“I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion'.” Muhammad Ali
"You were our number two man," the assistant basketball coach said to me. I had just failed to make the team and my dream come true. Or, at least it appeared I failed. Remember, God never gives us a dream without also giving us the power to make that dream come true.
What Does It Mean To Be A Champion?
Shortly after turning 9 years old I made the choice to play professional basketball in the N.B.A. (National Basketball Association).
At this moment of choosing to play in the NBA, I created my dream and also made the commitment to making my dream come true.
One of the reasons I wanted to play in the NBA is because only the best of the best players are in the NBA. I wanted to be the best at something in my life because that would mean I am the best, that I am a Champion. If you can become the best at one thing, then you can become the best at anything you choose because you are the best.
Becoming an NBA basketball player is almost impossible. I wanted to prove all of our dreams always come true when we put our heart and soul into making them a reality. I wanted to prove no matter what or who you choose to be in your life that you will be whatever or whoever you choose.
Here Is Where The Fun Begins:
When I was 13 years old I tried out for the basketball team in 7th grade at Lakeridge Jr. High School...
... And I failed.
... And I failed.
I tried out again for the basketball team in 8th grade at Canyon View Jr. High School...
... And I failed.
... And I failed.
I tried out again in 9th grade at Canyon View...
... And I failed.
... And I failed.
I tried out again in 10th grade at Orem High School...
... And I failed.
... And I failed.
I tried out again in 11th grade at Timpanogos High School...
... And I failed.
... And I failed.
I tried out again in 12th grade at American Fork High School...
... And I failed.
... And I failed.
I went on a two-year mission for my church to Portugal and came back home.
I had two major knee surgeries and had 5 screws added to my knees. 3 screws in my right knee, 2 screws in my left knee.
My orthopedic surgeon said I had the worst knees he had ever seen in his entire career.
After waiting for more than 6 months for my knees to heal from the surgeries, I came back and tried out again for the basketball team at Utah Valley State College...
... And I failed.
... And I failed.
I transferred to the University of Utah and tried out for the basketball team in now my 3rd year of college...
... And I failed.
... And I failed.
The coaches really liked me because they saw how much I loved basketball and they saw I was never going to quit. They asked me if I wanted to be the Equipment Manager for the team.
I accepted and became the Equipment Manager for the University of Utah men's basketball team.
I tried out again for the team in now my 4th year of college.
... And I failed.
I failed for the 9th consecutive time, spanning 12 years of consecutive failure.
And this time I was ONLY ONE PERSON AWAY FROM MAKING THE TEAM.
ONLY ONE PERSON AWAY!!!
The coaching staff invited me into the office and told me they could only add on one more player to the basketball team. They said unfortunately I was their second choice.
The coaches said if their first choice declined to accept the final roster spot, then I would be on the team instead.
But since their first choice did accept the final roster spot and I was the coaches' second choice and there was only room for one player,... I didn't make it.
"You were our number two man," the assistant coach told me.
Before the University of Utah's second basketball game of the season this year, the team and I sat down to eat our pre-game dinner.
During the dinner, one of the players began to speak to me in a mocking tone and manner and in a volume loud enough for everyone in the quiet dining room to hear. (This player is a very good person and I do not mean to falsely portray him in a negative way and that is why he remains anonymous.)
He (anonymous player) said he didn't believe the coaches were telling me the truth.
He said the coaches were lying to me when they said I was their second choice because they didn't want to hurt my feelings.
He said I would never be able to become a college basketball player because it is almost impossible.
"You want to be where we are, you want to be one of us, but you'll never be one of us. It's too hard," he told me.
I then responded by agreeing he was right that it is almost impossible.
"You're right, it is almost impossible to play basketball in college, to become a college basketball player," I said.
"And as difficult as it is to play basketball in college, it is even more difficult or even more impossible to play basketball in the NBA.
But I have done something that is so difficult, that not a single person in this room has done what I've done," I said, boldly to the entire team of players and assistant coaches eating dinner in this private hotel dining room.
At this point in the conversation everyone was looking over at the anonymous player and me, while listening intently to both of us.
"And not only has no one in this room done what I've done, but what I've done is so difficult that not even a single player in ALL of college basketball has done what I've done," I continued.
"And not only has no one playing in college done what I've done but also not even a single basketball player in ALL of the NBA has done what I've done.
And not only has no one in college or the NBA done what I've done, but not a single college or NBA basketball player PAST or PRESENT has done what I've done."
I then told him and everyone in the room, "What I've done is...
... No one has ever tried out to make a basketball team as many times in a row as I have and also failed as many times in a row as I have and still has not given up."
I went on to explain that at this point in my life I had now tried out to make the basketball team 9 consecutive times, spanning 12 years. And I failed to make the team all 9 of those times, but I still have not quit!
"The main reason you're on the team is because you just happened to grow to be 7 feet tall. You didn't choose to be 7 feet tall. It just happened," I said to him.
"The door has always been opened for you. But the door has always been closed for me and yet I still keep choosing to continue to move forward by re-opening the door every time it shuts on me," I said.
I asked him, "If you would have failed to make your high school team one year would you have come back and tried out again to make the team a second time?"
"Uhh, yeah, you probably would have tried again," I told him, answering my own question I just posed to him...
I then asked him, if he would have failed two years in a row, would he have come back to do his best to try out again a third time in a row?
"Hmmm, maybe," I said to him...
Finally I told him, "... And I know without a doubt you would not have come back to try again a fourth time."
I explained:
I failed to make the basketball team 9 consecutive times.
9 Times!
And I have come back 9 consecutive times.
9 Times!
I still have not given up. I still have not quit.
Then I told him and everyone in the dining room, "I know the most difficult thing you can do in your life is to never quit or to get back up when you get knocked down.
And not only is 'Never Quitting' the most difficult thing you can do in your life, it is also the greatest thing you can do in your life. And I know the only types of people capable of 'Never Quitting' are Champions. A Champion is the greatest type of person you can become," I said.
Playing basketball in the NBA, or in college or anything else that might be seen as "great" in the eyes of the world is NOTHING compared to the power of the person who never gives up!
The only types of people who can rise again after failure or hard times are Champions!
The only types of people who can confront and conquer over fear are Champions!
The only types of people who are capable of never never never never never quitting are Champions!
The greatest type of person you can become in your life is a Champion!
Because I know when we come back after failure, come back after a negative time, come back after a difficult situation, we acquire divine qualities and attributes such as love, charity and service for others.
Because when we are down or hurting or suffering and we choose to not let the hard times keep us down we are choosing to be the BEST. We are choosing to be the GREATEST. We are choosing to be HAPPY.
A person who can choose to rise up in the most difficult of situations is a person who can never be stopped!!!
Nothing Can Stop You.
No One Can Stop You.
Nothing Can Stop You From Doing Your Best!
No One Can Stop You From Doing Your Best!
The person who chooses to be unstoppable is the truly "great" person and is seen by the eyes of God as being truly "great."
You are a Champion when you make the choice to be a Champion.
Anyone can choose to be a Champion if they truly desire to be one.
Yes, you can always choose to be whatever or whoever you truly desire.
P.S. The Rest of the Story (In God's Own Way and Time!):
Our dreams are gifts from God.
My dream to play basketball and become the greatest basketball player ever came to me when I was 9 years old as an answer to my prayer asking God what I should do in my life.
Yes, you read that correctly, I did just say: "the greatest basketball player ever". By the way, the answer to my prayer did not come right away. I kept praying over many months until I received my answer. Remember, never give up!
However, after receiving the answer to my prayer I thought in my flawed human understanding that in order for me to become the greatest basketball player ever I would need to play in the NBA (National Basketball Association). So because of that flawed understanding of mine, I focused on playing in the NBA to make my actual dream of becoming the greatest basketball player ever come true.
I did not go around telling my friends I wanted to become the greatest basketball player ever because I did not want to possibly be misunderstood. I did not want people falsely thinking of me as crazy or arrogant or something. I just wanted to be my best self and I knew that God wanted me to be my best self. Remember, my dream is a gift from God who wants every single one of us to finish in 1st place!
Instead, I told my friends I was going to play in the NBA because I thought I could only become the greatest basketball player ever by making it to the NBA. But as you learned from reading the short version of my story, I did not make it to the NBA. Not only did I not make it to the NBA, I did not even make any college, high school or junior high school teams.
So of course, I became discouraged when it seemed that God really was not with me. However, He was with me the entire time, the entire journey! He was with me because over and over again I became so inspired by my family and friends as I saw them not giving up and not quitting on their dreams.
Over and over again I heard the message to not give up, to keep going, to not quit! This message of "never quitting" constantly was communicated to me so that is all I focused on. I focused on one simple action: getting back up! I knew if I kept getting back up that somehow, someway God's dream that He gave me would come true by some miracle.
And the miracle did happen! It happened in a way I could never have possibly imagined! In fact my dream came true before I consciously recognized it came true.
In what seemed for a time to be my darkest hour was actually my miraculous triumph and victory!
After failing to make the team 9 consecutive times over 12 years. After overcoming the worst knees my orthopaedic surgeon ever witnessed in his entire career. After working as hard as a human being could possibly work. After overcoming so many odds, this time I was only one person away from making the team and it seemed in the eyes of the world I was a failure.
Yet, in in the eyes of God I had done it!
I got back up!
What a great feeling! Correction: We did it! We did it together as a team! I did not do it alone. I could never have continued to keep going over and over and over if God was not with me to help me along the entire journey.
God is on your team and is passing you the ball to make the game-winning shot! There is no possible way you can miss when He is on your team. All we have to do is keep getting back up with His help. Use your team to win. Do not try to win on your own because you cannot do it alone.
God does answer our prayers and cannot lie!
Pray and ask for help and understanding to see how He sees you, so you can recognize and know He is helping you to be the greatest ever.
Timothy McGaffin II knows our dreams our gifts from God. As McGaffin dedicated himself to achieving his dream of playing basketball in the NBA he learned the greatest thing we can do in our lives is to get back up when we get knocked down. The effort is what matters and what God cares about. Just keep moving, finish the race strong and you will be forever triumphant and victorious.
God never gives us a dream or a wish without also giving us the power to make that dream or wish come true.
Sometimes you'll achieve your dream quickly, sometimes slowly, and sometimes it will appear or seem like your dream will never come true but remember that God works in mysterious ways. In God's own time and own way, your dream will become a reality no matter what the situation may appear like at a certain time.
Even death is just an illusion. Never Give Up!
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