As a basketball player, no one knew who I was until suddenly many did, but only after thousands of hours in the early mornings before school were invested to get better at my craft.
This same phenomenon applies to my new career as a speaker... no one knows who I am and then a cusp is reached and then suddenly, many do. If you only knew how much I walk around when I am by myself, talking to myself, working on intonation and inflection... looking like a madman if anyone saw me... and they do, when I am at the park with my son or walking the dog.
Yet, the professional aspirations pale compared to the struggle of personal greatness... at night, when the stage lights of our professional lives have turned off. Do we have the resolve to work on our own selves, in quiet reflection, studying the triggers and anxieties that accompany us during the days, addressing the stories behind them? This has been my greatest challenge and always will be- personal development; more than basketball, more than speaking.
The greatest challenge of my life will always be personal development and self-awareness/accountability...
Yet, I choose to work it everyday, when no one is watching. I choose the grueling path and hard work of accountability, integrity and Inner-greatness, when no one is watching.
Lance Allred is the First Deaf Player in NBA History, Keynote Motivational Speaker and Best Selling Author
Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook: @lanceallred41
Watch his TEDx smash hit “What is your Polygamy?”