Practice and Hard Work

This quote was originally said by Ed Macauley, basketball player from the St. Louis Hawks (now the Atlanta Hawks) and it was what inspired Bill Bradley to practice more than almost anyone else in the league at the time.

"When you're not practicing, someone somewhere is. And when the two of you meet, given roughly equal ability, he will win."

The idea of practicing/working hard is important not just in sports, but in any endeavor in which you want to excel. In the context of work, your career, or your hobby, if you want to succeed you have to be willing to put in the extra effort to beat out your opposition.

Maybe it's skipping happy hour to stay late and catch up on a project, maybe it's going the extra mile for a client or boss, or maybe it's going to a coffeeshop every night to study instead of watching TV. You're putting yourself in the best position to succeed when it counts.

I know that personally, the thought that someone else might win ("And when the two of you meet, given roughly equal ability, he will win") makes me even more determined to do the work needed. I don't want to lose because of lack of effort.

This hard work adds up and pays off down the road when you're the one picked to lead the project, when you get a promotion, when your piece was chosen, when your business takes off, or when you land the coveted job or position everyone else was hoping for. Remember if you don't want to be great, someone else does and is making it happen everyday - edging you out.

When you feel yourself getting lazy, think again about the quote. Now, get out there and put in the hard work.

Leadership Develops Daily

As some of you know, I’m an avid reader. I'm constantly reading books about leadership, business, personal development, and then a lot of other random stuff that somehow becomes relevant.

The book I’ve been flipping through is John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (actually, I was looking through the accompanying Workbook to see what exercises I might be able to incorporate into my coaching practice). One of the 21 Laws is the “Law of Process” which says "Leadership Develops Daily, Not in a Day". Here’s a quote from that chapter that really resonated with me:

“Champions don’t become champions in the ring – they are merely recognized there. That’s true. If you want to see where someone develops into a champion, look at his daily routine.”

As an athlete, I entirely agree with this idea. All of the practice and sacrifice that are put in every day allows that person to finally become the champion and fulfill his or her potential. It perfectly captures the idea that leadership (and success!) develops daily, not in just one day.

Another passage I appreciated from chapter was a quote President Theodore Roosevelt, who used a boxing analogy to describe the struggle and rigors endured in becoming a leader and rising to success:

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

I was trying to find a specific part of that quote to highlight for easier reading, but the whole thing is inspiring. I especially like that it puts the critics in their place and acknowledges that although the people "in the arena" might triumph or fail, there is a certain gallant pride in "striving valiantly" and "daring greatly", and "spending ourselves in a worthy cause".

I know I don't want to be with those "cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat". Whether you win or lose isn't important...it's that you're in the ring.

• How do you feel about President Roosevelt's quote and the general idea that leadership develops daily, not in a day? Please comment...