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Be honest. Are you currently doing everything that you possibly can to make sure that your dreams come true? If the answer to that question is, "No," WHY NOT? I want you to do something for me: Stop making excuses. It is time to take full responsibility for why you are not closer to achieving your dearest goals. Are you truly doing everything you possibly can with the 24 hours you are given every day? Are you taking advantage of every opportunity? Are you honestly giving your all? At the end of the day, we are all "self-made," but only the successful ones seem to want to admit it. Will you face adversity? [...]

Very often, I am asked to speak on the following topic: Never Cut What You Can Untie. What this means is that you should never make a permanent decision because of a temporary circumstance. In other words, don't make a bad decision out of emotion. When I was about 15 years old, I was washing my hair in the sink when I almost killed myself. My hair got tangled in the drain, causing the water level to quickly rise. I couldn't move my head, which made me panic. I screamed for my mom to help me. She wasn't coming fast enough, so I screamed again. I heard her coming up [...]

Luck is the meeting of preparation and opportunity. I learned that important lesson years ago from the First Lady of the United States. Regardless of your political view, my encounter with Michelle Obama literally changed my life. After being invited to one of her community speeches, one of the local news reporters invited me to the media area to be introduced to the First Lady. The reporter had recently published a story about me, and he thought it would be great for Mrs. Obama to learn about my contributions to the community. After talking for about ten minutes, the First Lady seemed super impressed. "Do you have a copy of [...]

Ashley Thompson was in her second semester of medical school when one of her professors decided to give a pop quiz. Ashley was a "Straight-A" student, so she wasn't particularly worried about the ten-question quiz. She answered questions 1-9 with ease. Then she paused at the last question. It asked, "What is the first name of the lady who cleans up our department hallway?" Clearly, this was some kind of joke. How was Ashley supposed to know the first name of the lady who cleaned up the department hallway? Yes, Ashley did see that particular janitor every single day, but how was she supposed to know her name? Ashley took her paper [...]

During the 1980 Olympics, Russian scientists did a study. They divided the athletes into four different groups. The first group did 100% physical training (meaning all they did was work out their bodies and lift weights). The second group did 75% physical training and 25% mental training (meaning they visualized and did mental exercises on top of their workouts). The third group did 50% physical training and 50% mental training. The final group did only 25% physical training, and 75% mental training. This means that the fourth group spent 75% of their time utilizing visualization techniques and mental exercises, while spending only 25% of their time in the gym. At the end of the [...]

One of my favorite athletes of all time was Muhammad Ali. He was not only dynamic in the ring, but he was also a true inspiration. Years ago, he was quoted as saying, "He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life." This quote is so simple, yet so true. In life, we have to be willing to step outside of our comfort zone in order to see true success. We can't always "play it safe." It's sad that many of us in today's society would rather be certain we are miserable than risk being happy. Don't be one of those people! Take risks, and [...]

Years ago, when I was competitive in gymnastics, I used to always get very nervous before competitions. I remember one time in particular, I asked my mom, "What if I don't get first place?" My mom looked at me with her loving eyes before giving me the following response: "Rae-Rae, I don't care if you get first place, third place, fifth place, or tenth place. All I care about is if you truly gave your best. Someone else's best may be better than your best on a particular day. However, if you truly give your all, you will have no regrets." I still think about that advice, even to this [...]

Because of your support, the 2016 Student Athlete Summit was an enormous success! Our speakers were phenomenal, and there were over 900 individuals in attendance at the groundbreaking event! Nearly a week later, I am still receiving emails from students, parents, coaches, CEOs, and guidance counselors about how enlightening the event was. One thing that really resonated with many of the attendees was a quote from our keynote speaker Eric Thomas. In his presentation, he gave the reason why he has so many degrees despite the fact that he absolutely hates school. He said, "I hate school, but I love options... I HATE SCHOOL, BUT I LOVE OPTIONS!" He continued on by [...]

Today, I gave a speech at an elementary school in South Carolina. The fifth grade was having its end-of-the-year awards ceremony, and I was the keynote speaker. Throughout the entire presentation, the students were very attentive. Not long after I finished speaking, multiple students asked for pictures, autographs, and how to stay in touch with me. I was on cloud nine. As the kids were coming up to me, parents and teachers were stopping to speak as well. One father, in particular, came up to me with tears in his eyes. He said, "I know you came to speak to the students today, but I want you to know that [...]

Last Thursday, my boyfriend (now fiancé) proposed to me in the most romantic way possible. I feel so blessed that God presented me with such a great man; just five years ago, I never even knew he existed. This thought made me think of all of the other AMAZING people in my life, as well as how important it is to keep the RIGHT people in your life. Sometimes, we get really messed up when we try to put lifetime expectations on people who should only be in our lives for a season. We use the excuse, “Well, I’ve known this person for 10 years!” Or, “We’ve been friends since elementary [...]