Risk Taker.

As a young boy growing up I have always been the outcast, the kid who always spoke about taking another option,  taking "risks", the rebel, all because of my once unknown faith. But, this mindset or thought didn't manifest until I decided to listen to my gut, and follow my heart of becoming a professional in Europe.  Many thought I was crazy for thinking this way, many people couldn't see outside of the society we lived in, couldn't see outside the teachings of their parents and friends growing up; sub conscious habits, many wouldn't dare to follow their own instincts, but rather be controlled be somebody else's, I always thought, what about faith? what about our imaginations we had as kids? why did that have to be taken away?  I once was scared to follow my heart, because sometimes what your heart is telling you to do is so ridiculous, so out of the ordinary, humiliating, and scary, but what f*** is fear?  Coming to Europe to pursue a soccer dream at the age of 24 was not ordinary, but when I seen the Jay Demerit movie, it gave me a bit of hope, and of-course God, the bible does say "ask and you shall receive, seek and you will find" why not take a risk and pursue what I so greatly asked for, is it really a risk, or is it reality.  To conclude my point, I am happy I have taken risks in pursuing a vision, a goal, a dream of mines and have the upmost respect and appreciation for those who have supported and helped me along the way, I am forever grateful. Hold on to your passion and love, despite what is going on in your current situation, have faith that it will come to pass, I am 100% sure if you do not give into fear, negativity, and doubt, you will succeed in all you do, do not be afraid to try, God is good!  What would I be doing right now if I didn't follow my heart..? A question I will never know the answer to!  #BlackSpyder #Love

That Feeling!!

That feeling.......  Every athlete should be able to relate to this feeling I experience everyday naturally, but today at training, the feeling actually ran through my body, everything became slow motion, everything became brighter and more magnified.  The feeling of lacing up your boots before going to do what you love, going onto the battlefield, that hunger to win and succeed, fighting for your teamates, coach, fans and club, but most important your family and loved ones, entertaining. That consciousness hit me extremely hard today; I am across the seas in Europe doing what I love, and pursuing a dream, with joy and love, its exciting, its unknown and scary at times, but I love everything about it.  To all athletes who currently play, or once played, always hold onto the feelings that you experienced in your sport, they have taught us more than we can imagine, and have taken us to places some people never go, hold tight. Until next time....#blackspyder #Godisgood

A run of Gratitude

 So I went to sleep lastnight with the idea in mind to go for a nice run this morning, just to activate my muscles and get the blood flowing, also to stretch out, and make use of the morning & my day off.  The run was amazing!!!! I had no clue where I was running to, got lost a few times, but just followed my instinct and a few trails. After about 25 minutes I was lead to beautiful scenery; a frozen lake, surrounded my multiple trees, its presence brought an instant feeling of peace, joy, and gratitude. I instantly released my mind of soccer and just thought about my journey and how grateful I am to be able to experience different cultures and countries in this world, and pretty much everything I presently had in that moment. My family and friends, a support system, my health and talents, a roof over my head,
food in my stomach, down to the very eyes, nose, and mouth I had to experience this work of nature. I realized at the moment how blessed we are as people, and as individuals. "Be grateful for all you have in life, because somewhere around the corner there is somebody who wished they have what you have" #blackspyder

Thursday 8:21pm

So this week of training is pretty much concluded and it has been very positive. Lately I have been feeling more a sense of peace and joy from within, letting go of situations and letting God, the universe do their natural work. Through my experiences over the past few years, days, hours, I have learned that everything has an opposite, with most good, there is also bad, but I have a choice to what I choose to focus on, I choose positive!! I am in control of myself, my being, who I am and the way I conduct my attitude, this mindset has helped my performance on the field over the past few days. How do you view your current situation, do you dwell in the negative side, or prosper in the positive? I recommend prospering in the positive!! #blackspyder

Latenight!

So being back in Finland has been pretty good so far, things are progressing in a positive manner, God is great! The other night i had the opportunity to watch the documentary on Kobe Bryant, called Muse. After watching that it brought me Back to the mentality I always possessed as a kid growing up, that raw inner beast that is hungry to succeed, to win, before I allowed the world and myself to put the beast to sleep. It has awaken !!

Kobe explained his love and passion for basketball and Always being an outsider due to his mindset and passion to better his craft everyday, his will and intent are extremely motivating, because I can relate. Through the lessons I have endured, coaches saying no, people Telling me I am not good enough, situations where I completely dominate and perform, and still few refused to sign me, I can not be stopped, its like pouring gas onto Burning flames. "I was not made to fit in, but rather stand out"

New Location, New Trial

So, now that I have changed locations, and found myself back in Finland where a great opportunity presented itself, I had to come here and show what i can do on field, and the man I am.  When it's time for me to move, and travel again a lot goes through my mind, things such as is this the break and team I have been waiting for that will give me an opportunity? Is this where God is bringing me to learn something in life? How am I going to manage being out of contract and with no stable source of income at the moment, how long can I last? Just to name a few.  I always end up sending my mind away in times of doubt and turn these questions into affirmations, I take the risk and go anyways, and somehow it usually works out in someway or another.  I guess this is the price I pay for going after a dream, a vision, they say sacrifices must be made in order to achieve your goals, I have experienced this over and over, and it does sometimes get overwhelming, and difficult, but I always continue to push through, all things are possible, I hope this is the break I am looking for, I believe I deserve it.  I like to keep these short and straight to the point, and share my thoughts, and whats on my mind.  I was once a kid who believed he could fly, it's time for me to test my wings.

My Why, My Reason, My Purpose.

Hope this finds you well,

As a young footballer growing up in Canada where football "soccer" is one of the most loved sports, but most difficult to break through because of the soccer culture in Canada, I write this post to bring you inside my mind.  I write this message as a means to connect with young footballers in Canada, and around the world who are finding it difficult to break through and fulfill the dream of becoming a professional athlete. I have a few questions that I asked myself when pursuing my vision and goals after the setbacks and heartache I suffered early on in my career. The first question was, what do I want to do with my talent and career? Secondly, where in the world do I want to play, and how can I get there?  These two questions for me were extremely important at the time, because I began to question my abilities and goals, because of minimal opportunities around me, and all the negative criticism about becoming a professional. This post is to let you know that your dream is a reality, that if you put your mind and heart to something it can be done.  Do not make someone else's reality of a situation your reality, stay firm to your dreams despite what is going on around you, and what your current circumstances may be, it shall come to pass.  ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!
Until next time...