Message 5

Yesterday i was watching the Colts game watching Peyton Manning, arguably one of the best quarterbacks of all time.  I was very interested when they told the story of how he spent time with each of his receivers this summer individually.  He took them through "skill improvement" sessions to help get better and to improve his timing working with them.  

It reminded me of all the stories you would hear about Michael Jordan being the last one off the court and putting the most work in on the practice court.  If you watch Jordan dominating a game at the end of his Bulls career you would see a plethora of skills and moves that he did not have at the beginning of his career.  Even as the best player in the world he would work each season on adding to is game.

To me these two athletes personify what it is to work hard and be willing to do more then everyone else to reach your goal.  It is so important for people who want to be the very best to have this quality and to work against their peer group.  I often here national level athletes talk about how much they do compared to "normal people" but its not about that.  Its about doing more then the people you are hoping to be better then one day.

So often you hear these people like Jordan or Manning referred to as "talented" but what does that mean?  How do you measure it?  I would suggest that the greatest talent of all is the capacity to work hard.  To keep practicing and practicing in an effective way when others have given up.

The following link is a very interesting study on what it takes to reach maximal performance.  It is a heavy read but worth it if you are interested in such a thing.

http://projects.ict.usc.edu/itw/gel/EricssonDeliberatePracticePR93.pdf

In a conversation i had with a professional athlete recently they said "I hate the word talent".  I am not here to suggest that there is not some level of natural ability that could be possible, but what good is it without the talent to work hard and continuously? 

In the previous posts on this blog i have discussed the ideas of challenging yourself, taking responsibility for your life, having a deep inner belief, and now an extraordinary work ethic.  I have always put peoples qualities into three categories "who they are", "what they do", and "what they know".  I have always believed in the quote

"who you are determines what you do" -unknown author

Which percentage of your time do you spend working on who you are?  Are you like so many people who have goals filled with doing more or learning more?  I would suggest to you that if you work on developing yourself that the rest become much easier.  

Are you willing to do the little extra things like Manning and Jordan do, to ensure you are the best you can be?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDgKdjf7M4I