ASK YOURSELF - DO I HAVE IT?

Came across a speech by Anson Dorrance from a University of North Carolina freshman athletic orientation class.

“I will excel athletically by committing myself to performance excellence, team success, and continual improvement.”

- from the Carolina Creed

There are three things at the core of athletic character:

One . . . self-discipline

Two . . . competitive fire

Three . . . self-belief

I am sure everyone in this room has huge talent.  The University of North Carolina does not recruit athletes without it.

And some of you are going to make it because you have the self-discipline to separate yourself from your peers even though self-discipline is an extraordinarily uncomfortable state . . . it is not easy for ordinary people.  Most of us are rather ordinary so most of us will not really attain their potential.  It is just too hard to invest in being the best.  Most of us would rather be comfortable.  But please understand being ordinary is not an indictment… it is a choice.

Mia Hamm once said that “The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat at the point of exhaustion when no one else is watching.”

Some of you will make a name for yourself and your university because your competitive fire lights up an arena or a stadium.  Do you remember the day or the moment you decided you were always going to do your best?

Some of you will make a name for yourself because your self-belief will not be shaken, regardless of what happens to you.

I am here to tell you, you control all of these qualities.  These are not genetic traits you inherited, these are all decisions you all have made or can make now to make a difference.

So let me ask you, what are all of you going to choose to be?  This core of athletic character is not what you have been given, it is what you choose to have.  So will you choose to have:

- self-discipline

- competitive fire and

- self-belief?

And if you don’t choose it, don’t worry, very few people do . . . these kinds of people are exceptionally rare, they are sometimes called champions. “Champion” is another word for individuals willing to do difficult and uncomfortable things on a daily basis that no one else is willing to do.

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