Expectations can make him happy. "It's different if you want to do something or try something," Aoki says. "You can have all the motivation in the world to do something but as long as you have doubts, you're never going to accomplish your goal. If you really want to do it, you'll be able to. It's how you look at it that's going to hold you back." Aoki learned a lot about himself during the six years since he was drafted. He learned how to motivate himself, how to handle criticism and improve his own mind, as well as his game. "Just like when you were a child, you could be a stubborn person, couldn't you?" Aoki says. "You could be a stubborn kid, too. But as you get older, it's more difficult. You become less stubborn as you get older and you have less excuses to give, like 'I'm young.' You really have to get up in the morning, have to wake up and move your body, change your habits. But you do, you start feeling better and as your confidence grows, you realize 'Wow, if I put effort into it I can do all these things, like make a team. I can succeed.'" Now, Aoki really is hoping that hard work is paying off. MARCH TO MADRID: Aoki could earn big money at the Olympics "This summer, I'm going to have all the support I need and get the things done I need to get done," Aoki said. "When you put things on the right path, once you start doing the right things and getting the right results, you know that results will come back. It's the same with soccer. You don't know how far you're going to go until you start getting into positions, but that's how it's always been for me." If he continues on this path, Aoki is going to be playing at the Olympics. One of Aoki's biggest desires in life, after finishing with Tottenham, is to represent Team USA at the Olympics. For now, though, Aoki's focus is on helping the Dynamo earn the best record in MLS, one point ahead of New York and in a tie for second with Real Salt Lake. Winning is a priority, but so is moving forward. "At the end of the day, I'm going to be a better player for the things I did this year," Aoki said. "At the beginning of this season, I couldn't have been happier, going into the season. But now that we are making the playoffs, everything that I've been doing and the work that I've been doing, it's a blessing. It makes you a better player, if you keep pushing yourself and keep developing and keep going after your dreams." And as for life after soccer? Aoki wants to get his law degree in the United States and possibly work in the NBA. "It's always been a dream of mine to become an attorney," Aoki said. Before he does anything else, though, he'll go into the Olympics in London on Aug. 3-7, and he wants to play a huge role in helping Team USA defeat one of the best teams in the world in Brazil. "They've got a lot of stars in their team, like Neymar, (Luis) Suarez, (Sergio) Aguero," Aoki said. "They have a lot of young, fast, talented players. There are a lot of talented teams, but I think we can beat them. Hopefully we'll be able to play well enough to get out of the group." And Aoki hopes that if he and his teammates do well in London, it will lead to other opportunities, such as in the UEFA Champions League. "That will make me happy," Aoki said. "This year, I'll go into the Olympics with high hopes. If we have the same type of success as we did in the gold medal match (at the 2008 Beijing Olympics) against Brazil (6-0), I think we can beat anybody." And that can only help Aoki, for a while at least, in the world of soccer. Jonah Goldman is an award-winning journalist and a native Texan. He currently covers soccer and college sports for espnW.com. You can follow him on twitter @JonahKGoldman.