If you want to contend

don’t pretend

strive to be the best

don’t achieve

through any underhanded means

put in the work

to become incredible

don’t settle for underrated

excel week to week

don’t be conditional

be exceptional

don’t use any other ex

excuses are useless

don’t ride in on coattails or cabooses

put in the work

put in the work

put in the work

don’t give a crap

about anyone else’s dream

do what makes your eyes gleam

run up mountains

push up till you can’t but stop counting

put in the work

put in the work

rise to the occasion

put on a performance

quiet your critics

go beyond your preconceived limits

don’t aim for perfect or ideal

just put in the maximum effort

so you don’t end up sitting on a couch

dissatisfied with your life

and nothing to reflect on but a pile of strife

put in the work

put in the work

support the foundation

rise to the occasion

show others why you matter

but slap them away if all they seek

is reciprocated flatter

put in the work

to find the people who truly matter

embrace your friends

astound your critics

defeat your enemies

conquer their hostilities

don’t pretend

strive to contend

don’t achieve through

any underhanded means

don’t rely on magic beans

needles or pills

don’t take the drugs

that prevent you from paying your bills

put in the work

to become incredible

gain their admiration

but don’t take it for affection

follow the law of respect for respect

just put in the maximum effort

the rest will follow

put faith in your sister

listen to the moans of your brother

the advice of the father

is equal to that of the mother

respect relativity

reject captivity

those that want to control

everything that you are

fight for themselves

not for you to be a star

avoid any shortcuts

you think that you know

but you don’t think that

you aren’t invincible

on a basis of principle

rely on the value of time

put in the work

put in the work

to become the very best

that ever could be

enlist in opportunity

avoid redundancy

pity the man who envies you

appreciate the woman who wants you

don’t take people at appearance

avoid a judgmental call

until you have discovered all

that the depths of their personal  ocean

have to place in view

don’t question the things that they  hide

but wonder about what they showcase

discuss the meaning of logic

why people act how they do

are who they are

demand what they need

boast about what they do

conceal the actions that they do

relinquish their possessions

ask why, not what?

put in the work

to become your dream

don’t cheat yourself

the work you put in

is what you remember

take a needle or  pill

no one else may know

but you will

why would you pretend

that you truly contend

hopped up on shortcut

if they discover, they will say, what?

you become public enemy number one

life ain’t no longer fun

you are your own limiting factor

don’t cave to pressure

put in the work

expand by natural inquiry

not any illegalized obscurity

don’t be afraid to be above the rest

uniformity doesn’t make history

don’t fear individuality

set the new standard

rise and fall on your own path

don’t be a repetition

of a person people would like to forget

be a definitional athlete

improve yourself by

putting in the work

don’t be another publicly scrutinized jerk.