When we think of great quarterbacks, we think of Warren Moon, Peyton Manning, and Russell Wilson. These gents come to mind because of their ability to deliver excellence game after game. Preseason, regular season, or playoffs, great quarterbacks play only to win. They give 100%.
They do share the spotlight from time to time with others -like Nick Foles. Nick is an interesting player to watch. We usually find him on the bench; after all, he is the second string quarterback. When called upon in a regular game, he’s often not much to watch. Then it happens; the stacks become high, the pressure to perform skyrockets, and we watch Foles become what Philadelphia Eagles fans affectionately refer to as Saint Nick.
It is not abnormal for people to find the torch within them ignited by adversity. We see this in nature as extreme pressure transforms a common piece of coal into the precious stone we call a diamond. We also see this in sales as increased performance goals separate the strong from the rest. Challenge is the friend of the ambitious; nothing else forces you to learn, grow, and pursue higher levels of success.
What if things seem to be just fine? You don’t feel any pressure. You believe your only concern to be maintaining your place in the proverbial comfort zone. How do you train yourself to work as if your life depends on it, even when you don’t think it does? Simple:
- SHOOT FOR THE STARS -a goal that is well within your reach is NOT a goal; it’s a milestone. Milestones are what you must reach, and stand upon, to progress toward the goal itself. For the sake of illustration let’s make you a 9-year-old child, the goal the cookie jar atop the kitchen cabinets, and milestones the rungs on the ladder you need to reach those tasty chocolate chip treats.
- COMPETE AGAINST YOURSELF –going forward, you are no longer going to waste energy looking to the left and right to see what the competition is doing. You will give 100% each day to outperforming your best performance to date. Then, outperform that! Sure, be aware of your opponents but; you are the only competition.
- EAT YOUR HUMBLE PIE -losses teach us more than wins because most of us think a win is something special. Something to celebrate. A moment to pound our chests. WRONG! A win is to be expected from one as awesome as you. Therefore it is the ideal opportunity to debrief for the sake of repeating & outperforming your results.
There you have it. The three ingredients that separate greatness from average. Three edits to your mindset that, IF practiced daily, will take you from being a second string player who occasionally gets lucky to being a champion who seems to have been born to win. Your homework is to commit the above three steps to memory, and to daily practice.
As my friend Mark Iorio says, “Practice makes permanent!”