Dear Younger Me, You Can If You Think You Can

This post is part of the #YPSportsChat Blog Series! This series will give young professionals an inside look at the intricacies of the sports business world and advice on how to navigate it.

Dear younger Deborah,

You Can If You Think You Can

If you think you are beaten, you are

If you think you dare not, you don’t

If you like to win, but think you can’t,

It’s almost certain you wont.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,

For out in the world we find,

Success begins with a fellow’s will.

It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are.

You’ve got to think high to rise.

You’ve got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win the prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go

To the stronger or faster man;

But sooner or later the man who wins

Is the one who thinks he can!

You’ll take this poem that you had to memorize for softball back in high school everywhere you go. The teachings Coach Stamp instilled in you will last a lifetime. The fifteen or so years of playing have taught you many lessons that you will get to use the rest of your life. You learn to work hard, dedicate your time, lose and better yet you learn to win gracefully.

Remember, that sometimes you don’t always get what you want in life. You really wanted that position, that job, that title, that pay or even be at home with your family. However, if you keep thinking that you lose every time you don’t get something that you wanted, you will never win.

You’ll learn to appreciate all things that you get, this including time with your brother, sister, Mom and Dad. You’ll learn to create time for those in your life that you don’t get to see often. And with that life lesson, you win.

Sometimes, or most of the time/every time, you don’t see the end plans. The path that you thought you were supposed to take isn’t always the correct one. You never thought you would be working directly on the sponsorship side of athletics, but here you are. You’re learning so much more and gaining a new knowledge of external operations. Just keep your head up, keep moving forward and in the end it will all be worth the work.

Don’t let others discourage you. You are doing your best, working your hardest and putting your best foot forward. That’s all that you can do. You can only be you, nothing more or nothing less. Remember that! Just let your work speak for itself. People will take note of your work, even if they don’t say anything.

Sometime life isn’t fair. You’ve known this your whole life. Sometimes a person knows someone who knows someone and that’s the reason why you didn’t get what you wanted. But if you keep pushing, keep preserving, keep going at it you will end out just fine.

You’re going to be just fine. You make some GREAT friends that will last a lifetime, and they practically become family. You get to do something that you’ve always wanted too; you have a career and not just a job. Take this poem, and never forget what you have learned from it.

Sincerely,

Deborah Dixon (@drdixon20)