Ignore -- Hear "Harlem Shake" Remixed by Harlem Native Azealia Banks

The femcee's blazing rap addition reminds us Bauuer's trap track is actually a really good song.

The need to be the best is always on everyone’s mind. Everyone is always looking to edge themselves in front of the competition.Drive is what separates the good from the great. The actual ability to be able to be the best belongs to everyone who is willing to put in the time to get there. To be the best, in any respect, requires dedication to whatever is desired. Nike’s commercial entitled “My better is better than your better” shows different top athletes and children doing the same intense workouts to show how they are always working harder to placethemselves in front of the rest. This commercial appealing to watch because of the visuals and thumping music but there is more to it than meets the eye. The commercial is saying that with hard work,success will follow.

Generally, in order for there to be success in a person’s life, hard work must have paved the way forthat achievement. There are many short clips in the commercial that can be broken down and analyzed closely. Adrian Peterson is shown more than once in the commercial. In the most 2012-2013NFL season, after coming back from an ACL tear, received the most valuable player award and just a hair shy of rushing for the most yards ever in a single season. In the commercial, his face is shown with the quote “my power is better”. His power has always been one of his greatest assets as a running back. For his workout, he is shown doing sprints with parachutes to add resistance. Towards the end of the commercial, there is a very scrawny child, probably around the age of ten, running across the screen with the same parachute. Running with a multiple parachutes is extremely difficult and requires an emmese amount of strength to run with any sort of velocity. This is showing how even the smallest, weakest children have the chances to be the best. Even though Peterson now is extremely powerful now, he was not born like that. To become the feared back he is today, he had to go through hours of intense workouts and training to get there. He is not the only one to have had to work diligently to get to where he is today.

Kevin Durant is the premier scorer in the NBA, proven by his three time scoring champion in the past three seasons. Although his impressive six foot nine build with an astounding seven five wing span does help him, his basketball talents were handed down to him from a mighty being. He was in the gym for years honing in on his skills and ablities that makes him the lethal threat he is on the court. After Durant’s clip and quote stating “my speed is better”, the commercial transitions to a girls’ soccer team sprinting past one another outside. For these girls to get to same caliber in soccer as Durant has in basketball, they need to put in the work. The work to get to the top is never easy but with the mindset that Peterson and Durant both have, the top does not always have to be so high.

The commercial is showing not only the athletes of now, but the athletes of the future. They are showing the children that will be the stars of tomorrow. The only way for them to get there though is through hard work. Society has always appreciated those who put everything they had into what they do, and that had usually transitioned into success. Allen Iverson could have been one of the all-time greatest basketball players. Iverson received the NBA’s most valuable player award in the 2000-2001 season. His attitude and lack of work ethic hurt him though.In a post-game interview, he is infamously quoted saying “We’re here talking practice.” He never wanted to work because he thought his skill was vastly beyond his opponents and never needed to train with his teammates. Now, because of his arrogance, he is on the verge of bankruptcy.That proves how those who slack off will eventually slip. Most people once they reach the top level really want to stay there. Those who get to the top and never continue a steady work ethic with it will ultimately fall back.  Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls guard and former MVP, suffered a torn ACL and has been on the bench ever since. This is always a season ending injury and possible career ending. Instead of feeling back for himself, he has been going through grueling rehab and been growing stronger and faster with every passing day. He knows what it takes to be the greatest. He has tasted the top and is doing everything in his power to taste that sweet taste again. His devotion to his team and fans to get better has proven that he will not quit and is ready for anything. Those who get to the top and never continue with it will ultimately fall back. Commitment is essential throughout everyone’s entire life.

The idea of hard work paying off does not just apply to sports. This outlook can be transitioned to all ways of life. Imagine a bunch of students in a classroom. Who is going to get the best grades in the class? The person who studies on a regular basis or the one who goes out and parties every night? The people that apply themselves in what they want to do get the best results. Those who slack off and put pleasure before all else all the time have much harder times in life. This demonstrates that society promotes and rewards. Those who preform above the rest lead much happier, easier lives. No success story starts off with “I never worked hard in my life”.

To conclude, success is always preceded by hard work. Nike is showing that putting in the time and effort while young is worth the time. While slacking off can have its personal benefits, time can never be gotten back. Every moment must be maximized and used to its full potential. Wasting time is not something that any of those athletes did, and certainly not anything the athletes of tomorrow will do. Leaders are always looking to advance themselves, and the road less traveled really is the best route.