It's not about winning the game....

 

            When it comes to winning in any sort of situation, whether it is in a sporting event, competition, or award ceremony to what extent are we willing to go in order to win? Are we willing to sacrifice what is right and only think of ourselves? Or will we work as a team to achieve something far more valuable than any award or trophy could ever give us?  And if so what will that mean to us in the future?

            I have never been the best baseball player but I would always try my hardest to contribute to the team in any way that I could. I always played outfield and whenever the ball came to me I would throw the ball to where ever it needed to be. However, when it came to one particular season, I became one of the key factors to my team’s success.  During this season I was one of the driving forces that brought in the most runs. Whenever I would go up to bat I would either get hit by the pitch or be walked. As a result I got on base very often. When I first started getting on base, I tried to steal bases but had difficulty getting the hang of it. In one particular practice the coach worked with me on sliding and stealing bases. As a result I led the league in the most stolen bases, as well as the most walks. By the end of the season we had made it to the play offs. We had worked so hard as a team all around and it did not matter if we had won or lost. We were just glad that we had made it to this point. We ended up winning two playoff games which led us to the championship. It was what happened at the championship game that came to teach us all a very important lesson about life.

            It was the bottom of the ninth and we were up by one. There were two outs and a runner on third.  The coach on the other team decided to make an illegal substitution by replacing the batter who was about to go up with his best hitter on the team.  Parents got outraged and started yelling at the umpire to do something. The umpire called time out and had the two coaches come to the plate and talk. The coach on the other team started yelling and screaming at my coach, but my coach kept it cool. My coach decided not to challenge or argue with the other coach and left the mound. The umpire ultimately decided to let the other coach switch his batter. As a result we ended up losing the game and getting second place.

            After the game was over, our coach had us all sit down and had a talk. He asked us what we thought we did well during the season. We talked about how we all worked as a team and supported one another. Whenever someone on the team had a particular area of weakness, we would as a team work with and encourage that person to become better at what they were struggling with. 

Then we had a discussion about the game we just played and I will always remember what the coach said to us that night, “Boys in life, winning the game is not what is important, it’s how you play it and how you remember it. If you play the game just to win you’re not really playing the game. Baseball, or any sport in general is about having fun and working as a team.  Don’t get me wrong winning is important, but there comes a point where it doesn’t matter if you’ve won or lost. It’s what you were able to accomplish up to that point that makes the world of a difference. We made it so far thanks to you guys. We worked as a team and played the hardest that we could and in my book that’s all that will ever matter. To me you are all true champions, no matter what happens in the game, or in life.”

Taking Risks

            We all take risks in our lives the greatest question that comes to mind however, is how much are we willing to risk? Are we willing to spend money to achieve success and risk the possibility of failure? Or do we take a risk on something because we are passionate about it? Do we risk our future on someone we love or are interested in? Do we risk for the thrill of the life, but undermine what the consequences of our actions will be?  To be truthful, it’s a little bit of everything it’s just a matter of how we perceive are lives that will come to define us.

            College for example is a huge risk. Some people go into college not knowing what they want to do or what they want to become. This is not to say that this is a bad thing because college is about figuring out what it is that you are good at however, you do risk not finding something.  College costs a lot of money and some people come to realize that college is not for them. This leaves them with a heavy financial burden as well as the burden of figuring out what it is exactly that you want to do for the rest of their lives.

            Another risk people often take is in relationships. Some people get so wrapped up in a fantasy of their relationship that they don’t think long term. What works well and great now might not work as well in the future. This is not to say that you should not take risks in your relationships, but go into the relationship with an open mind for everything might not always go according to plan.

            Other people take risks for the thrill. Whether it is for the lottery or for an amusement park ride, it’s the ambiguity that generates hype. As a result, there can be both positive and negative effects of such behavior. People who are addicted to buying lottery tickets often lose lots of money. It’s their philosophy to go big or go home. However, it always seems that the people you’d least expect win the lottery. It’s this opportunity that can change a person’s life forever. On the other hand, people also take risks on roller coasters as well as other attractions. For the most part this is not negative however when going on a ride you do risk your life. Your entrusting whomever built the ride that whatever contraption you’re in will keep you safe throughout the ride. There have been many incidents where the safety systems failed and resulted in some ones death. Yet we still choose to ride that ride regardless of what might have happened. We choose our fate on this earth, but then the question becomes, is it really worth all the risk?

The Value of Good Customer Service at a Glance: A Changing of Philosophy

Customer service has always been something that will leave an impression on the consumer. If the provider makes an active role in making the customer feel welcomed, the customer is more likely to come back or give a favorable review. However, if the provider pays little to no attention to what the customer wants or needs the customer will be left feeling lost. How then do we provide good customer service and at the same time stay within our means?

It is my philosophy that we develop a more personal relationship when it comes to day to day business.Rather than just introducing ourselves we should get to know who we are helping. An opponent may say but how can we give that kind of individual attention when time is money.This philosophy should be done away with. As much as money is valuable in the short term, it's the relationship that matters most. If you establish a strong relationship with each individual they will ultimately see your company as more genuine.

The Truth Behind Reality Televison

Long gone are the days of television where originality and storytelling were the most important aspect.  Now and days television has become more about the profit you can turn around in each show, rather than the actual quality of the content. More often than not we see reality TV shows over taking the market. Whether it is shows such as American Idol, Survivor, The Bachelor and etc... there is a show that fits every personality type.

But why do we watch these show? For the entertainment? For the drama? Often times we tend to over proportionalize reality TV. We seem to undermine the principles of privacy, romance and self - image. In shows such as The Bachelor the events that unfold tend to be over dramatized to the point of being crude. Shows like this have skewed the meaning of love.  You cannot fall in love with someone in such a setting without it being artificial. Love is something that meant to be found not created.

Privacy is something that has become nonexistent in todays media as well as television. Shows like TMZ talk about celebrity gossip and mishaps. It seems that if a celebrity drops a piece of trash and pick it up that it's the biggest deal in the world. First of all its just a piece of trash. Second of all who cares? Celebrities should have the right to some personal privacy in their lives. After all how would you like it if someone were to stick a camera in your face and follow you everywhere you went? Would you be comfortable with it? What happened to personal space?  Obviously now and days this is lacking. 

What also bothers me is shows like Jersey Shore or Keeping up with the Kardashians, yet again these shows exhibit what I spoke on before over dramatization. They turn little things into artificial arguments.  More than half the time the arguments are pointless and add nothing to the show. All these fights and conflicts add is viewers but why? Your'e watching something that has little to no point in life. In reality most of these situations would never happen, there created for TV and that is there sole purpose. You don't gain any knowledge from this. So what's the point?

Finally and most evidently is self -image. Where ever you look whether it is in magazine, movies, television or other forums of media, image is plastered everywhere. It's a philosophy that if you don't look or dress a certain way your'e not considered beautiful. In reality none of this is true. You are as beautiful or as handsome as you perceive yourself to be. It because of brand marketing that we as a society feel so obligated to get a certain item. Whether it's a shoe or a particular brand of clothing if we see that person in a movie or on television promoting that item we feel more inclined to have that item. What we must keep in mind is our sense of individuality, if we lose sight of that we become the medias image and not our own.

In comparison, classic TV shows such as Leave it to Beaver have a sentimental value that is lacking in most of todays TV. Although it was a simple idea and a simple show it spoke on values of having a family. It's these simple set of values that are often times over looked in our modern day society.

Think, Rationalize and Then Discover

Why is it that as humans we are so inclined to ask questions?
Is it because of our thirst for knowledge and power?
Is it because these questions branch off each other?
Or is it the reason far deeper than we could ever imagine?

We ask questions because there is a plethora of information in the world waiting to be sought out.
This information is not always obvious or to our liking but once we find the answer, we might be eager to dig deeper.  
So how then do we determine what to ask?
Do certain questions take precedence over each other?
Or is there no bad question to ask?
When asking a question there are three key factors we must take into account: thinking, rationalizing and discovery.  

While thinking and rationalizing can be considered very similar in the broad scope of things, there are a few minor differences that distinguish them.
For starters when we rationalize something we are justifying that it is valid or has a logical premise.
When we are thinking we are not always rationalizing right away, rationalizing comes after a question has been asked.
It is only after we have rationalized our own question that we can move on to discovering the answer.

Learning to Live and Overcome a Learning Disability

If you really got to know me, you'd never come to expect that I have a learning disability. To most people I seem like just an ordinary kid trying his best to succeed. But in reality my success did not come easy. It took discipline, hard work and dedication to get to where I am today. So the question that is then raised is how did I overcome my disability when all odds were stacked against me?

It all began in third grade when I transferred elementary schools. It was determined after a few tests that I had a language processing disability. To put it into simple terms anything that involved comprehension such as writing, reading, speaking or mathematics took me longer to learn. I was placed into a separate classroom with other kids that had learning disabilities. We focused on learning strategies and were presented with obstacles one at a time.

Mathematics by far proved to be one of my most challenging subjects. I dedicated hours onto practicing the material yet I still struggled. However this did not stop me. Whenever I did not understand something I would always go to the math teacher for extra help. I valued my education very much and was not willing to allow math to prevent me from accomplishing success.

In addition to math, I also had trouble in English. Ever since I was younger writing was always a challenge for me. Whenever I would write anything it would always come out jumbled. I had so many ideas to put down and no way to organize them. As a result I got very frustrated with writing and never really enjoyed doing it. It was not until I began to use a graphic organizer, that I was able to formulate my thoughts more clearly. I later came to realize through the help of my homeroom teacher, that writing was more important than I ever thought it be in my life. Writing became my passion and it became something that I wanted to pursue for the rest of my life.

My educational experience although not yet done, has taught me immensely about self-discipline. The reality is not everything in life is going to come as easy to everyone. There will be obstacles that you'll have to overcome. Whether it's in your relationships, your job or life in general you learn to work around them. Sometimes what was an obstacle becomes something that grows to change you and shape you into whom you are. Ultimately, we must not lose sight of our potential. For our potential is our oneself motivating factor that will either grow to define us or change us into who we are today. I leave you with this quote from Muhammad Ali Jinnah:
"With faith, discipline and selfless devotion to duty, there is nothing worthwhile that you cannot achieve."