Jay DeMerit's belief and positivity that anything is possible is infectious. And he should know. Against the odds, Jay reached his dream of playing professional soccer at the highest level in the world in England's Premier League and even won the winning goal off his head in the Premiership. From anyone's perspective (except his), he was nuts to think that he could achieve this dream based on his background. But through a relentless belief in himself, a strong support group who also believed in him, and unflappable positivity in the face of adversity, he kept progressing, training, taking risks and finally opportunity met preparedness and it happened. It is such an extraordinary story of inspiration that a Netflix documentary was made about his story, Rise and Shine, the Jay DeMerit Story.
The beauty of Jay is after achieving greatness (he went on to play in the World Cup and was the first draft pick and Captain for the Vancouver Whitecaps), he wanted to give back and help in the development of youth, so he developed a program called the Rise and Shine Captain's Camp where he has formulated his system for achieving your dreams and put it into four pillars for a Success Mindset:
Belief: in yourself, in your dream, in your purpose
Respect: for yourself, other people and your environment
Work Ethic: beyond working hard which is a given, are you willing to do what it takes even when you don't want to?
Positivity: there is no avoiding adversity on the route to pursuing your dream but flip it around through process and results, asking what did you learn and believing it isn't a loss it's a gain.
Although Jay has retired from playing professional soccer he is pursuing new big dreams and taking bold risks. Partnering with EA Sports he is in the process of creating education for kids world wide. And no surprise, he believes his program can change the world. I believe it too Jay!
@d6merit @whitecapsfc @watfordofficial @uswnt @captainscamp #riseandshine #creative #boldleaps #risk #dream #positivity #believeinself #motivation #inspiration #changetheworld @boldleaps #athlete #soccer #meaningfulchange #education #youth #warrior #leader #believer www.jaydemerit.com (sadly most of the live Instagram video @boldleaps was lost due to a technical difficulty, but there are still a few minutes left on the IGTV video, and every word of his holds a great message so have a listen)