Carolina Confidential

I have zero talent.
Everything I am and everything I know—I learned the hard way.
Through mistakes. Through mess. Through the school of hard knocks.
I’m self-taught.
I’m self-made.

I’ve got a lot of its.

If I have it, I worked for it.
If I wanted it, I saved for it.
If I want to keep it, I take care of it.
If I love it, I cherish it.

But “it” was never handed to me.
Never.

For some people, “it” comes easy.
For Me? Life has always been a grind.
A hustle from the start.
Nothing about my journey has been easy.

And no matter how hard I push, no matter how much I grow, there will always be haters. People waiting for me to stumble as I rise.
And that’s fine.

Their hate?
It’s fuel.
It always has been.

I feed off it—through every high and every low.
Sometimes with laughter.
Sometimes with tears.
But I feed.

I keep going. I keep moving.
Even when fear is right there at my side.

Fear.
It’s always close by.
Whispering reminders of every mistake I’ve ever made.
Sometimes it sounds like family.
Sometimes it sounds like coworkers, friends, or society.
Sometimes it sounds like me.

Fear is loud.
But I’ve learned:
You don’t have to be fearless.
You just can’t let fear be in charge.

I’m not about to leave my future in someone else’s hands.
Because no one’s going to match my level of effort, hustle, or hunger.
No one’s going to want it as bad as I do.
So why would I leave it up to them?

Look—everyone on a winning Super Bowl team gets a ring.
Even the ones who sat on the bench.

But that’s not good enough for me.

I don’t want the trophy if I wasn’t in the game.
I’d rather be out there putting in the work—getting knocked down, clawing forward, giving every last drop—
because win or lose, I’ll know I showed up.

That’s what matters.

It’s easy to get stuck in the loop—
Work.
School.
Bills.
Kids.
Dinner.
Rinse and repeat.

But at some point, if you want to stop striving and start thriving, you’ve gotta step out of the comfort zone.
Fear will be there.
But greatness doesn’t live where it’s comfortable.

I have zero talent.
And that’s okay.

Because I’ve got drive.
I’ve got work ethic.
I’ve got grit.
I’ve got hustle.
And I put in work.

Until next time,
Stay safe. Make good choices. And as always, stay kinky My friends.

~Dray Orion