Learning from Role Models You don’t Know – Yet

Dear Net Buddies and Blazers,

During an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, LL Cool J was asked “do you ever think about quitting?” and without hesitation, he said “Absolutely yes, everyone that strives to be great, at some point thinks about quitting, but it’s in those times that we need to power through and keep moving to be great.”  We all have dreams and goals we set for ourselves, and once we start pursuing them, we run into obstacles and some things we never expected. In many cases we get the urge to quit and look for another dream to fulfil. But those that power through and strive to achieve what they set to do, are the people that succeed. In the same interview, LL Cool J said we are on this planet to maximize our potential, and even once we have achieved our goals, we set new ones and strive to do something else that is great.

I watched a few interviews of LL Cool J with the aim to understand what motivates him, and what kind of people he would want working for him or surrounding him. I encourage you all to pick a role model, someone that motivates you. This person can be famous or not.

Then compile a list of five things that you like about this person and why they inspire you. After that, look at the list and tick the characteristics this person has that you would also like to possess. The aim is to think about what you need to keep motivated and help you achieve your goals. One thing we hear over and over is that achieving your goals takes a lot of hard work and dedication.

I compiled my list of five things based on LL Cool J, and the top things ones I want to possess are:

• Maximize my potential and apply myself to more things that I want to achieve or obtain.

• Become less afraid to fail. Failure teaches us lessons so that we do not repeat them. What’s important is learning from those failures and picking ourselves up and trying again.

I challenge you all to compile a list of five things or characteristics your role model lives by. Then just like I did, select those you want to develop. Once you do that, comment these things back on Infinite Family so we can all learn from your assessment.

– Andrew Johns, Net Blazer