The 5 D's one year later...

This is a repost of sorts. I do this every year when it comes down to examining my preparation and my performance. I rewrite it just to see how much I have changed in a year. Since I have had very little time to prepare I have to condense all of the things down into a relatively short amount of time. It can be applied across many things in life not just in drum corps or in sports. These are five things that have been ingrained in my head long before I started marching corps and each of them has transcended itself into my life in more ways then one. Here goes:

Desire
This is where it all begins. If you don’t have the desire to be great at certain things then you are wasting your time chasing your dreams. Real genuine desire is hard to find. Search deep inside yourself, find what you want, and focus on your goal. Whether it is to become a great performer, a great athlete, a great worker, a great father, whatever it is find the desire and hold on to it. Without the desire for something, you will never be able to move on to these other four things I am going to write about.

Determination
So you have goals, dreams, and aspirations that you truly believe in. What is the next step? How determined are you to meet your goal? How committed are you to your dreams? You determination to achieve truly great things is you commitment level toward achieving your desires. It can come in many forms. You have to be determined to get what you want at all costs. This is completely selling out to your goals, and once you are prepared to take all the steps necessary to achieve them you will go on to great things.

Dedication
“Faith without works is dead.” I heard this quote years ago and it has stuck with me for quite some time. Desire and Determination is faith. Dedication is the works. You can have the other two qualities all you want, however unless you are willing to stay dedicated towards your goals then you are setting yourself up for failure. The reason why we often don’t achieve great things is because we don’t really dedicate ourselves to doing whatever is possible to achieve them. Dedication is where the real hard work begins. It only gets harder from here though, but as far as I know nothing in life is simple.

Devotion
Devotion is the hardest part for people to comprehend. Devotion can be summed up in one word, Heart. When times get tough and the road towards achieve great things becomes a little bumpy and winding it is Devotion that will get you through the tough times. You have to put 100% of your undying faith into everything that it is you are trying to accomplish. Your Dedication towards achieving you goals will be directly affected by your Devotion. If you are not Devoted to your beliefs then everything else can slip away. The road to greatness is very very difficult and few ever get there. Many of us get glimpses as at, many of us have experienced it for a moment, very few people ever truly get there. Stay the course, stay Devoted and you can really accomplish great things.

Discipline
Discipline is the key to unlocking each of these other four qualities. Discipline is also the hardest quality to achieve. Discipline is a matter of staying focused and doing whatever it takes. On the road to greatness we will at times lose sight of these other qualities at one time or another. If you stay Disciplined enough however you will not stray to far from them. Master discipline and nothing can stop you on your road to achieving all of the things you truly want.

Work hard at these and you can accomplish unbelievable things. Think of them everyday in everything that you do and you will find yourself more focused then ever before. Stay honest and true to yourself with all of these thoughts in mind. No goal is too high provided you are willing to pay whatever price is necessary. And if you should fall short of your goals, never stop reaching for them. Falling short of what we truly want is what builds character in each of us and makes us who we are. Strive for excellence in everything that you do and excellence will follow you everywhere you go.

Desire
Determination
Dedication
Devotion
Discipline

If you truly believe then you will go on to do amazing things in your life.