“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you.”
-Rocky, Rocky Balboa

Just when you think you have the world by the balls, the world throws a quick, clean, bone shattering haymaker squarely into your jaw. You’re on the floor, dazed. It happened so fast that it seems surreal. The world is standing over you, spitting in your face as it yells insults and in your current state, you’re helpless to do anything about it.

You lay there for a moment or two. That was a powerful hit, probably the hardest one you’ve ever taken. Yet, you’re still alive, it didn’t kill you. In those moments, you think deeply. All the mistakes you’ve made come rushing into your mind. Each one, you analyze deeply and pick apart. What if I had done this? What if I had said that? What if I had understood that before? What if, what if, what if…

Another moment passes. You feel hopeless, self-doubt creeps in. How can you recover? That hit was hard as fuck. Your eyes are watering, your ears are ringing, and you’re coughing out blood. Maybe you’re not as tough as you thought. You’re rattled, scared, and unconfident. Your once proud demeanor has been routed. Still, you managed to gain what little semblance of will power you have and crawl on your knee’s.

The world has forgotten about you, left you in disgrace, and is off to destroy its next victim. You’re struggling just to barely crawl. You see your muscles still work and you’re not completely broken. You have a small spark of fire reignite within you. What can you do different? What can you do to better prepare? What can you do to not make the same mistakes? What can do, what can you, what can you do…

You linger on all fours. You talk to yourself, motivate yourself, and you push yourself. You’re beaten, but not defeated. You feed that little flame. Slowly, it grows brighter and hotter. You regain your confidence, composure, and you’re no longer rattled. That hit wasn’t that bad. You have been toughened by the previous beat downs the world has given. Your recovery time has become shorter and shorter. You’ve handled tough situations before and you’re still here. You’ve never given up on yourself, even in the darkest of times. You figured out what you can do. You’ve eliminated some options and decided what you will do. You know what you will do to be smarter. You know what you will do in order to never take the same hits again. You know what you will do so you will be a tougher competitor for the world. What will you do, what will do, what will you do…

With a mighty push you get up on your feet. There will be no more feeling sorry for yourself, no more negativity, and no more loser thoughts. You’re salty and hardened by your experience. You’re intense and you have a clear focus. You’re implementing the changes that you’ve thought about. You’re doing the work, you’re paying your dues, and you’re growing as a human. You’re becoming better and better, day by day. You’re breaching the threshold that at one point you plateaued at. That flame inside of you has become a wildfire, its radiance and power overwhelming your very being. The you that was downtrodden is long gone and the vigorous and invigorated you presently appears. You are ready. You think back at all the things you’ve done to prepare yourself. All the things you’ve done to create a better you. All the things you’ve done to never make the same mistakes again. All the things you’ve done, all the things you’ve done, all the things you’ve done…

You strut up to the world, ready to take it on once again, and look at it right in the eyes, “Hey mother fucker, remember me? You fucked with the wrong son of a bitch.”

~Raul Felix

Hey world! Fuck you and read this: Warrior-Scholar