Jimmy Chim

Tag: Perseverance

  • The Cost of Delicious Lentils

    Earlier this week, we went to an Ethiopian restaurant nearby. Like our last visit two years ago, Shita, an Ethiopian woman in her fifties, greeted us with a warm, soft smile and hurried back into the kitchen. She was the only person working. Taking phone orders, cooking, serving — it was all her.

    The chickpea stew, lentils, and spicy mushrooms came out piping hot. As we enjoyed our meal, Shita confided she would likely close the business in the coming months. Rent had increased substantially. The kitchen would flood at times. The landlord was difficult to deal with: he refused to fix the plumbing issues and other damages on the property, and they were in multiple disputes. She fixed some issues on her own and paid for a contractor out of her pocket for other bigger problems, essentially making her work for nothing for days.

    Even though the quality of her food was outstanding (4.5+ stars on Google Maps and Yelp with hundreds of reviews)—Shita clearly took pride in her food—business had declined due to covid and inflation. A month ago, a customer stole her iPhone along with a credit card processor when she was working in the kitchen. For the next two days, customers couldn’t reach her (some grew concerned and checked on her in person), and she lost more business.

    “I have managed this business alone for eight years,” she said. “I’m tired. I think I’m ready to move on. It’s okay. The worst case is that I will live with less. I have my family. I have no problem being happy. I will figure something out. Maybe I will go back to the farmer’s market.”

    It’s rare to get a glimpse of the people working behind a mom-and-pop business. Shita strikes me as someone who believes. She takes risks, works hard when no one else pays attention, and persists even when the outcome is uncertain.

    Once I understand the real cost Shita bears to share her food with the world, the price I pay for my lunch is clearly too low.

  • How Joel Embiid Became an NBA MVP

    1. The Process

    Joel Embiid landed in Florida in 2010, fresh from Cameroon. At the age of 16, he spoke little English and didn’t know anyone in America.

    Joel signed up for a summer basketball camp three months before his trip. That was his first time playing basketball. At seven feet, he dunked on another player on the first day.

    Luc Mbah, a Cameroonian NBA player, saw Joel’s potential at the camp. He made calls and got Joel an offer to play high school basketball at Mbah’s alma mater in the US.

    When he showed up for his first practice at his new high school, Joel was brutally bad. Beyond dunking, he had no fundamentals. The coach said he was terrible and asked him to leave the gym. His new teammates laughed at him. He tried to defend himself and ask them to trust the process.

    They said, “LOL NAH YOU SUCK.”

    Joel returned to the dorm, devastated. He looked up plane tickets back to Cameroon.

    “This is crazy. What am I even doing here?”

    2. Studying The Best Players

    In his dorm room, he turned on some Lil Wayne rap music. The pain from the humiliation faded a little. Slowly a strong sense of motivation emerged.

    He didn’t believe that was the end yet.

    He said, “I’m just going to work and work in the gym until I’m good. KOBE.”

    His coach in Cameroon sent him an hour-long tape of the best big men in the NBA. Joel put the video on repeat every day for three years.

    YouTube became his second coach. After endless hours, he noticed the best shooters all share a few things in common: tucked elbows, bent knees, and smooth follow-through. He started to imitate what he saw while practicing daily with a friend.

    He imagined himself to be a good basketball player.

    3. Consistency of the Work

    After Kobe Bryant retired, Joel had an opportunity to meet him.

    When Kobe walked into the room, Joel told him he started playing basketball seven years ago because of him and how he’d shoot the ball at the park and yell, “Kobe!”

    Kobe laughed. He then said to Joel:

    “O.K., young fella. Keep working, keep working.”

    Joel went to the gym after.

    Joel Embiid (1994–) is a professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers. In May 2023, he won his first NBA Most Valuable Player Award. He has averaged over 30 points per game in the last two seasons, including a career-high of 59 points against the Utah Jazz in November 2022.

    Reference: Wikipedia, It’s Story Time (Joel’s article)

  • Did He Waste 27 Years?

    Before Nelson Mandela helped end apartheid and became the first democratically elected in South Africa, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for his political involvement.

    His bed in prison was a straw mat. The prison guard physically and verbally harassed him. As a prisoner, he was required to do hard labor and break rocks into gravel in a quarry. The prison denied his request for sunglasses, which caused permanent damage to his eyesight.

    At any point during his 27 years in prison, he could conclude he failed. After all, his physical freedom was constrained. His 8-foot-by-7-foot cell could be home for the rest of his life.

    However, he chose a constructive path. He studied for a law degree (even though the warden revoked his study privilege multiple times). He used his legal knowledge to prepare for his trial and supported other prisoners. He wrote long essays that have since inspired many.

    Archbishop Desmond Tutu once insightfully commented on the time Mandela served in prison:

    Many would say, Twenty-seven years, oh, what a waste.

    And I think people are surprised when I say no, the twenty-seven years were necessary.

    They were necessary to remove the dross. The suffering in prison helped him to become more magnanimous, willing to listen to the other side.

    Without the twenty-seven years, I don’t think we would have seen the Nelson Mandela with the compassion, the magnanimity, the capacity to put himself in the shoes of the other.”

    Mandela’s story reveals a different way of thinking about hope. Unlike the “everything will be okay” type of hope we see in movies, this kind of open and participative hope is challenging, for it requires us to:

    • Acknowledge the persisting pain
    • Focus on the available options
    • Grow under unfavorable circumstances
    • Believe our choice has an effect
    • Remain curious about what will happen

    The question for us: Is this difficult kind of hope worth it?

  • Failure is Not the End

    While writing her first novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, author J.K. Rowling went through a dark period in her life.

    At one point, she was jobless. Her short-lived marriage ended. She lived in a mouse-ridden apartment as a single parent on government assistance.

    She reflected on those difficult times:

    “Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me…

    Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

    Source: The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination

  • 4. From Devastation to Triumph: A Basketball Story of Perseverance

    Steve Nash is one of the best point guards in NBA history.

    Throughout his 18-season career as a player, he made more than 9 out of every ten free throws across 1,300-plus games. His three-point percentage was 42.8%*. Most impressively, he contributed more than 10,000 assists^.

    He attributed his success to preparation. “If every basketball player worked as hard as I did,” he said, “I’d be out of a job.”

    But one thing most people did not know was that Nash suffered from a degenerative spine condition called spondylolisthesis. It created tremendous pressure and pain in his back. One wrong twist could put him out of the game for weeks—possibly forever.

    This threat did not stop him. Nash followed a special regimen to train his core. He stretched daily. He re-learned how to run, jump, and pass to avoid injury. When he wasn’t in the game, he would lie on his back instead of sitting on a bench to reduce muscle stiffness.

    With his more petite body build, Nash also developed a style to minimize direct contact with the big guys. Instead, he created opportunities for his teammates. When no one was looking, he finished a play with a graceful finger roll.

    Nash did not blame the bad cards he was dealt with. Instead, he accepted the challenge. He focused on what he could control. He worked hard, he worked smart, and he worked around his limitations.

    Grit, fearlessness, and resourcefulness.

    That’s what made him a great player.​

    ​​*Only 14 NBA players have ever achieved 3-pt field goal pct above 42%. Two other notable ones are Steve Kerr (45.4%) and Stephen Curry (42.8%). Warriors fans would then ask, “What about Klay Thompson?” He’s at 41.7%.
    ​
    ^Nash ranked no.4 in career assists. Watch this video for his top 10 jaw-dropping passes. I have admired his game since I was a little kid!

  • Use what you have

    If you don’t have a pencil, use a pen.

    If you don’t have blue, use black.

    If you don’t have lime, use lemon.

    Use what you have. Don’t get stuck.