The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do.

Earlier on today, whilst checking out one of my daily reads, SlamOnline, I watched the new Derrick Williams ‘Are you from HERE? spot…and it inspired me.

The spot shows Derrick’s journey to the NBA, his background and tells the story behind his life.

Derrick’s spot is the fourth in the ‘Are you from HERE?’ campaign which includes other Under Armour sponsored NBA players Kemba Walker and Brandon Jennings.

The campaign takes us on a journey into the lives of these Under Armour players and shows the hard work and dedication that goes on behind the scenes as well as their backgrounds away from the court (you can check out the videos in the YouTube playlist below).

Here are some key messages I picked out from the campaign;

‘Take Where You’re From and Do Something With It’

Derrick Williams, Kemba Walker and Brandon Jennings all grew up in different surroundings, but had something in common; the heart, desire and passion to make it in the game of basketball.

It doesn’t matter where you’re from and what up-bringing you’ve had, if you want something bad enough then you can achieve it.

‘Here reputation is earned’

In life you have to earn your reputation; Whether it’s on the basketball court or in the boardroom.

Your reputation will be defined by what you do and no-one is going to build your reputation for you.

‘Here is never being afraid to fail and getting back up when you do’

You don’t have to fail in order to achieve your dreams, but you can’t be afraid to fail. If you go through life fearing failure you’ll probably miss out on many great opportunities.

‘Here is putting in the work while no-one’s watching’

If you want to make it, you have to put in the work whilst nobody is watching. Sitting up late on your laptop, working hard in the gym – whatever it takes to get you where you want to be.

It’s often not glamorous, but putting in the work while no-one’s watching is essential to achieving your dreams.

‘The streets are filled with chance and choice’

The world is full of opportunity; Now, even more so than ever.

Never before have we all had such a chance make our voices heard, to build something up and the make our own way in life. Every day we’re presented with chances to shape our future.

There’s chances out there for all of us, we just have to make the most of them.

How bad do you want to achieve your dreams? Are you from HERE?

What do you think of this campaign? Has it also inspired you? Let me know in the comments – I’d love to carry on the discussion.

- Love this.

Whatever way you look at it Steve Jobs changed the world.

It’s not often someone like Jobs comes along; someone that has the drive, passion, enthusiasm and ambition to follow their heart and make a difference to the world. Whilst he was unique, we all have the ability to change the world like he did.

It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone.

We won’t all have a worldwide impact like Jobs did, we can’t all change the world on the same scale as he did, but we all have the ability to change the world around us.

You don’t have to come up with the next big invention, revolutionise an industry or be a well known figure to change the world and the lives of those around you. If you’re a blogger one of your blog posts could inspire someone to change their life or do something differently. If you’re a fitness instructor you could help someone become healthier. Even just sharing a laugh with someone can make a difference.

In this ‘Web 2.0′ world and the ‘age of social media’, it’s easy to get carried away with how many Facebook ‘likes’ we have or how many Twitter followers we have. At the end of the day those figures are irrelevant. It’s how we help others and add value to their lives that’s important.

Everyone has the ability to make a difference, that in itself is an amazing thing.

How will you change the world?

“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

After speaking to Oscar Ugaz, Online Marketing & Digital Business Manager, and Pedro Duarte, Mobile Business Manager back it March, it was easy to understand how the Real’s on pitch success had translated into the online world.

The club has now taken their digital offerings to the next level by becoming first football club in the world to launch an authentic social game for all its fans and followers. The game, Real Madrid Fantasy Manager 2011, is already available on Facebook and IPhone, and gives all football fans the opportunity to step into Jose Mourinho’s shoes and become manager of Real Madrid.

Read the full article on The UK Sports Network….

In my opinion community is the most important factor in social media, and content, in most cases, is an indispensable stepping stone to building community.

if content is king, your community is GOD!
Gary Vaynerchuk

For me it’s the engagement and conversation around content that brings social media success and builds community. Constantly pumping out content is great, but engaging with the people who view and discuss it is often the difference between success and failure. This engagemnt is where relationships are built.

There are  people out there who are at the top of their industries but aren’t necessarily the best at what they do, they just know how to market themeselves. The same goes for many products and services. Content is of course a big part of their success but the community these individuals/brands build is what drives the sales and positions them at the top.

What do you think, is content really king?

Social media provides a massive opportunity for athletes, sports teams and organisations of all sizes and levels and it’s not being utilised by many at the moment.

Last night I released ‘The Essential Guide to Grass Roots Sports and Social Media‘ with the aim of helping people involved in grass roots sports understand what social media is and importantly how they can utilise it.

You can download the eBook for free here. I’d love to hear your thought on it and how you feel athletes, sports teams and organisations of all sizes and levels can use social media?

• why should fans care?
• why should teams care?
• why should athletes care?
• why should agents care?
• why should coaches care?
• why should colleges care?
• why should agencies care?
• why properties care?

Thanks to Jason for inviting me to be a part of this project. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the series and why you think we should care about social media in sport?

Me trying (and probably failing) to dunk when I was younger.

During my year away from basketball I barely picked up a ball, or watched a game. But, a few months ago I took part in a charity game with a few friends and it reminded me how much I enjoyed playing, so I decided to permanently bring my Jordan’s out of retirement, and I’m loving it. The first few training sessions were a struggle, but I’m starting to get back into the swing of it now.

My comeback also got me thinking about a post Lewis Howes wrote a while ago, ‘Don’t Forget What You Are Passionate About: For Me, It’s Dunking!’ See video below. I completely agree with Lewis, it’s important not to forget your passions, during my year out I forgot how much I enjoyed basketball and if it wasn’t for that game a few months I may never have rediscovered it.

It’s not just on the court where I’m getting involved with the game, I’ve also started to think about basketball off the court and I’ve written a couple of articles about the ‘Back British Basketball’ campaign and how the sport can grow in here in the UK. If you’re interested you can read them on The UK Sports Network and SportsNetworker.com.

The responses I’ve had to these posts have engrossed me in the game even more, British Basketball fans are so passionate about the sport, it’s crazy. I already have a couple more basketball articles in the pipeline and it may well be area I write about and aim to work in a lot more in the future.

Whilst I may have made a comeback to playing, I’m pretty sure I’ll never be remembered for what I do on the basketball court but, maybe I can make a difference off of it….