Holiday Season

With the holiday season approaching countless amounts of people go about shopping buying gifts for family and friends.
However one of the most important lessons I've learned is less is more.
The holiday season isn't about how much you spend on another person or the amount of gifts you receive, rather it is the people who surround you that are the greatest gift of all.
Family and friends are the most important part of our lives, both have their benefits, and both serve as an equalizer.
So next time you go out holiday shopping stop and think before you buy something expensive, money isn't what determines if a person respects you it's the thought that you put into it that makes all the difference.
 

The Heart of Champions

A champion is not born when he wins, but when he has to work to achieve that win.
Some people may argue that a win is a win, and irregardless of the circumstances that their a true champion.
However I would ask them what there definition of a champion is, I'd almost guarantee it would be different.
To me being a champion isn't just about how much points you score, rather how you score them.
If you have one person who scores all the points and doesn't share the ball that isn't a champion.
Rather it should be a team effort, were everyone gets the opportunity to shine.
Even if the team doesn't win, as long as they worked together and tried their best to me that's more meaningful than winning itself.
If they can accomplish that as a team and continue to embody those traits outside of life, they then will have the heart of a true champion.

An appreciation of friendship

A friend of mine once told me that if by the end of your life you can count out on a single hand, your true friends from your friends then you will have lived a good life.
In life you can have two kinds of friends, one who knows your name and respects you, the other is the one who knows your first and last name and will be there with you until the very end.
Over the years I've learned to appreciate both for what they're worth.
A friend is always willing to hang out with you, and will be the person who will go to all the parties with you.
A friend will also always be up for a chat, whether it's fooling around or just talking in general they've got you covered.
On the other hand, a best friend will always be there for you no matter what, even in the hardest of times, despite what might be going on in their own lives.
A best friend is also a person who you can confide with, a person who you know you can trust and will help you find what's best for you.
However I have came to the realization that you need both in your life because without each other your lacking the other half from your life.
Having said this I don't agree with what my friend once told me, while it is important early on to distinguish your true friends from your friends, both have their benefits and flaws and together balance each other out.