I was watching this Kylian Mbappe documentary on the BBC and Arsene Wenger said something that stayed with me. He said: “(To succeed) you first have to think I belong to this world”. As simple as those words are, it’s the reason many people fail at anything they do. They don’t see themselves good enough. They don’t see themselves capable. They don’t deem themselves worthy or deserving of the opportunities they have. He concluded that statement with “(you must think)it’s natural of me to express my talent and make a difference.” Imagine living everyday like that, going into the world with the full knowledge that you have a place in it, and everything you do to show yourself, and your qualities to the world is natural and you’re expressing yourself to make a difference. I think that’s powerful. I always recommend watching, listening to, and reading the stories of elite athletes. There’s always a difference. It’s talent, it’s strength, it’s some bit of luck, it’s strategy, it’s the environment. No matter how good you may be, if you don’t have parents or coaches who see that talent early, and carefully make important decisions for you, you’ll not become as big as your promise foretells. It’s why I’ll always respect Victor Osimhen and his story. Becoming what he became almost against all odds isn’t what many do, as we can see from the many footballers who never lived up to their levels. Each time I watch sportsmen, elite sportsmen and the roles coaching and their parents play in what they become, I’m convinced any Nigerian footballer born in Nigeria who makes it big on a global scale is an outlier. And it’s mentality. Some people can’t hear can’t.