What's up everyone?
been a real long time since I've been on here, let me give everyone a quick update. Basically my AAU season ended and I had finally gotten a couple offers from some good schools. Bridge Water State offered me a spot on their team and they are the top d3 team in Massachusetts. I also got some offers to from a couple d2 schools, one school gave me a permanent offer, and the team I really wanted to play for, Bryant University, a d1 team said that they would offer me a spot on their practice team and if I performed well I could eventually earn a position on the team when all their senior guards graduated.
At this point I had a tough decision to make. It had always been my dream since a kid to play college basketball, and I realized I was one step away from earning a spot on a D1 team. However, I realized that I needed to think about the future. Basketball is my passion but I realized years ago that it just wasn't how I was going to earn a living.
So, long story short, I decided to make my lass AAU game of my season the last time I would step foot on the court for an official game. With that in my mind, I scored 34 points, hit 7 threes, had 3 blocks, and my last shot was a 23 foot three from the right wing. All net, and I held my follow through knowing that was the last time I would ever have that feeling. I would be lying if I said I wasn't emotional after the game and for months to come. At times I felt like I had given up on my dream. I can still remember being 12 years old and shooting outside in the snow. My hands would get so wet and cold that they would split open at the seems of my fingers and I was constantly having to put this painful ointment on them haha. I remember all the fun I had at my ymca shooting and dribbling for literally hour after hour everyday by myself and playing pick up games with my friends. Every adult always says it, but now I know what they mean. Those truly will be remembered as the days of my life. I will always love this game with all of my heart, and even today I still spend hours shooting outside and I now ref younger kids as a way to stay with the game. As for my training, I don't train to jump high anymore, and I have probably lost 10 inches on my vertical!! lmao but I started getting knee pains and it just wasn't worth it when I wasn't playing seriously anymore. However, sometimes when I ref the kids ask me if I can dunk, and to my surprise I still can pretty easily. Nothing like I used to be able to do, just a simple 1 hand dunk but I still get that same rush I used to.
Now I am focusing heavily on my education. I am not attending college, as I feel that a college degree is not as meaningful as it used to be and that in a sense, college can be a waste of money in some cases.
I am currently studying finance, economics, and business from Bryant University and Harvard, I went to both schools libraries and just purchased the books. I am pretty sure they thought I was a student there though, I don't think they sell the books to just anyone. But I have been studying out of those books as well as doing my Certified Financial Planner's (CFP) program through Boston University online. I am the youngest person taking the course by almost 11 years, and if I pass the test in march 2013 I will be certified as a financial planner, meaning I can do peoples estate planning, federal taxation, life insurance planning, health insurance planning, retirement planning, etc. simply put I can become peoples "financial guy".
My main goal and passion, as many of you may remember is the stock market. I have been working with my dads company and have begun training under one of the most respected programs there is. I have been indulging myself into all the material and later this year I will be going to either New Jersey or San Francisco for a three day course. Once I have taken all of these courses (not cheap) I will be qualified to take a 3day exam in san francisco. aobut 40% of the people who take the exam pass, but if I pass I will earn my IBD Certificate, which will allow me use this certification in any career path I choose. Being IBD Certified is not easy to accomplish and is well respected in the industry. However I feel with me being 19 and not attending college I have a head start on the competition and plenty of time. Along with all of this, I have also started making trades officially. My dad gave me the majority of money it would have cost for me to attend college and put it into an account which I have been trading with. With his help I have been making trades under the system of IBD and have done awesome this year so far. I haven't closed any trades yet but the account is up pretty nicely.
My main goal is to build a highly respective "track record" with this account over the next four years. All of the trades are logged and cannot be changed or edited, so I will have a permanent record over the next 4 yours of my performance. With this record, along with my CFP Certification and IBD Certification, I plan to either try and land a job at a hedge fund in 4 years as a portfolio manager, or more likely I will start my own hedge fund. There aren't many people opening hedge funds at the age of 23, but just like in basketball, I believe if I outwork the fuck out of my competition, I will succeed.
As for training, I have been lifting very seriously as of late. I went back in my journal and found some of my old stats so I want to update them
December 2011 - bodyweight 170lbs. in shoes
March 2012 - bodyweight 176lbs. in boxers
December 2011 - max bench 190lbs.
March 2012 - max bench 205lbs.
December 2011 - max close-grip bench 155 x 4
March 2012 - max close-grip bench 215 x 1
December 2011 - max dumbbell press 65x6
March 2012 - max dumbbell press 80x3
I've gotten a lot stronger and put on a lot of size. Well that's just an update for everyone, going to start logging every day again. I want to thank all of you who showed me great support on my journey to a scholarship. your support gave me eve more motivation to succeed. Though I did not take any of the offers that I got, I am still proud of what I was able to accomplish as the un-gifted 5'8 white kid. In my mind, I succeeded in my journey. I will always love basketball with all my heart, and if I can take one thing from my experience it would be that no matter the circumstances, those who out-work the competition will succeed.
Just like I did with bball, I now wake up at 5 a.m every morning to study the stock market for hour after hour. It's time to apply what I learned with this game into other facets of my life. Now the dream is to apply these sample principles and make millions in the stock market. My next journey has started
