We all are born into different situations in this game of life. Each of us has unique advantages and disadvantages that were given to leave our mark on the world. Often being born into poverty leads to a relentless desire that allows certain individuals to excel and triumph no matter the situations they encounter. Sports is the great equalizer… Here’s to your journey to prepare for greatness

Craft A Burning Desire

When we’re young we dream big because we’re not held back by what’s quote-unquote realistic. Kobe Bryant recently announced his retirement from the game of basketball. In his “Dear Basketball” letter he states “his heart can take the pounding and his mind can take the grind.”  No matter your craft, regardless if it’s basketball, marketing, or being a student you must develop a burning desire. From observing some of the greats, I have noticed they enjoy crafting their skills just as much as they enjoy working. kalkulátor tippmix When’s the last time you solely focused on honing a particular skill? Don’t give up on your dream but develop a burning desire. Here are some ways to find your true calling:

• What do you find yourself always thinking about?
• What tasks do you perform where time seems to pass effortlessly?
• If you had it taken from you, would you cry?

Goal Setting

I’m a digital marketer; then you will understand that we love stats. They help us prove our worth and show executives the ROI they desire. As the great saying goes “Numbers don’t lie.”

Have you noticed that sports analyst and athletes sometimes are obsessed with statistics? What does goal setting do to your mind? To answer that question look at the emotional response, you have had in the past upon completing a goal… CONFIDENCE! S.M.A.R.T goals are building blocks that lead to greatness. No one understood that better than Michael Jordan. Often in life, the media only discovers someone after they have attained a status of importance. I feel us as business owners, parents, and mentors must learn to embrace failure because that’s the only way to reach any goal that’s worthwhile.

Learning To Accept Failure

Sports teach people one of the most valuable lessons in life, and that is, how to accept failure. You can’t expect to win 100 percent of the time. fogadóiroda szinonima Failures are painful, but they enrich our experience and knowledge, broaden our perspectives and makes winning all the sweeter.

It ‘s hard to accept defeat, to face the truth that your abilities and skills are not enough to win.  However, those who learn how to dust themselves off and raise themselves up will become stronger, better, and wiser.

Failure should not only be accepted, in fact, it should be cherished because it is through failure that we discover our weaknesses–the chinks in our armor. This gives us the chance to improve ourselves and be better than what we are today.

Continue Through The Pain

When failure strikes, it hurts because failure hits us right smack in the ego. However, we should not allow the pain to crush as in such a way that we are so scared to try again. The pain from failure is just temporary, but if you let that pain consume you, it would make you stagnant, unable to move forward, unable to improve.

Steve Jobs, the man behind the success of iPhone had many failures before he was able to achieve success. He amassed billions of dollars, but that would not have happened if he gave up when he failed.

Thomas Alba Edison had to suffer a lot of failures before he was able to perfect his Incandescent lamp—an invention that changed the world and ushered the modern age.

To be able to continue through the pain, you need to have a clear vision of your achievable goal.  Focus your mind on what you can achieve instead of dwelling on the past.

What is important when you fall, is to strive to stand again and fight another battle, and who knows? This time you might win. Never let the pain of failure crush your spirit.

Another type of pain, the pain of continuing to work towards your goal even when it’s uncomfortable, even it’s inconvenient or even when it starts to hurt, should not be a hindrance to your success. Don’t let minor inconveniences stop you from pursuing bigger goals.

Perseverance is the key. If it’s not working, you would need to reassess and change your strategy.

Chase The G.O.A.T

To be the best you must admire and study the best. Not only the best of your generation but all generations. Personally, I feel that at a time when we have so much access to information that we have become paralyzed and never take action. Get off your ass and chase the G.O.A.T. What is this G.O.A.T that I speak of… “Greatest Of All Time.”Who do you admire based on your goal… Kobe Bryant admitted to admiring Michael Jordan. By this point we have the formula for attaining greatness:

(A Burning Desire)+(S.M.A.R.T Goal)*(G.O.AT/Mentor)= (Attaining Greatness)

Lewis Howes is a very successful entrepreneur that was obsessed with playing football and had the dream of going pro. He was sidetracked due to a career ending injury but managed to take his lessons from sports and apply them to his life. The reason I think it’s important to know who Lewis Howes is because mostly lies on the fact that kids don’t get to see what failure looks like, what hitting rock bottom is like, and what it feels like struggling to overcome a big obstacle. Lewis does a great job of sharing his story, but most importantly he shares the stories of many men and women from different walks of life we consider to be great in our era.

His current book is a New York Time bestseller. With the holidays coming up. Consider giving a gift that can change the trajectory of someone’s life. Currently, it’s being marketed to business professionals, but I believe it could serve as a larger narrative. Let’s help redefine what the definition of greatness is. Moms are great, teachers are great, doctors are great, and most of all you are great. Remember greatness is inside you!

Developing confidence

Confidence is the inner courage that tells you can achieve what you set your eyes on. Without confidence, you will be too scared and filled with self-doubt that will keep you from even trying to do great things.

Sports develop confidence like no other, every time you win, your confidence increases and encourage you to take on more challenging situations with no inhibitions. Faith, in other words, helps you break your limitations and lets you accomplish greater things that you never thought were possible.

Confidence would be your spark plug for success. Success takes a lot of decision-making and risk-taking.  Every successful athlete knows that winning means believing in yourself and your capability. This is shared by some of the richest people in the country, like Kevin Plank, CEO of Under Armor a sportswear outlet. He said:

“There’s an entrepreneur right now, scared to death, making excuses, saying, ‘It’s not the right time just yet.’ There’s no such thing as a good time. I started an apparel manufacturing business in the tech-boom years. I mean, come on. Get out of your garage and go take a chance, and start your business. gaminator mobile bonus free ”

Confidence Gives you the courage to leave your comfort zone and take a risk. If you are too afraid to risk it all, you would never be able to move towards your goals.

Cultivate Passion

If confidence is that spark plug that motivates you to act, then passion will keep your engine running. If you take a look at the most successful athletes in the past and present, you will notice that they are passionate about their sport.  Passion makes them forget about their tired bodies and continue practicing to become better.

Sports help you understand passion, and this understanding will be useful in almost all areas of your life—work, family, relationships, and business.  When you are passionate about something, even the most tiring tasks becomes enjoyable.  As Neil Degrasse Tyson put it:

“Passion is what gets you through the hardest times that might otherwise make strong men weak, or make you give up.”

“Without passion, you don’t have any energy, and without energy, you simply have nothing.”

When you have a passion for your job or your business, every second you spend working is enjoyable because you love what you are doing. It will be like doing your hobby.

Foster Teamwork

A boxer faces his opponent inside the ring by himself, but he is not fighting alone. Because in his corner, his coach and his trainer are watching everything, making strategies, analyzing the opponent and thinking what to do to win the fight.

Michael Jordan is hailed as one of the best basketball players in the world. His legend is still being praised among the new generation of basketball fans. However, his scores alone, no matter how big they are would not be enough to make his team win six NBA championships.  It is the fact that his Team Chicago balls had good teamwork that made them one of the most dominating team in NBA in the 90’s.

Even in business and work, environment teamwork is critical. A business owner will only fail if he does not learn to work well with his employees. Team players tend to be the first ones for promotions because they are not only effective, but they make the whole team capable as well.

Andrew Carnegie has a quote that shows us how important being a team player is in business.

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a shared vision. Capacity to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”

If you are a good team player, you will be an asset to your company. And you can learn teamwork best when playing sports.

If you like this post, please share, small gestures like this on social media can have a large impact.