MY BEST ADVICE
I wanted to take a minute to thank each of you who’ve chosen to make reading my newsletter a part of your Friday morning routine. My hope is that I can use some of my own experiences - both good and bad, in sports and in life - to help you become someone worthy of winning in the really important but really challenging areas that matter to you.
Typically my advice to you on Friday mornings is based on something I’ve struggled with myself or something I’ve seen other athletes, parents, and/or coaches struggle with too. I want to share with you today, based on all I've learned and experienced, what I believe to be my best advice. It’s the best advice I can give myself, and I believe the best advice I can give you. If you're a parent or a coach, I think it's the best advice you can give those young athletes you’re working to develop. It’s the simplest, most straightforward directive there is for becoming a winner in any area of life. Here’s my advice: do what champions do.
Champions are unique in many ways, but when you boil it all down, you find that champions are who they are primarily because of the choices they make and the corresponding action they take. Champions recognize that if they want to be great, they don’t have a lot of choices. They see that usually there is the right choice - the way of the champion - and then there’s every other choice. Of course, each one of us is responsible for making a number of decisions each day. We can choose to do something because it’s the easiest or most convenient option. We can choose to do what gratifies us instantly or what offers us the least resistance. We can choose to do what's popular or fun or trendy. Or we can choose to do what champions do.
Champions recognize that if they want to be great, they don’t have a lot of choices.
So what is it that champions do? Well, champions do a lot. They give their best. They play with passion and commitment. They rise up to meet challenges and adversity, and they recognize that while what’s happened to them matters, it never matters more than their response. Champions get better. They choose to get coached and to be a great teammate. They take the risks that real success requires, and they choose a positive attitude. Champions do all those things...and that’s why they win.
The great part of this advice is that in reality, each one of us fully capable of doing all those things that champions do. No matter what task we’re responsible for completing, why we're doing it or who’s watching, we can always choose to give our best. We can display our passion and commitment. We can rise up and meet challenge and adversity head on. We can strive to get better, to get coached, and to be a great teammate. We can choose to take the risks that real success requires, and we can choose a positive attitude. When we choose to do those things, we become people worthy of winning ourselves. And when we model and encourage that behavior in the young athletes we’re leading, we help them become people worthy of winning, too.
Here's what else I love: that advice applies to every situation. Whatever it is you’re responsible for doing today, there are many ways you can go about doing it. But that advice is always there to remind you that if you want to be great, you don’t have a lot of choices. There is the right choice - the way of the champion - and then there’s every other choice. When you develop the discipline to press pause and consider all the options, it’s usually not that hard to come up with the right answer. Take any one of these situations, for example. Maybe one of them describes what you’re facing today…
*You’re coming off a huge win or experiencing unprecedented levels of success. Stop and consider...in this situation, what would a champion do?
*You’re coming off a crushing defeat or mired in the midst of a long losing streak. In this situation, what would a champion do?
*You’re tired or bored or frustrated. In this situation, what would a champion do?
*You haven’t gotten something you think you’re entitled to. In this situation, what would a champion do?
*Things are going exactly according to plan. In this situation, what would a champion do?
*Things are definitely not going the way you planned. In this situation, what would a champion do?
You can literally pick any circumstance you want. When you stop and consider all the options, the winning choice always appears. There are a ton of things you could do, but there’s usually a specific thing, in that moment, that a champion would do. The more you commit to making the right choice - that difficult, inconvenient, winning choice - the better at it you become.
So that’s my challenge and encouragement for you today. That's my best advice. Whatever comes your way, recognize the truth...that in that moment, there is the right choice, and then there’s every other choice. Don’t do what’s easiest or most convenient. Don’t do what offers you instant gratification or the least resistance. Don’t do what’s popular or fun or trendy. Instead, take another step toward your winningest self. Do what champions do.
*Here's a free "Do What Champions Do" PDF print-out for you to keep or to share.