The memory of my first football game is still fresh on my mind. Then I was still seven and innocent.

The sights of grown men kicking a ball around with some people falling down in the name of ‘dribble’ was so intriguing that I was determined to try it out one day.

My parents never allowed us to play football because kid on the street always fought while playing football.

The day came when my mum took us to a friend’s house, my buddy and I were allowed to play outside.

Suddenly, a ball appeared from nowhere and so did a lot of kids I didn’t know existed in that compound. Before I could blink, some kids made a makeshift goalpost with their slippers and it was time to play soccer.

“Emeka, can you play?” a voice asked me. My six sense told me to mind my business and remain as a spectator as usual but curiosity got the better part of me and I longed to ‘kick’ the ball with the rest of my mates.

“Yes,” was my shy reply and not long afterwards, I was inducted in a team.

And so the game began.

I was a laughing stock for the first part of the game because of my inability to complete a single pass.

I was kept in post to save me the shame of running around the pitch only for me to concede goals and therefore, I was allowed to charge and roam and attack and defence all at once.

Frankly, the adrenaline rushing through veins won’t let me think straight and not long enough, I was already gasping for breath.

I decided to take a short break near the post of our opponents while watching my team get mesmerized.

My team was already down by three goals and then the opportunity came; one of our opponents have made a wrong pass to me with the believe that I was his teammate and the ball was right in front of me and I was right in front of the post.

“Shoot the ball! You can do it.” was all I could hear. It was my buddy calling out to me. And with that split-second motivation, I shot the ball into the makeshift goalpost and that attracted a lot of cheers from my teammates.

Words have a way of getting to the sub consciousness of a man whether it is from a friend or foe.

Every day, we hear motivational speakers speak to us live or on the internet and then there is this sudden realization which creeps into our subconscious to be the best we can or go out to succeed.

Truth be told; there are a lot of dream killers out there whose job is to make your ambition look bad, untenable and impossible.

But whether it is a career choice, business decision, relationship choice or anything whatsoever, it is to look out for the right motivation.

And there is no better place to start than believing in oneself. I never believed I could play football talk more of score a goal until my buddy said “shoot the ball! You can do it.”

The funny part was that he was playing for the opponent but he still found the courage to encourage me which attracted criticism from his teammates.

There is always space up the ladder so whether you got there first or later, you can also motivate someone to be the best then can be.

What if I hadn’t scored that day? There may have been other chances but I would have been too demoralized to venture into playing football ever again.

And so every time I go out to play, I remind myself that ‘I can do it’ and those words stuck.

We didn’t win that match but I scored my first goal in a game I’ve never played before and till date, any time I remember ‘you can do it’, I take the risk of doing things I’ve never done before. Who knows, it might be my lucky day.
READ MORE: https://myinspirationhub.com/you-can-do-it/