Ray Allen: Letter to My Younger Self

"In every locker room you’ll ever be in, everybody will say all the right things. Everybody says they’re willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to win a title. But this game isn’t a movie. It’s not about being the man in the fourth quarter. It’s not about talk. It’s getting in your work every single day, when nobody is watching.

Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade. The men who you are going to win championships with are all going to be very different people. What makes them champions is the boring old habits that nobody sees. They compete to see who can be the first to get to the gym and the last to leave."

"Most of the time, you will be alone.

That won’t make you the most popular person. Some people simply won’t understand. Is the cost worth it?

Only you can answer that.

Who am I supposed to be?"

"Most people will never really get to know the real you. But they’ll know your work."

Full text.