Derek Anderson: Stamina Don’t Run Out Of Breath Before You Win

Everyday I woke up I always had a plan to better myself. The problem was most of the people around me didn’t think that way. I used to get frustrated because I always wanted to be better than my situation but other people around me were content on being stuck in poverty or accepting that they couldn’t have a better life. It seemed as if I had to run my own life at an early age just to survive to see the next day.

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At age eleven I lived alone in a run down apartment with no electricity and no food for three straight days. At the age of twelve I lived in a shelter home because the school system didn’t know my real social security number. I had a child at age fourteen and at age fifteen I had to work two jobs in order for my son and I to survive while growing up in the middle of a drug infested project housing. I’ve had to endure my sister being killed by our father’s best friend while her two-year old daughter was in the home. I had to stand by helplessly as my mom would lose her fight with substance abuse and endure my father walking out my life for more than 15 years.

My final awakening was surviving a brutal stabbing from a neighborhood street fight that would have kept me from sharing my life story of outlasting my opponents. My opponents in life consisted of poverty, loneliness, disappointment, jealously, and lack of equal educational opportunities. But like I learned in sports, life is about how bad do you want to win. How much time will you be willing to put into making your dreams become a reality? How much are you willing to sacrifice now for your success later. I have won on every level of basketball but my biggest accomplishments are being a good father, a good person, and a great child of God. I’m just getting warmed up to win my last championship, and to bring home the best trophy ever….. My Legacy! I named this book “STAMINA” because everyone has come to a point of giving up or in a situation right before we were able to win in life.

Don’t let someone’s opinion about you become your reality. Don’t let fatigue defeat you and make sure you have STAMINA to be a Champion in life.