Initiative Isn’t Given—It’s Taken: How to Own Your Path

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." ~ Earl Nightingale

"Sometimes life hits you like a brick in the face. Don't give up." ~ Steve Jobs

"If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it." ~ Michael Jordan

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." ~ Francis of Assisi

"It's hard to beat somebody when they don't give up." ~ Babe Ruth

For a collegiate-bound basketball player, the adjustment isn't about playing at a new level so much as about becoming someone completely in charge of his or her path.

Years of structured training, games, and coaching can have you set up to respond to someone reminding you when to get there, what to work on, and how to prepare. No one is going to force you to go to the gym at 6 a.m., study game film during intermissions, or stretch up after midnight practice.

That's where initiative is, not permission-type, but the type that takes initiative because it understands what's on the line. You're not a player anymore, you're a self-driven athlete carving out your space on a new stage.

It's easier to have others prod you than to prod yourself. But every time you initiative, whether it's mastering a new move, rebounding wisely, or mentoring a teammate, you elevate your ceiling.

College hoops will reveal to you who possesses the fire within to be accountable when no one is watching. You start to realize that initiative is not being taken from someone else, it's being brought to the whole team.

And it's the players themselves who take themselves that turn out to be leaders other players will follow.