On working hard and giving your best

Hopefully, this blog entry would explain why I “kill myself at work”

Don’t you feel like an underdog sometimes? Don’t you feel that if you had more money, a nice home close to work, a car and a driver, or a maid to do stuff for you, then you could’ve been already earning double what you currently earn? Don’t you think that without some of these daily difficulties, you could’ve done more?

I’ve always tried to give my best in things I do. I really don’t feel like I can get by with just giving an
average effort. I feel that others are born with better brains, better talents, better looks, and better-off families.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with what I have right now. I feel that I’ve been lucky all my life. I have a great family, a loving girlfriend, great friends here and at home, a good education, a good job, plus, I’ve been to another country. In short, I’ve got everything that really really matters in life. That’s more than what some people have.  But then, I still feel that other people are luckier than me. I still feel that there’s still a lot more out there. In response to this, I try to offset these percieved deficiencies through a ton of effort.

I feel a mix of love and hate whenever people underestimate me. I hate the way people look down on me saying, “oh this guy is too short to play basketball”, or “sorry, you only have two years work experience”. I hate that but at the same time, I love it because it challenges me, it motivates me to creep up behind them and whip their backsides. WHAPPPPPPACK!!!

You’ve probably heard all the success stories like how former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide used to study under a street light. How business tycoon John Gokongwei used to peddle candles on the streets, how Ben Wallace won 4 DPY’s after going undrafted, the list goes on. Even the man who owns the company I work for right now used to be a telephone technician.

These people were underdogs. These people had nothing but dreams.

As always, I also feel like an underdog. I feel that I need to put in at least two extra hours at work in order to match the output my peers produce. I want to be at least as good as they are right now, and if I could be better, then that would be a bonus. I want to be the next John Gokongwei. I don’t want my parents to be working anymore. I want to own my own white sand tropical island.  I want more.

It’s not that I feel I am better than these people around me, that’s just plain stupid arrogance. I’m even thankful to have them since they’ve already blazed a trail. All I have to do now is follow.

People have been telling me that I’m a workaholic. To me, it’s simple. I want to go all out in everything I do. Running, basketball, school, work, Cami, YFC, NBA Live, you name it. I hate the idea of ending the day knowing that I didn’t do everything I can, knowing that I could’ve done more. Nowadays, I only have my job and my friends with me. Cami is abroad, my family is in Cebu, PS2 is broken. Thus, all my time goes to my job and my friends.

So this is who I am now: A person with dreams who believes in hard work. A person who takes a blue-collar approach to a white-collar job and everything else.

Does this make any sense to you at all? Hope so.