He Came In 30th So What?

Pursuing your passion is not a journey for the faint hearted. Your definition of success as a goal and you sticking to it can end that journey or see you through it. There are aspects of spirituality, discipline, life etc that come into play but today I want to focus on the importance on not giving up.
I was on twitter and saw tweets from different sources on Akwasi Frimpong’s performance at the olympics. Some sources dwelled on the fact that he underperformed because he had the lowest score.
Akwasi Frimpong is Ghana’s first skeleton Olympic athlete. Wikipedia defines the skeleton sport as:
a winter sliding sport in which a person rides a small sled, known as a skeleton bobsled, down a frozen track while lying face down. Unlike other sliding sports of bobsleigh and luge, the race always involves single riders. 
It would be awesome if Akwasi came out first or top three but he didn’t. Are we saying that pursuing your dream and seeing it through regardless of not achieving your goals is not good enough?
I resent that!
It is that attitude that dampens our spirit to explore and take risks.
Akwasi has probably sacrificed time and resources all in an effort to out Ghana on the map. The least we can do is be supportive.
Ghana needs more people especially the youth and younger to see Akwasi’s effort as a reason to take risks and pursue their passions. Coming out tops is good but more important in my opinion are the lessons learnt on that journey. 
He came out 30th so what? 
His name will not have been written in history if he didn’t sacrifice time and resources to pursue his dream. Because of Akwasi a young minority will be empowered to believe that they can make it in winter sports regardless of their environment. 
I relate a lot to Akwasi because as an artist I feel I am pursuing my passion as well. It is not as rewarding but I have dream to be the greatest Spoken Word Artist and Rapper and I will continue to pursue it.
Yesterday via twitter I received a tweet from a fan asking to buy my album WTF? that I released last year. We communicated privately and in minutes he had made a purchase. He informed me through conversation that he saw me perform “Gidigidi” at Yoyo Tinz shrine at Chalewote Festival 2017, James Town, Ghana and had been thinking about the track since.
I was humbled! 
Last year was stressful for me as an artist. I had challenges in creating and promoting my album. I sold a few copies but after September 2017 things kind of took a down turn. I did not give up but I needed time to find myself and strategize towards making progress. 
So yesterday’s tweet was a beautiful gift of encouragement that made me feel appreciated. I wish it was always like this but I appreciate the little steps of progress.
I feel Akwasi needs encouragement like the one I received yesterday. Let him know via social media that he is beacon of hope. It lifts the spirit in a special way. Do it because you understand what it means to have encouragement.
I urge you all to encourage anyone who is pushing or pursuing their dream. Criticism is all good but all of us need encouragement to make it. So lets be proud of our own and encourage all to reach for the stars.
Akwasi came in 30th but if he hadn’t participated he would have been last. He did not give up and saw himself all the way through. I believe he has picked up valuable lessons to improve on his performance in the next olympics. In my eyes he is a hero keeping it One Hondred!