The Pro Journey

A baller's story from intense struggle and failure to achieving his dreams

My Exact Visualization Came True

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I visualized playing professional basketball, standing on my balcony of the high rise building I lived in with my hands spread out and head up toward the sky screaming “I made it!!!” and guess what, that exact vision came true. It was so crazy and spooky how it happened exactly how I envisioned it. I mean I was wearing the same red jersey with my backpack on when I visualized it 2 years back. Now I know some of you might be saying yeah right that’s b.s. or some of you just don’t believe in visualizing success or something you want. But man when I was in my toughest times, working a job I hated and waking up every morning this is the exact visualizations I would have. In fact, I had a ritual which I still do every single morning. That is immediately upon waking I wash up, pray in our prayer room, then walk downstairs to drink some water, brew my coffee and right before I drink the coffee I close my eyes, look up to the ceiling, tilt my head back, chest out, curve my back, spread my hands out wide and silently scream “AHHH!!!” as if I was standing on that balcony with my hands spread out screaming “I MADE IT!!!”I would do this visualization ritual for months and months.

Of course, at first it was just a way for me to keep my goals in focus and know where I wanted to go. I learned it from one of my mentors, Tony Robbins, who says to get what you want in life you must first see it already achieved in your mind’s eye. When you see it so clearly and vividly in your mind, you then work towards manifesting it into your life and let the rest take care of itself. Well, boy did I see the vision clearly. Not only did I see it. I felt it. I felt the cool summer breeze blow on my face, I could smell the fresh air up there on my balcony, I could feel the sun glowing on my face, I knew the exact red jersey and red shorts that I was wearing and I was always so excited to be overlooking the beautiful buildings of the city. Looking back on this visualization it is a bit spooky how my exact vision came true. I mean I simply put my vision and desire out into the universe and it answered my pray and granted my wish. In that moment, I remember also having goosebumps because I already lived that moment in my mind and was living it for real this time. I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real. And yeah that shit hurt, so I knew it was real.

So, from this experience, I have applied visualizations to many other aspects of my life. And yes, some have come true and others have not…yet. But I’m so grateful and blessed to be able to have some of my visualizations already come true. It’s the Law of Attraction, however I believe to get what you want you must not only visualize it you must also take consistent action to get toward your goal and so I call it the Law of Action Attraction.

Take action today and start visualizing what it is that you truly want to achieve in this lifetime. Trust me. It will work. You have to be able to see it in your mind’s eye long enough, and take enough action to make that dream and vision a reality. As Napoleon Hill says in his classic, Think and Grow Rich, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve.” So see it, believe it and achieve it. Let’s get it.

Let me know your results and thoughts in the comments section below. I’d love to help and guide you during your journey.

Follow your heart and Do What You Love

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Follow your heart and Do What You Love

I’ve struggled with this idea for many years. Of course, when you’re a kid, you believe you can do anything. You follow your heart, you only do the things that which you love. You have this wonder and glimmer in your eyes that anything is possible and that you are that person that can make it possible. There is no fear, no doubt, no negative thoughts, no worries, no stress, no complaining, no plan B. You’re all in. Heart, soul, mind and body.

And in fact you do go on to achieve amazing things. But to you it’s like nothing. It was supposed to happen. This was your plan all along. You expected it.

But then you become an adult and you have to find a job, support yourself, provide financial security for your family which results in stress, working at a job you hate but stay at it because it pays the bills. You dread getting up out of bed every morning. You hate the person you see in the mirror. You’ve lost your soul and will to live life to the fullest. Now, you’re living like a zombie. Just coasting, not talking with anyone, making eye contact nor making a difference in someone’s life. You’ve checked out…This was me back at my day job before playing Pro Ball. I hated my life, hated my job, hated my commute, hated having to live a life that did not allow me to live out my dreams. I was playing Semi-Pro Ball at the time with the Bronx Holy Flames and I also had a business on the side, which I started since I love online marketing, love helping people, but most importantly to repay my Mom and Dad for putting me through Private High School and College, and also to help them pay for their expensive mortgage for our 2 houses and bills. I made some money over the past 5 years with this business, but it was a failure. And I did not make nearly enough to support my family let alone support myself. But, it was Basketball that kept me going. That gave me purpose. That filled my thoughts and heart almost every second of every day. I would sit at my boring day job and dream of playing Professional Basketball, getting paid to do what I love and traveling the world. I thought having my local marketing business would allow me to do that but it didn’t. So, I took matters in my own hands. I went to Vegas, got an agent, tried out for a Pro Team and got signed to play on my first pro deal in Mongolia. I still had my business, which was making me some money and was making money playing ball. But it wasn’t enough to help my family in a big way. So, I did some soul searching, scoured the internet for businesses that I could be successful with. However, in my heart I knew I wanted to build a business around Basketball. I had already started blogging about my pro journey here on this site, I had gained a ton of new experiences playing overseas and traveling, and had become a much better player. So I decided I wanted to do what I love and share my knowledge of the game and experiences with aspiring young athletes to help them take their game to the next level.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to make any money but I knew that I had to follow my heart, do what I’m best at, and share it with the world. It’s only a matter of time, when I’d be impacting the lives of thousands of people, making enough money to retire my Mom and Dad, and living out my life purpose.

I’ve come to learn that you can monetize anything. Whatever is flowing within you and which you think about all day, you CAN make money from it. It can become your career. You just have to have enough faith and discipline to make it a reality. Although at this moment in time, I have not made money from this website or my basketball business I know in my heart that I will impact the lives of millions one day, be making millions inspiring kids to get better and living out my life’s purpose.

If you are not doing what you love you are selling yourself short, cheating yourself, harming yourself, doing a disservice to yourself, bringing unnecessary and unwanted stress.

Here are some quotes which have inspired me and stuck with me all these years:

“I learned many, many lessons from my father, but not least of which is that you can fail at something you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance doing what you love.” – Jim Carey

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

“Success comes to those crazy enough to follow their dreams. Here’s to the crazy ones.” – Steve Jobs

“Profit from your purpose.” – Eric Thomas

“Being realistic is the most common path to mediocrity.” -Will Smith

“Passion is the genesis of genius.” – Tony Robbins

“When you walk up to opportunities – don’t knock it. Kick that bitch in, smile and introduce yourself.” – The Rock “Dwayne Johnson”

So, think about what you love to do and go do that. Follow your heart, and do what you love. It is only a matter of time when you will be successful beyond your wildest dreams.

Journey through Mongolia’s Chingis Kahn Temple

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Check out my journey through one of Chingis Kahn’s Temples in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

This was my very first time in the outskirts of Ulanbaatar, Mongolia. Breathtaking views in this beautiful mountainous area showed me how far I had come, what hardwork can allow you to experience and how gorgeous the world really is. And as some of you know I was in Mongolia because it was my first Professional Basketball job and this video was shot after my 1st season.

#TheProJourney #LifeIsGood #DreamsDoComeTrue

What did you think the Chingis Kahn Temple in this video? Cool or just frickin awesome? Let me know in the comment section.

Keep working and share with us your journey. Stay Blessed!

Boudha – Kathmandu, Nepal 30 Day Miracle Morning Challenge

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So, I am sitting here in the Himalayan Java Coffee Shop in Boudha, Nepal.

I woke up early this morning and completed my first Miracle morning this year as I followed the SAVERS ritual today. SAVERS stands for Silence, Affirmations, Visualize, Exercise, Read, Scribe.

After doing this ritual I feel more empowered, energized, alert, grateful, and unstoppable. For the past few weeks I’ve been sleeping late and waking up late, which made my days more stressed, less productive, and made me doubt myself a bit too much on whether I was making the most of my time here in Nepal or not. However, after waking up at 5:50 AM today, completing my SAVERS ritual, getting out of the house to my favorite Coffee shop I already feel more productive and excited to go after this day.

I’m taking on this Miracle Morning Challenge and will continue it moving forward during my time here in Nepal and even while I live in Bangkok in 2 weeks.

Life is a blessing and I know in order to achieve what I have set out to complete here in Nepal I must rise early. That will allow me to prepare my mind, heart, body, and will to give my all each day, be selfless and help as many people as possible.

Here are my goals for these next 2 weeks in Nepal:

1 Help construction workers rebuild Boudha Stupa and/or Swambu
2 Help my National Team players get better
3 Get better and ready for TBL in Bangkok
4 Meet my Uncle Samden, few aunts and cousins
5 Have Dinner with our President of Nepalese Basketball – Tendi Sherpa
6 Get my Thailand Visa
7 Go on a few dates with beautiful women
8 Add Blog Posts and travel photos to my Pro Journey Blog to inspire young players to go out and follow their dreams and passions.

And an interesting thing just happened. I met 2 businessmen who are launching an IT company tailored to the carpet industry. They approached me to ask if I did IT or engineering. However, I told them I do Marketing and they still would like to chat to possibly bring me on board and to be apart of their team and be a stakeholder in their company. Intriguing offer which I will think about but will be tough with my current business, professional basketball, traveling around the world, etc.

Well just wanted to write this quick post to go out there, achieve your goals, and know with hardwork and dedication anything is possible.

Lets get it!

Sonam

That Feeling of Putting On Your Country’s Jersey…

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I put on the Jersey that said “Nepal” on the front and walked out onto the court. I saw the people in the stands, looked around the stadium and cried.

This was me and my teammates after our 1st game in the South Asian Games in Bangalore, India:

SAG Game National Basketball Team - Bangalore, India

I was overwhelmed with pride, joy, excitement, and honor to be given the opportunity to represent my country while playing the game I love. All my hardwork, dedication, blood, sweat and tears led up to this point. Never has there been a Nepalese player who was born in Nepal, grew up in America and then came back to play for Nepal as a National Player. I was the first to have ever done it. But more important than being the first was the fact that I “was” now actually a National Player. I never dreamed of becoming a National player. For me, as some of you may know, my dream was to play in the NBA or professional basketball one day. I didn’t even know if it was possible for me to play on my Nepalese National Team since I grew up in America. I mean who was I to think I could play for my country out millions of other players they could choose from.

So how did I actually get on the team?

Well…it started back in 2011 when I was playing in our annual Nepalese Basketball tournament called “ANA”, which stands for Association of Nepalis in America. The ANA that year was being held in upstate New York. I guess I performed real well and caught the eye of our Nepal National Sports’ Vice President, Tendi Sherpa, who wondered if I’d like to play for a club team in Nepal. But nothing really came of that. So a year went by, I reached out to Tendi Dai (Dai means big brother in Nepali) and asked via email if it were possible for me to play on our National Team. He unfortunately said that playing on a club team was a definite but playing on the National Team was not really possible. So I told him there was no way I could play on the club team since I needed money to send back to my family and support myself. The answer was still that it wasn’t possible.

So another few years went by but by this time I had already played professionally in Mongolia. After coming back home to Jersey for the offseason, it just so happened that Tendi Dai was here in New York for a bit. So I quickly thought to myself, “well now that I’ve played 2 years Semi Pro and am a professional Basketball player” I have a good enough resume to possibly play for my National Team. So I said man f*&* it let me give it a shot and talk to him in person. So I got the help of my friend Paribesh’ Dad, Sundar Dai, who knew Tendi Dai when they were younger to help me convince Tendi and translate what I had to say in Nepali. We talked and long story short he told me I could try out and that there was a slim chance of me making the team. The fact of the matter was that there were 4 other coaches/judges who had a say in who was selected. But he said at the end of the day his vote is the most important and if I performed well he would do his best to get me on the team. And although that wasn’t a guarantee that’s all I needed to hear. Off I went to Nepal for the first time in 26 years. It quickly hit me as I was on the plane that not only was I about to try out for the National team but I was also returning back to my birthplace and a place I had dreamed of visiting ever since I was a kid.

Stay tuned for the next blog post where I’ll share my actual tryout experience and how it all went down…

Think of the hardest working person that you know…now work harder.

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Think of the hardest working person that you know…now work harder.

For me it’s my father. He is hands down the hardest working person that I know. He is unbelievable. He is simply super human. His work ethic fascinates me to this day. As a former British Soldier, he had cultivated these habits and unique set of skills while fighting for England. He has fought in the Faulkland war, in Popou New Guinea, Argentina. In fact, there was a story he would tell my brothers and I when we were little. He was in a swamp, pitch black at night infested with huge crocodiles. And all he had with him was his sword, gun and his rucksack. He said he was so scared since all he could see were there bright yellow eyes starting back at him. He was shivering and felt like was going to pee himself because of how scared he was. He and his fellow soldiers felt that they would attack them at any moment. But luckily none did and they made it safely through the swamp.

Along with my Mom, my Dad ran a successful Grocery Store business with my Mom for 16 years. During this time, he and my Mom would work 14 hours a day everyday for 16 years. They never took off and they would work even when they were so tired and sleepy. During the winter, my Dad would suffer from cracks in his hand due to the cold and washing his hands constantly with soap due to the fact he was constantly receiving and giving money to customers. My Dad even was held at gun point while working and was jumped by 2 guys outside of our store and was sent to the hospital. My parents worked so hard to provide a better life for my brothers and I.

Currently, my Dad works for a moving company called Oz Moving. Throughout the years, there have been times when he would wake up at 2 am to go to work, work all day until 12 at night. Eat, sleep then wake up at 5 to go do it all over again. This would sometimes be his shift for several months. The guy was a work horse, but he was committed to providing for his family and doing whatever it took to put food on the table for us and allow us to live a pretty comfortable life. But there have also been times when his whole body is hurting from all the heavy lifting he’s had to do while at work and I felt so helpless watching him wince in pain trying to eat his dinner. This sight would break my heart and I would give him a heat pack for his back which would work but only for a hour or so.

At home, he would clean things over and over again until they are shining. He would work on building things for the house.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, because he taught me the value of hardwork, dedication, being committed to providing for your family, to not make excuses, to never give up even when hope is gone, always keep pushing even when you’re exhausted as hell. He’s been working since he was 5 years old growing up in a small village in Nepal called Junbesi, through his 15 year army career, 16 year business career, and now with his 15 year moving career. His body is breaking down on him now at the age of 60 since he’s still working a hard labor job as a mover. He constantly says he wants to change his job since it hurts his body so much and so will be transferring to driving a TLC limo in the next year and then will be going into retirement a few years from now, which I will help him with.

So, when I think of my father and all the hardwork he’s put in which I saw with my own eyes it makes me push harder. And when I’m exhausted and feel I have nothing left in my tank I think of him working at his moving job carrying huge boxes and find that extra strength and that extra gear within me to push even harder. My father is an inspiration to me and one of my heroes.

Love you Dad.

P.S. Think of the hardest working person you know…now work harder.

 

Basketball Cone Drills that Helped Me Get Explosive, Tight Handles

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Check out these Basketball Cone Drills that helped me get explosive, tight handles. I created these cone drills by combining the cone drills I learned from Chris Paul, Steph Curry, and Damian Lillard.

This is my go-to ballhandling combined with shooting workout that I love to do. I love it because it is challenging, improves my handles, my stamina, my focus, and hand eye coordination and shooting off the dribble. I do this drill every other day to keep my handles tight and crisp.

They consist of:

1. The CP3 one bounce between the legs dribble from one cone to the next into elbow jump shot.
2. The CP3 one bounce between the legs crossover cone move into elbow jump shot
3. Steph Curry between the legs twice and behind the back move from one cone to next into elbow jump shot
4. Chris Paul protect the ball spin move into elbow jump shot
5. Damian Lillard explosive in and out move into elbow jump shot

But in this video, it’s toward the end of my workout so you see me only doing the Step Curry Drill, Damian Lillard Drill and setting up for the Chris Paul Spin move drill. But check out my other videos where you’ll see me doing all 5 cone drills from start to finish.

And remember when doing the drill, make sure you make 3 shots before moving on to the next drill. If you miss you have to go back to half court and start the drill over until you make 3 shots. It doesn’t have to be 3 in a row just make 3 off the dribble from the elbow.

I hope you found these drlls helpful and try them out next time you’re in the gym working on your game. It’s a challenging workout that I know will you get you better. And let me know what you thought of the workout and if you have any questions or feedback on how to improve the drills.

Hardwork & Dedication,
Sonam

21 Day Rise At 5 Challenge

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So today I decided to start my 21 Day 5 AM Challenge. #21DayRiseAt5Challenge. The reason I decided to start waking up at 5 AM everyday is because as I have mentioned in my previous post waking up at 5 AM is one of the best ways to win the day. Hal Elrod of Miracle Morning says “If you win the morning, you win the day.” and Robin Sharma, one of the world’s top Productivity and motivational Gurus says “Mind over Mattress” which means you have conquered your desire to sleep in and stay a little longer in bed. You are ready to go out, take action, enjoy life and crush your goals or to do lists.

However, getting up at 5 was not so easy today. A few reasons was because I drank too much water before bed causing me to wake up at 12:30 to use the bathroom. I also drank coffee at 6 PM so was not sleepy at all until around 11:30 (I went to bed at 10:30).

So aside from what made it hard to wake up at 5, here’s what made it easier for me to wake up and also inspired me to rise so early:

  1. Chris Paul Wakes up at 4:21 AM to Workout
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efoC26UXW5Y
  2. Kobe Bryant Woke Up At 4 AM To Practice Before Olympics http://www.willpowered.co/learn/what-we-can-learn-from-kobe-bryant
  3. Robin Sharma – Robin Sharma on “How to Wake Up Early” video part of his “5 AM Club”


4. I studied the top millionaires in the world and I discovered that they all wake up at 3-3:30 in the morning. – Eric Thomas “ET The HipHopPreacher” 

http://www.etquotes.com/quotes/i-studied-the-top-millionaires-in-the-world-and-i-discovered-that-they-all-wake-up-at-3-330-in-the-morning/

Now I know he wakes up at 3 AM but this still lit a fire in my ass to start consistently waking up early. Rise and Grind as E.T. calls it.

5. One month of waking up at 5am – George Doumanian

6. Why I Wake Up at 5:30 am Every Morning (And What You Will Gain From Doing It Too) by Entrepreneur Laura Mabille

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-mabille/why-i-wake-up-at-530-am-e_b_8055880.html

7. How To Wake Up At 5AM Every Morning Excited About Your Life by Stefan Pylarinos

So I hope you found this helpful, get to sleep early tonight and wake up at 5 AM tomorrow morning. Let me know below in the comment section if you’ll be joining the “21 Day Rise At 5 Challenge”. If you are just add #21DayRiseAt5Challenge. Also let me know what you thought of this post. If you liked it or not, how I can improve to make it better and any other topics you’d like me to cover. Til then peace. Rise and Grind. Hardwork & Dedication.

Ya boy,
So

Hardwork and Dedication

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I’ve never worked harder than I have while in Mongolia. Yes there were times that were extremely tough like when I sat out the whole 4th quarter of our 1st playoff game, angry at myself, the coach, and wanting to go back home.

But I sucked it up and just worked harder the next game and killed. You see every great player knows that through hardwork and dedication anything is possible. Look at Floyd Mayweather, the highest paid athlete in the world with a net worth of 500 Million Dollars. His main motto that he truly believes got him to where he is now 49-0 as one of the greatest fighters ever is none other than: Hardwork and Dedication. As I said in my previous posts, he trains like he’s poor because he’s so hungry and wants to be the greatest. He wakes up at odd times and runs for 15-20 miles at a time to stay in shape. He chops wood to add variety to his workouts, he does situps until they hurt and then some. He hits the speed bag, heavy bag, makes his sparring partners bloody in the face because of how hard he goes. Through hardwork and dedication he has become one of the greatest fighters to have ever lived.

Now, lets look at Bruce Lee, one of my idols. This man worked furiously on his body and technique to make sure he was the best martial artist and fighter in the world. Bruce was so conscious of his diet and eating healthy. In fact, he drank 6 raw eggs every morning. As for working out, his wife said that he would do splits while watching tv, eating food, and reading a health magazine. He was dedicated to his craft. He studied the game. His mentality and understanding of martial arts was on another level. He was so into philosophy that even to this day millions around the world still are in awe of his mind, are inspired by his simple yet profound ways of communicating kung fu, and admire his power, technique, physique and legendary work ethic. The man was superhuman and he even says it was insane amounts of hardwork and dedication that allowed him to become the master that he was.

Check out this video about a guy who writes a letter to “Hardwork” in the form of a video called “Dear Hardwork”:

Lastly, my man E.T. Eric Thomas the Preacher. He’s all about hardwork.

Check out his video on hardwork and dedication called “How Bad Do You Want It?”:

So, how bad do you want it? You got to want to become a Professional Basketball Player more than you want to breathe.

Get out there and put in work! With hardwork and dedication anything is possible! Without it, nothing is! Rise and Grind!

So, what’s stopping you from putting in hardwork and dedication everyday into your life and workouts? Let me know in the comments section below so I can help you solve this issue and get committed to putting in hardwork and dedication every day.

 

Wake Up At 5 AM Everyday and Create Your Miracle Morning

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I woke up at 5 AM today and started my morning ritual.

I drank 2 glasses of water mixed with lemon and green tea bag.
I did my priming (breathing) exercises and meditated for 15 minutes to get my calm myself, get my mind right, get centered, give thanks for everything God has given me in my life, and visualize myself as the best overseas professional point guard to have ever played the game, winning a Championship in the Mongolian Super League, becoming an MVP in the Mongolian Super League, winning a Gold Medal with my Nepalese National Team, and continuing my Professional Basketball career in the Philippines and Europe making a Million dollars per year. I also visualize myself having a successful business all about Basketball, with a successful basketball blog inspiring hundreds of thousands of aspiring basketball players to go out and achieve their dreams. I visualize myself making $100,000 a year with this blog and $4,000 a month with my local marketing and Kindle publishing business. Lastly, I visualize myself finding the love of my life, a gorgeous woman who loves to live, love, laugh, loves basketball, loves to cook, and loves me just as much as I love her, if not a little more ; ) haha. This woman is my soul mate, my best friend and I’m so grateful to have found her.

Next, I drink my Green Nutriblast Drink consisting of Kale, Celery, Collard greens, Spinach, Carrots, Broccoli, Ginger, Bananas, some Apples, some Oranges and Superfood Powder that has Macai (eaten by the Aztec Warriors), Gogi (known as superpower food for thousands of years), and Chia. I blend this all up in my amazing Nutribullet, drink it, then head on over the to Secaucus Recreation to start my 6 AM morning workout.

During my workout, I start with form shooting which I learned from the best Shooting Coach in the world, Dave Hopla.

I then do the following ballhandling drills

Cone drills – a mix of drills I got from Steph Curry, Chris Paul, Damian Lillard, my fellow Pro Player in Mongolia Chris Lawson, Micah Lancaster, the dribbling phenom Julian Newman, etc.

1. 7 spot shooting which I got from Steve Nash

2. 2 ball ballhandling work from CP3

3. Shooting off the Pick and Roll

4. Finishing at the Rim Drills – Kyrie,

5. Defensive slides into sprints (I got this from Chris Paul)

6. Suicides – I time myself and try to beat the previous time

7. And then finish with Chris Paul 2 ball drill which Chris does with his trainer Idan Ravin.

Finish usually after 2 hours then hit the weights for an hour doing bench bress, one armed row, planks, decline situps, exercise ball crunches, shoulder raises, military press, ladder on some days, Chris Paul one armed dumbbell Spartan jumps and more. These weight training exercises I learned from CP3, Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, etc.

Finally, I shower, go home, drink 2 gigantic scoops of my Serious Mass Protein Powder and eat 8 eggs (just like Bruce Lee) with Oatmeal for Breakfast.

This is my Morning Ritual and Training regiment. What’s yours?

Let me know in the comment section below. I’d love to learn about your morning rituals and training workouts. If you have any questions about my ritual or workouts I’m here if you need help.