By Daniel Paiz

Basketball might be an outlet for this writer, perhaps even a consumable addiction of sorts (outside of writing). “Olympic Inspiration” for me isn’t simply observing hard working athletes achieve their various dreams. It’s acknowledging whatever route they took to get there, and all the work that was put in. Hard work is tiring. It can be draining, it can feel like it isn’t netting the results that you’re hoping for. Ideally it’s not just grinding in the same direction hoping the same efforts create different results. Smarter not harder doesn’t mean shortcuts to success.

Rather, it means learning from mistakes and mapping out a different course of direction. That can be hard. The people you see accepting medals for various accomplishments had to do just that. It can be harder than you or I might expect, mainly because it requires a shift, a change in behavior. That’s why I watch sports and I’m fascinated by the narrative surrounding the game of basketball: adjustments determine the victor.

Olympic Inspiration

Fulfilling Olympic spirit of the five rings,

five Golds later, accomplishing nearly everything,

for White Mamba and DB

this is light work,

been beacons for the sport

from UConn to Rio, it’s absurd,

hard to imagine Stars and Stripes

without these two playing though.

Slim Reaper causes controversy where ever he goes,

hard to find a better scorer hooping in Tokyo.

Pops got that Gold now to add to the resume,

this cobbling together of NBA stars,

seemed to click after initial dismay.

These words aren’t to highlight an empire,

more so to inspire those feeling like they’re behind,

tired of their efforts.

But now is not the time to hold back on the grind.

It’s working hard to follow-through everytime,

it’s about achieving what you dream,

Committing oneself to growth tenaciously.