While watching two teams compete against each other, I immediately noticed something: one team looked hungry and inspired, and the other team looked entitled.
The entitled team was more experienced and talented, but the inspired team wanted it more and ended up winning.
One of my favorite movies is A Bronx Tale, and in the movie, young Calogero “C” Anello’s dad said, “The saddest thing in life is wasted talent, and the choices that you make will shape your life forever.”
One of the quickest ways to waste your talent is to feel entitled to something, and one of the most effective ways to maximize your talent is to stay inspired and hungry.
People who are inspired and hungry are willing to go above and beyond in everything they do, they have a high standard for what they do and they never do the bare minimum. They know they will make mistakes and possibly lose, but they keep fighting with courage no matter what.
When you are entitled, you believe you inherently deserve certain privileges, benefits, or special treatment just for showing up or without necessarily earning or deserving them. In this case, the entitled team thought they would win because of who they were, the team they were on, and their past success; but that was not enough.
In a TEDx Talk titled, Entitlement is a Sticky Cologne, Elias Cairo said entitlement is one of those things that holds people back from being the best version of themselves. He spent years in an apprenticeship in Switzerland where he learned, “If you are so fortunate to fall in love with what you do and all it can provide for you, your family, and your community, it no longer becomes a task; it becomes the only thing worth living for.”
He then said, “Nobody owes you anything. If you want to live the life you want, you are going to have to work on being a better person every single day.”
I once heard someone say, “You are either inspired to change or forced to change, but change is inevitable.” If you stay entitled too long, you might not like the change that is coming, and if you can stay hungry and excited, you can create and become the change you want to see.
In sports and in life, don’t work and act like you are entitled to anything. Show up early, stay late, and do the little things like touching the line. Maximize your life, time, and opportunities by doing the most you can with what you have instead of doing the least you can. Don’t be the kind of person who does just enough to get by - always go the extra mile.
Don’t minimize yourself by giving minimal effort.
If you want something, you have to work for it and earn it. If/when you get what you have worked for, you have to keep working to keep it because the second you start to feel entitled and stop putting in the work, somebody behind you who is hungry and inspired will take it from you.
In all that you do, look for inspiration and avoid entitlement. Every day, find ways to get better and find ways to make the people and world around you better.
SOMETHING(s) TO THINK ABOUT
1 - Are you inspired and hungry or entitled? What would the people around you say?
2 - What are 3 characteristics of someone who is entitled?
3 - What are 3 characteristics of someone who is hungry or inspired?
4 - Who is the most hungry or inspired person you know? What do they do that makes them hungry or inspired?
5 - When someone is entitled, how do you help inspire them?
For a printable PDF of this post, click here: Inspired vs Entitled
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