Inspirer of the Week – Week 14
Andrew “Jersey” Manas
Stay true to who you are and what you believe in.
Once you find yourself and find what you believe in, stay consistent about who you are and what you believe in.
There’s a reason people always say, “consistency iskey.” Think about some things that take more than one try to accomplish (basically everything). We always give the example of the hammer and the nail. If you consistently hit that nail, it’s eventually going to be where you want it to be and that’s completely in wherever you’re hammering it. With that being said, if you consistently work at whatever it is you’re passionate about, you’re eventually going to be where you want to be.
Our examples almost always lead back to the “lonely road” that not too many people are willing to travel. Why? Because it’s tough, it’s almost never ending, there are a lot of detours, there’s not much help, and most of all, people are simply afraid to travel it not being 100% certain of what it leads to.
But when it comes to turning your dreams into your realities, don’t think twice!Time doesn’t stop just because you’re unsure. Go! You’ll never know unless you try.
If you don’t make it… Great, you’re back to square one. You’ve been there before! You know what to do. Easy!
If you make it… Great, you’ve turned your dreams into your realities!
Why not?
For Week 14, we chose someone who has been consistently “chasing” (literally) his dreams since playing video games as a young kid.Congratulations to Andrew “Jersey” Manas for being our fourteenth “Inspirer of the Week.”Andrew is from Sayreville, New Jersey where he grew up all around sports, but one he’s dedicated himself and life towards most is basketball. Being shy at an early age, he found himself playing a lot of video games. One game he always played was a basketball game where he was the General Manager (GM). As the GM, he would build a franchise and do his best to win championships.
To us, this is the first part of the process! You need to literally see yourself where you want to be before you get there. Use your imagination to dream of anything and everything that you’re passionate about then chase that dream!
That’s exactly what Andrew did. In 2009, he was blessed with winning tickets to the NBA Draft. From that, his love for the game of basketball only grew bigger and he’s set the goal of becoming a college coach.
He currently attends Bowling Green State University where he majors in Sport Management and minors in Entrepreneurship. In the classroom, Andrew said a lot of the focus is around sports and what the industry involves on the business side of things such as the facilities or marketing. As a manager of the BGSU Men’s Basketball team, he had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with NBA’s Richaun Holmes and has the opportunity of working under two different staffs. Andrew has done some work in a few other areas of the game outside of Bowling Green as well.
A few things that Andrew has experienced include attending one of the best National Championship games ever played (North Carolina vs. Villanova in 2016), meeting Craig Sager at the Final Four in 2016, and working Duke’s Basketball Camp one summer. Andrew said that is was really cool to meet Craig Sager because of the enormous impact he had on the game of basketball and professional sports in general.
Last week, Andrew attended a watch party of the Final Four and National Championship game in Phoenix, Arizona where he strengthened and built new relationships through the game of basketball.
After finishing his undergraduate, Andrew plans to head right to graduate school where he plans to be a Graduate Assistant under a Division I basketball program. He said, “There I can continue my journey to become a college basketball coach.”
One of Andrew’s biggest inspirations is a person who he met at a certain place. In 2013, Andrew attended another NBA Draft and met professional speaker (among other things), Morris Morrison. Grow up, Morris was orphaned twice with little money, but never gave up and is quite successful today. When Andrew met Morris, Morris stated a very powerful quote to him…
“Most people who quit or give up is when success is right in front of them, they let their family get in the way of their dreams."
Today, Andrew keeps that quote in mind and consistently pushes everyday to make an impact like most of his mentors have before him. He said,“I continue to do what I do every day because I refuse to sit around and just let live go by without making a major impact. I want to impact kids lives and change the way people go about things. I don’t want to be just a basketball coach, but a life coach where I can help someone with anything they need.”
Andrew also finds his motivation through the music he listens to. From the beat to the words to even the video itself, he finds some type of motivation through it.
“My OneDay is to change the world through the game of basketball.”
One thing Andrew would like to tell the world is that…
“I want everyone to realize that not everyone is so fortunate to have things handed to them at times. You have to work hard, really hard, much harder than everyone else to achieve your goals. If you do just that, luck will play out on your side and eventually you will get to where you need to be whether its tomorrow, next week, 5 years or even 20 years down the line. Just do not stop, because when you do that dream you have will just become one you had.”
We love the end of that! Andrew said that when you stop chasing your dreams, those dreams would turn from what you HAVE to what you HAD. That means they would no longer exist because you gave up on them!
Like we mentioned earlier, stay true to yourself and what you believe in then stay consistent. Be like that hammer. Continue hitting that nail until it is where you want it to be. Maybe you’re studying for a test, study until you reach your goal of getting all the practice questions correct. Maybe you’re a baseball player getting ready for your next game, ground that extra ball or catch that extra pop-up. Or maybe you run track or throw in the field, practice your steps one more time to just be sure. Whatever it is…Be that hammer and keep hitting that nail!
Better yet… This week… Or until you create a habit of it… Be like Andrew “Jersey” Manas when you’re chasing your dream. Get up, go out, and get it! Network, study, travel, work, and basically do whatever it takes in order to turn your dreams into your realities!
“It’s not going to happen in one day, but one day, it’s going to happen.”
Stay inspired,
Connor and Nolan Eli