James Harden is all about focusing on what you can control

Like many superstars before him, James Harden's path to success began when he was a kid.

One time when he was 12 years old, Harden wrote a letter to his mother, Monja Willis, and asked for a couple of dollars. He told his mom to keep the note, saying he would become a star some day. The story became the inspiration for one of the main colorways of his signature line with adidas.

Since Day 1, Harden has always known that he had what it takes to succeed in basketball.

"I've always been confident, even when I was a young kid, that I had that edge to make it. I was always in the gym, I was always outside playing. I loved the game of basketball and I loved how it made me feel on the playground with my friends," Harden said at an exclusive media session on Wednesday.

"In high school, it got more serious. I used to catch the bus to school really early to be in the gym shooting before classes start, at around 6 or 6:30 a.m. It was like a routine, I fell in love with the routine. I fell in love with the work ethic and what you get out of it, when you continue to get better and continue to grow."

Harden started his NBA career with the Oklahoma City Thunder as the main man coming off the bench. Now he's the franchise player capable of producing historic numbers night in and night out for the Houston Rockets. He's an MVP and multiple time All-Star and has broken several records that no one thought could be broken. The only thing that's missing, for him, is winning a championship.

"That work ethic never left me, even now until this day, I still work my butt off and still find ways to get better because I feel like I still have a long way to go, like I haven't made it yet to where I wanna go," he added.

It took a lot of effort on Harden's part to become the player he is now. He said he had to be "a student of the game," watched a lot of film and studied moves of other players which he refined and added to his game.

"I watched Dwyane Wade and Manu (Ginobili) as far as the euro step (is concerned). Paul Pierce didn't have a very fast step-back... his was at his own pace. He just had enough separation to get the defender off of him and get the shot off. I watched those guys and I learned," he explained. "I figured out how to do those moves and be better at them and take those moves to another level."

With the Western Conference now wide open with injuries to the Warriors' Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, the Rockets, leaning once more on Harden's on-court brilliance, finally have a legitimate chance to reach the finals. Houston, though, has been facing a lot of adversity recently, with stories indicating that Harden and Chris Paul allegedly cannot coexist.

For Harden, though, it's all about focusing only on what you can control -- the kind of advice he wishes to impart to young athletes who have trouble playing with other players who have contrasting styles as them.

"Whether it's a coach who's messing with your minutes or teammates who are being selfish, focus on what you can control. Continue to work, and don't focus on anybody that's bringing you negative energy or telling you you can't do something or that's hating on you. Focus on the positives and study the game, love the game," he said.

"Success is not going to happen overnight. Just because you work out for a week or two means you're supposed to be in the NBA. It's finding ways to keep getting better just a little bit every day. If you always have that mindset, in a year or two years, you'll see the difference. Block out all the negative energy."