The teleprompter zoomed in on Shannon Sharpe. Right on cue, he looked intently ahead, as if he didn’t know he was the subject of every camera in Tom Benson Stadium. He was now a Pro Football Hall of Famer, standing before millions, proudly accepting his role in history. I sat in awe as he described the “raging inferno… the five-alarm fire” within him that pushed him to go to the gym instead of lunch and to practice or study whilst others partied. Sharpe wanted a better way of life. All he knew was that he did not want to eat cold oatmeal, raccoon, possum, squirrel, and turtle of his childhood. In fact, he did not want his own children to experience even one hour - let alone a day - in the life that was his as a child. He was obsessed with living up to his absolute potential.
He was driven.
As his words penetrated my soul, my throat grew sore as I stifled tears. I was a witness to that same raging inferno; a burning desire I felt throughout my life. I wanted a better way of life, too! I didn’t know how I was going to get it but I knew I didn’t like being hungry, broke, and missing out what life had to offer me. There was a fire burning inside of me to do more, be more, and achieve more so that my children will not have to “live one hour, let alone a day in the life” as I did as a child.
I am driven.
The internal burning desire for success drives me to achieve the unthinkable. Despite living in three states, eight households, 14 schools as a child—I was driven. Abandoned, alone, struggling to cope with my mom’s mental illness and both parents’ drug addiction and jail stints—I was driven. Through faith and the unwavering love and support of my family, I graduated from high school at the top of the class, studied abroad, and received three degrees—Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Juris Doctorate. I’ve volunteered, had no-paying to low-paying jobs and now as a candidate for Canton Municipal Court Judge, I am driven. In the words of Drake’s 2009 song ft. Trey Songz, “I just wanna be successful.”
My challenges and accomplishments enable me to sound the five-alarm fire warning of hope to encourage you to be Continuously Motivated to Succeed. I challenge you to be driven despite your current circumstances. Trouble does not last forever. Life is full of challenges. Your drive will determine if those challenges will make or break you. Henry David Thoreau said, “Success is a journey, not a destination.” Success is mine and it is yours. My life motto is, “Don’t allow undesirable circumstances to be excuses for you to fail, but allow them to be reasons for you to excel.”
If God does nothing else for me, I will continue to thank Him for the things He has already done. I am Continuously Motivated to Succeed no matter what challenges come my way.
I am driven.
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