When I was the college basketball coach at Wentworth Military Academy, a young man named Hugh “Boo” Ray played for me. “Boo” was a prominent high school student in Memphis, Tennessee. He had a tremendous shot and played the game with fire and passion. His dream was to play at Mississippi State. During his senior year, “Boo” completely blew out his knee. The teams that had been calling stopped. The coaches who had been watching “Boo’s” team play stopped coming to the games. He went from being one of the City of Memphis’ most promising players to trying to recover from his knee injury.
I was lucky to have made a recruiting connection in Memphis. When I heard that “Boo” was still looking for a school to play ball, I couldn’t believe it. We immediately contacted him. We were very interested in “Boo”, and playing in a university would give him the opportunity to fulfill his dream.
In our locker room we had motivational signs for the players to read. One caught “Boo’s” eye. He said:
Excellence can be achieved if
Caring more than others think is prudent
Risking more than others think is safe
Dream more than others think is practical, and
Expecting more than others think is possible.
He slowly recovered from his injury keeping his dream in the back of his mind. He had lost a step, but he was still a deadly accurate shot. “Boo” was our leader, both on the field and within the Corps of Cadets. But he wasn’t getting the D-1 look he expected. He made a decision that didn’t really surprise me. We’ve all heard of or seen Rudy’s story. “Boo” was going to do his own “Rudy” story.
He visited Mississippi State and spoke with coach Richard Williams. Coach Williams told “Boo” that he would give him a try as a practice player. He practiced every day with the determination and desire that he had exhibited at Wentworth. He earned the right to dress for MSU games. Like Rudy, “Boo” didn’t get mega minutes. Playing time was tight and he gave everything he had when the opportunity presented itself.
Coach Williams told me that “if the other players played with their hearts and the determination that ‘Boo’ played with, the team would do much better.” “Boo” became a fan favorite in his two years at Mississippi State. He lived his dream because he cared more, risked more, dreamed more, and expected more of himself than anyone else.
Unlike Hugh “Boo” Ray, anyone can quit, and many have given up when the going got tough. Others have not given up entirely; they just drop the throttle and settle for being less than they could be. Last week, I asked the students at my Alternative School: “When faced with an obstacle that prevents you from reaching your dream, how many of you would give up?” Without hesitation, more than half of the students said they would quit.
Going back to our poem, excellence can be achieved if:
Caring more than others think is wise – It has been said that one of the surest ways to be hurt is to care more than others think you should. On the other hand, if you want to be successful, you need to care more about what others think is wise or prudent. The winners are not happy to finish in second place. A winner will do everything in their power to overcome whatever obstacles stand in their way.
Risk more than others think is safe: remember our Legson Kayira story (Motivational Moments #234). He risked everything: his health, his safety, his life, his family, all to fulfill his dream of coming to America to receive an education in the land of his heroes. Former heavyweight champion Michael Spinks stated, “If you don’t take chances, you can’t do anything in life.”
Dream more than others think is practical – In 1968 the Olympics were held in Mexico City, Mexico. A very talented American track team was about to break Olympic and world records. A competitor on the men’s team was told repeatedly that he would not be successful with his high jump technique. Dick Fosbury had created an unorthodox style of high jumping, one that skeptics of him said would fade into obscurity. Fosbury commented: “I was told over and over again that I would never succeed, that I was not going to be competitive and that the technique just wasn’t going to work. All I could do was shrug and say, ‘I just have to see.’ “. Fosbury won the Olympic gold medal. Today, almost all high jumpers use his technique.
Expecting more than others think is possible: When I go out to speak with companies or organizations, one of the challenges I face is getting participants to expand their comfort zones. We do this with an interactive demo that involves multiple participants stepping out of their comfort zones and learning to juggle, in five minutes. His initial reaction is “I can’t do this.” Our nature tells us that it is okay to stay within our comfort zones. We don’t want to feel the pain of failure when we try something new. However, when we replace how we feel about ourselves with images of success, we are willing to do so. We expect more from ourselves. Author Wayne Dyer says, “It’s never crowded to go the extra mile.”
Are you willing to care more, risk more, dream more, and expect more? If you are, you are in a very small group of people. Most people call them WINNERS.
