Falling For the Future

"I like the person you are, but I'm in love with person you have the potential to be.."

Wale, “Ambitious Girl”

Cheers to ambition.  Toast to aspiration. Standing ovation for the attainment of one’s goals.  Let’s try a little something.  Form an image of yourself in your mind.  Next, write down three adjectives you use to characterize yourself.  Now, write down three adjectives OTHER people would use to describe you, and compare the lists.  Do they match up? Are you giving off the impression you want those with whom you interact to have of you?

That exercise derived from a lecture I attended entitled “10 K’s of Personal Branding” by Kaplan Mobray, U.S. diversity recruiting leader for Deloitte & Touche USA, LLP (Check him out on YouTube).  To clarify, the point at which Mr. Mobray, a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, drove was simple… consistency; consistency in the perception of self by all parties. 

Now let me take you back to grade school; the playground at recess.   You are the one of two captains, and you have the first pick.  What attributes are you looking for in that first pick?  You want to pick the best teammate possible to help you win, making you and your team better in the process, correct?  What would you think if the other captain selected a lower end player who had limited potential to succeed and help the team accomplish its goal of winning? Not so smart, right?

So I pose this question to you, when building YOUR team in a relationship, why do you select a person worthy of the last pick, first?  Societal influences often bestow the tag, “golddigger”, on people who leach onto others following their path to success, and because of that people, sometimes, feel shallow by identifying ambition as one of their primary requirements for their mate.  The ONLY way that title becomes accurately associated is when one person contributes to the dream in an obviously abbreviated fashion.  Waiting for your mate’s success is NOT an acceptable occupation! 

Jordan and Pippen.  Batman and Robin.  Kid and Play, even.  Friendships, relationships, rocket ships, WHATEVER should be complimentary by nature (well, not rocket ships..lol)! Select someone who compliments your grind, your ambition, and your direction in ALL facets (spiritually, mentally, emotionally, etc.)!  The captains who select moochers (often for the wrong reasons) will find themselves dragging dead weight, giving unevenly, and ultimately falling short of reaching their maximum potential.  So be shameless in your demand of someone who strives to be a BETTER him/her because as they strive, you strive, and as they reach, you reach!

The majority of the issues I hear people experiencing in the selection process tend to be standards-based.  Know what you want and don’t settle until you find it because only then is not settling.

Thank you for checking in the GAME with the gentleman.  I appreciate your continued support.  Keep the questions and comments coming as I love reading and hearing them.  As always God Bless!