A picture is worth 1,000 words. That’s the saying that has been made famous in the 1920s by Fred R. Bernard, who is often credited with its popularity.

These are my pictures and here are my words.

The day was May 7th, 2002.

This was the day of the greatest press conference in Philadelphia sports history and maybe even NBA history.

“We talking about practice?”

Allen Iverson would go on to say the word practice 21 more times in his now-famous rant.

He got up in the mic and talked about how pouring his heart out on the court is more important than practice.

He’s right but practicing still plays a very important part of being successful.

In this picture is Cam also known as Cam Boogie.

She is a rising sophomore at Norfolk State, but at this time just a freshman getting ready for her first spartan madness.

It is a school-wide pep rally to open up the basketball season here in Norfolk.

The DJ has the music playing and everyone is dancing, vibing, and having fun while the teams have their 3 point contest, dunk contest, and even a scrimmage.

Cam is seen in this picture warming up putting up a few shots.

Dancing to the music.

Just playing it cool.

It is not even the season yet but she’s just staying ready.

She does not even know at this time the moments that will come.

I remember exactly what was happening during this picture.

Spartan madness starts with the lights out and if you know anything about taking pictures you would know that without light there is no picture.

But once the introductions were made and the lights were turned back on it was our time to shine.

A few other creatives were capturing content from the baseline, but I saw Cam spot up on the corner three as she waited patiently for her turn to shoot.

I rushed behind her and kneeled on the floor.

It was a match made in heaven.

The picture I was most proud of at the time.

Now looking back, it was a testament to me in a few ways.

It showed me that I had been practicing and putting the work in to be in the right position to get a little lucky and end up with success.

I am sure I’m not the first to tell you this but putting the work in eventually pays off.

We all know we need to practice and putting in the practice hours is what it takes to be truly great.

But let’s pause and take a moment.

If we go to second level thinking we understand that practice boils down to building habits.

Habits can make or break a person when it comes to being on the path to win.

Look at Kobe Bryant.

May he rest in peace.

He started training and practicing so early in the morning just so he could get an extra workout in every day.

This compounds out over his 20-year career to 10s of thousands more shots and reps which gave him, in my opinion, the stats to have two hall of fame worthy careers.

Building these habits builds more confidence in our abilities.

How could we doubt in our hearts and minds our success if we know we have been putting the work in?

We have done all we needed to put ourselves in the position for success.

Most will acknowledge what you’ve accomplished takes hard work, dedication, discipline, and grit.

They won’t physically see you putting in the work or building the habits, but they know where your fruits are coming from.

Some will even say, “You’re lucky” or “You were naturally built this way.”
These are the people that may make excuses because they don’t have the same success as you do.

Don’t let the naysayers get in your way.

The doubters don’t know what it means to put work in.

Dennis Kimbro says it best, You must eagerly long for something — not mere wishing or wanting, but a fierce, eager consuming hunger that knows no defeat and demands satisfaction.

What will you do?

How will you prepare?

How will you react when your number is called?

Part of building habits is also positive self-talk.

Instead of saying I want to shoot more 3 pointers or I want to increase my handle, it’s important to claim the statements as true.

I am an elite shooter.

I do have a strong handle.

And yes, it may not be that way immediately, but we put the work in while we train with those mindsets.

Improving every day so that eventually what we believe in our mind becomes true in our ability.

You must long for it.

For Cam, It all lead up to this moment.

Being Down by 5 points with 58 seconds left.

The pressure is on.

But it’s time to have a short memory.

Cam had a short memory.

She missed a 3 pointer with 3.41 left in the game.

But that’s in the past.

We must be in the present and be mentally tough for the future.

Encouraging ourselves, going through the motions in our head knowing exactly what to do.

Cam got subbed in with 14 seconds left.

Norfolk State was down by 3 points with 6 seconds left on the clock.

The play didn’t originally come to her, but she stayed ready for when the defense collapsed on the driving woman.

Cam put both hands up demanding the ball.

Because she was ready.

Because she prepared for this moment.

And wouldn’t you know it?

She iced the 3 pointer to tie the game to eventually win in OT.

That’s how you score 14 points in 16 minutes as a freshman.

Yes, there are always lucky people.

Someone has to win the lottery right?

But in sports, business, and leadership you may get a lucky bounce or two but the real luck comes from being 90% being prepared and 10% lucky.