Motivating Matters

    I am a fan of J Cole, not only for his undefeated discography and prestigious career in Hip Hop, but because the life he lives is grounded in authenticity. Obviously nobody is perfect but he strives to be the same person as he was before he had the money and I have always respected that about him. Him posting this video is another testament to that. I stumbled across it while on Youtube today. It’s a short video, only 40 seconds, but that doesn’t take away from how powerful it is.

    The video is an edit of Hansel Enmanuel, an 18 year old basketball player, dribbling the ball, while J Cole is saying some motivational words. It might sound like an insignificant video from my description, so I encourage you to watch for yourself. What makes it significant is that Enmanuel plays basketball at a high level with only one arm. Go watch some of his highlight videos. He is really talented!

J Cole: “I gotta keep it a hundred with you. They don’t think you can do it. They look at you and all they see is a man standing in front of a mountain that’s too big to scale. But I believe in you. Sh*t you made me believe. Cuz I see how much you believe in yourself. Why else would you work this hard? Sh*t I ain’t gonna lie. They’re surprised you made it this far. Now quietly in the back of their minds, there’s a tiny thought that wonders how far you can actually go with this. And I know something they don’t know. That the answer to that question, my boy, is up to you.

    I’m not familiar with his story or if he was born without his other arm, and it really doesn’t matter because he has clearly responded positively to his circumstances. What some people might look at as a disadvantage or a curse, he looks at as an opportunity. Instead of playing the victim and telling himself he can’t play basketball because he doesn’t have both arms, he responded by working harder and figuring out a way that works for him.

    If there is anything to take from Enmanuel’s story, it’s that no matter the circumstances, anything can be done if you relentlessly strive to achieve it. Nobody ever said it would be easy or that people wouldn’t doubt you. Failures and hate should be used to fuel the determination inside of you to prove to yourself you can do it.

Stories like this one are the reason why Motivating Matters.

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