If you were to speak to any non-league footballer, you would quickly learn that their ultimate ambition would be to play at a much higher level. Some would be content just to become a fulltime professional at a club in say League 2 or 3 but most would admit they would love to be playing for a Premier League club.
So it is up to these players to keep plugging away in the lower leagues in the hope that one day a bigger club will come knocking on the door. Hard work on the training ground will improve a players overall ability, hopefully enough for somebody to feel that they have what it takes to play in a league higher up against players who also have the ability to be playing where they are.
It can be tough but football is very similar to many other industries where in many cases you have to start from the bottom and consistently prove that you are able to move up.
One such comparison with this rise up the leagues would be with a low stakes poker player that is grinding away trying to increase his bankroll sufficiently enough so that he too can have a crack a bit higher up the ladder. The idea is to try and consistently beat the stakes that you are on, regularly proving that you are a better player than most that you play with before deciding to move on up.
It is about gradually working yourself up, improving your skills, strategies and mindset to be able to compete successfully at the higher levels. Most of the top poker players today have had to grind through the stakes. Yes some are more naturally talented and so have had an easier rise but anyone can achieve this rise if they are willing to put the hard work in and have the desire to be among the best in the world.
A players life and career is about ambition and just how far they want to go, many footballers fail, as do poker players and it is the drive that separates the great from the mediocre.
