A little motivation for those who are reading up on raids and think they’ll take it easy and not try or think they won’t have the gear ready or possibly think you won’t attempt it just because you don’t like raids. Modified and paraphrased from the speech titled, “Welcome to the Grind.” “Rise and shine. 7 p.m. and your hand can’t stop shaking from the last two hours of combat before the voices in your head start telling you that it’s taken too long, there’s too much left to go, and too little time left before you have to go do something else. Aching thoughts lie still in rebellion, feeding you beliefs of failure and defeat, pretending not to hear your brain saying ‘One more firefight, one more trap, one more, one more’. A legion of voices are shouting their unanimous permission for you to hit the quit chat option and leave the party to go relax as you can always form another group and try it the next day... but you didn’t ask their opinion. The voice you’ve chosen to listen to is one of defiance. A voice which says there was a reason you set and joined this raid in the first place. So sit up, put your feet on the floor, and don’t look back because you’ve got work to do. Welcome to The Grind. For what is each raid but a series of conflicts between the right way and the easy to fail. 10,000 streams fan out like a river delta before you each option promising the path of higher glory and better renown. Thing is, you’re headed up the raid stream. And when you make that choice, when you decide to turn your back on what’s comfortable and what’s safe and what some would call “common sense”, well that’s hour 1. From there it only gets tougher. So just make sure this is something you want. Because the easy way out will always be there, ready to wash you away, all you have to do is pick up your feet and start moving in that direction. But you aren’t going to are you? With each encounter comes the decision to take another. You’re on your way now. But this is no time to dwell on how far you’ve come. You’re in a fight against an opponent you can not only see, but oh you can feel him on your heels can’t you? Feel him breathing down your neck waiting for your first and last mistake. You know what that is? That’s you. Your fears, your doubts and insecurities all lined up like a firing squad ready to blast or shoot you off the ground your standing on. But don’t lose heart. While they aren’t easily defeated, they are far from invincible. Remember this is The Grind. The Battle Royale between you, your opponents, and your mind. Your body and the devil on your shoulder who’s telling you that this is just a waste of time and effort, your opponents are stronger than you and killing you all too often. Drown out the voice of uncertainty with the sound of your own heartbeat and focus that mind to find the path which leaves them all dead. Burn away your self doubt with the fire that’s beneath you. Remember what you’re fighting for and never forget that momentum is a cruel mistress. She can turn on a dime with the smallest mistake. She is ever searching for that weak place in your armor. That one tiny thing you forgot to prepare for. So as long as the devil is hiding the details, the question remains. ”Is that all you got?” “Are you sure?” And when the answer is “yes”. That you’ve done all you can to prepare yourself for the raid THEN it’s time to go forth and boldly face your enemies including the one within. Only now you must take that fight into the open, into hostile territory. You’re a guardian in a field of raid enemies. All hunting the same elusive prey with a desperate starvation that says VICTORY is the only thing that can get you the loot you want. So believe that voice that says ”you CAN kill one more enemy with your fists” and that ” you CAN throw your knives a little more accurately” and that ”you CAN kill three opponents with a shatter nova bomb” and that, for you, the laws of raid failures are merely a suggestion. Luck is the last dying wish of those who wanna believe that winning can happen by accident. Strategists on the other hand know it’s a choice. So decide now because destiny waits for no man. And when your time comes and a thousand different voices are trying to tell you you’re not ready for it, listen instead for that lone voice in dissent. The one that says you are ready, you are prepared, it’s all up to you and the five others next to you... So rise and shine.”