progress leading up to that trigger event. So, for you dreamers (and do-ers) out there, do not be discouraged. Keep moving and let one thing lead to another. Put one foot over the other. You'll find yourself looking back and wondering how you ever got so far. Sure, there are moments when you'll want to just pack up your bags and forget about trying to succeed. You'll want to say to yourself, "Success is just being happy, not results." But, I urge you...this is a cop out! Let the pressure and the unhappiness push you further in the pursuit of your dream, not take you away from your dream. 

If you need to take a vacation, take one. But never take a break from your dream. Be assured, that anyone who achieves anything has to face the inevitable grind, filled with unhappy moments, for many years before seeing success (or better said, achievement). And may be more don't succeed in achieving their dreams because they go on a break from their dreams...only to find themselves working for another dreamer, who never took a break from their dreams. 

Because of self-interest, people leave good legacies. Because of the self-interest of good people, society is better. Because of self-interest, people persist and thereby, succeed. I should say one balancing thing though: To keep your life meaningful, you just have to make sure that you think both short-term and long-term about your life and value family/friends above money and opportunities.

I think, a lot of times, caring too much about what people think is what keeps many of us back from achieving great things. Be yourself. Be different. And let the chips fall where they may. Becoming better at who you are is different from changing who you are! Truth is, when you stay consistent as who you are, timing and reality usually catches up to you.  The world moves in cycles.  Those who succeed are those who do not change (they only better themselves) until their time comes! Look at the lives of the greats and tell me this isn't true. It is truth! Be yourself. Better yourself. But never change yourself. Keep attempting. Keep creating. Keep projecting. Whatever you do, don't stop moving! Forget results. Remember who you are. Your time is coming! 

When you have a dream, nothing that normally makes sense to people ever makes sense to you. This is because what you see is usually something that people do not see. You've given room for the impossible to happen. I've found that the impossible never happens if it's never given room in a person's life. Think about it. Look at all the greats in history. When there is room for the impossible to happen, the impossible happens. 

I look around and I see a world in trouble. But, I also see a generation of dreamers arising - a generation with nothing to lose, but everything to gain. Many big businesses of today were born in the days of The Great Depression. Many great entrepreneurs and achievers of today were by-products of tumultuous times in the 70's.  All of them started with a dream. Again and again, we read stories of the rise of great men and women who came from nothing, had no other way out but to dream the impossible. And the power of their dream drove them to great success, and their success created jobs, fed families, and contributed to society. 

I ask you a question today. What is your dream? Have you dared to dream an impossible dream? Have looked deep inside yourself? There is power in having a dream. The power enables you to overcome the greatest of frustrations and obstacles to achieve that dream.  You can be incredibly smart and incredibly hardworking, but without a dream, you're like a filled-up car without a driver. You'd have a place in the world, but you wont be going places. Generation of dreamers...let's dream big things and see what can happen. 

I'm in my 20's. What can I do? What will I change? I want my life to make an impact. These thoughts weighed heavy on me yesterday. And when you examine yourself, doubts will arise like a cloud of dust. All you can do is wait and let it settle. Once the dust clears, you start to see clearly. I thought to myself: I may not be brilliant like Steve Jobs, but I am good at something. All of us are good at something. But the more I thought about what I could do, the more I realized, impact isn't even about what I could do.  

As condolences poured in and out from around the world for Steve Jobs, I realized something. There have been others who have died that have created products that have changed the world. But none have generated such a sense of loss in their passing as the passing of Steve Jobs. I realized that the loss was felt because of this one truth: Steve Jobs didn't just change the world. Steve Jobs inspired the world. 

I was moved by his passing because I was inspired by how he lived his life, not necessarily what he did. I don't even own any Apple product. His speech at Stanford (which I saw a while ago) helped me push past some challenging times. The story of his rise, fall, and rise again made me feel that my dreams are possible. His life was an inspiration. 

I had a moment of clarity - an epiphany. Live to inspire. While you may not change the world with a brilliant invention, you can inspire the world with a brilliant life. Impact lies in how you inspired another.

I'm going to live to inspire people, by what I say and how I go about my life. Forget my skills and abilities. Forget what I'll create with them. Those things will be created. It will take much more intent and courageous tenacity to live in a way that inspires the generations of my lifetime. 

It doesn't matter where you are right now in life or what you are doing. Live to inspire those around you. Live for more than just your own gain. Asking "how will I change the world?" will not necessarily lead to change. Asking "how will I live my life?" will lead to immediate change. How will I live my life? I'll live it in a way that will inspire my world. Let everyone who touches your life be inspired by it. Start where you are. Start with your words. Start with helping someone today.   

Trying to better yourself is frustrating. So the natural tendency is to make excuses instead of making effort. And the thing about excuses is that just about all of them are justifiable to you - almost always. So as soon as you go down that path mentally...that's it! You're stuck. But, if you decide to skip the excuses even though you could very well have great ones, then you'll make the effort and actually become better. And, eventually, actually be great at what you do.

This is really my challenge to myself. I've got some big opportunities coming up and I need to make the effort to be better (and to be great). That means delaying gratifications while developing myself. It also means enduring the frustrations that come with the learning curves that will always appear when you are working to be better. 

Some might say, "Be happy with who you are and where you are." They're talking about being content. Most of the time, people are actually being complacent and calling it contentment. After giving this some thought, I've realized what the difference between contentment and complacency is. 

Both are happy with the current state of being or situation. But, contentment is being happy once you've maximized your potential. Complacency is being happy without considering the load of potential you have that's unrealized. 

Be content if you've exhausted all options and potential. Just don't be complacent, which says you might be too afraid or lazy to make the effort and see what can be. Truth is, most of us haven't exhausted all options and potential, including myself.  Most of us can take things to the next level in our lives if we try. 

Minh

All you have to do is do something. When you don't feel like it, do something. When you don't know what to do, do anything. But, don't do nothing! What's the worst that can happen? It certainly isn't like you're touching wires that would lead to instant death. (Unless your dream is to touch electrical wires and live to be fined $200.) 

Dreams don't come true instantly as you might be led to believe because of what you see on TV. What gets left out is usually the hard part. You achieve your dreams by achieving a series of breakthroughs. And there's no such thing as breakthroughs without first creating momentum.

Do you know why dreams go to the graves? Because of the lack of breakthroughs. What causes lack of breakthroughs? Lack of momentum. What causes lack of momentum? Lack of movement. Here's a sad truth: Most people sit around waiting for something to happen. Some will haphazardly do things here and there that they think could break them through. But, I wont be the last to tell you, you wont achieve your dreams that way. 

No matter what you're aiming for, you can find out how to do anything by doing a little research on the internet. There are tons of instructions, tips, and God-knows-what out there. Whatever the process, I want you to remember one phrase. This phrase is key to success. Are you ready?

Rinse and repeat.

That's right! Rinse and repeat. I know of people who learned the how-to's, but lacked the patience and perseverance to do the same thing over and over again until they achieve a breakthrough. Then, do it all over again until they achieve another breakthrough - and then again, until they reach the level they want to be at. 

Rinse and repeat the process, no matter how mundane, no matter how tiring. You must do it. You must create momentum. You must always be in motion, in action. It's the only way you'll ever see your dream materialize. 

Minh

You ready for good news? You don't have to listen to the voice of critics to be successful and happy. You should, in fact, do the opposite most times. But the gauge should always be your own personal passion and preference. Most of the time, you'll find that what critics hate is what people love (and what you love). Why is that the case so often? Simply because critics are often times in their heads too much, many having grown too cynical to see what's good on a basic level. Don't let critics pull you into their cynical reality. It is one that kills passion and happiness. 

Truth is: To be successful (and happily successful), you have to lead your life with your heart. Think with your head, lead with your heart. Don't let critics cause you to be in your head and miss out on the simple fun and enjoyment of your life and your journey.

Minh