Roger Federer made an interesting comment in a recent interview: The difference between the #3 and #4 tennis player is bigger than the difference between #4 and #200. What separates these guys is not their talent or their dedication. It’s their mental game. The top competitors have the best mental game.
Category: Achievement
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What Makes You Special
Far too often, people think they are special because they come from a special situation like a royal family, or have an exceptional talent that makes them different and better. It’s not what you say or where you come from that makes you special.
The truth is this:
You are not special because of who you are but what you do.
You become special through your actions. By what you do. Every day, day in and day out. Your actions define who you are and the person you will become.
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Pre
Steve “Pre” Prefontaine was one of the greatest runners of all time. He had epic quotes that inspired me all my life. Here are a few:
To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.
It’s not who’s the best – it’s who can take the most pain.
“Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it.”
“I do it because I can, I can because I want to, I want to because you said I couldn’t.”
I’m going to work so that it’s a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it.
A lot of people run a race to see who is the fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more.
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I’ll do it “Some day”
Some day is not a day of the week. Saying you’re going to do something “some day” isn’t a plan and it isn’t realistic. When I hear “some day” I hear “never going to happen.” If you want something, don’t talk about some day. Pick a day and put it on the calendar and get it done.
In other words:
A goal is a dream with a deadline.
-Napoleon Hill
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Dream, But Have a Plan
You should have a dream, but dreams are very low probability by definition. You should also have a plan. Have a dream and a plan. If a dream is less than 1% chance of accomplishing it, a plan is greater than 80% chance of accomplishing it.
-Steve Young’s dad
Good advice from Steve Young’s dad. Steve dreamed of being an NFL player, but he also had a backup plan to be a lawyer if that fell through. He actually went to law school while he was in the NFL.
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Stories You Can Tell
Life moves quickly. Years can slip by unnoticed. Unless you are consciously pushing yourself, you may find with regret that you have squandered some of the best years of your life.
I try to imagine myself at 80, hanging out with my grandkids. What stories will I tell? What life did I live? Imagining that makes me want to take advantage of the time I have now as a younger man to live the life that’s worth telling in the future.
A slightly different idea in the same vein: I have a recurring reminder on my calendar: Goal setting for what it will make of you to achieve it. Set your goals big so the journey improves
Don’t let the years go by in unremarkable routine. Do crazy things. Take risks. Have fun. Make memories. Create stories. Life your life so you have great stories that you’re proud of in the end.
Here are some good quotes capturing this idea:
“The memories of a man in his old age; Are the deeds of a man in his prime.” – Roger Waters, Pink Floyd
“If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing.” – Benjamin Franklin
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Never Satisfied
The common trait among all successful people as they are never satisfied. They always keep pushing to get better and better and improve themselves, their companies, or the people aroudn them.
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Grow or Be Comfortable?
In life, you can either grow or be comfortable. Not both. You choose.
Growing means you’re doing things that you are not good at or haven’t yet mastered. You’ll probably feel like a fool starting something new. But you’re growing. If you can can last through the discomfort then you can grow to new heights.
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Power of Discipline
Discipline is the path to accomplishment. With discipline, you can accomplish anything. Without it, accomplishment will always be out of reach.
Here’s a great quote on discipline from none other than Mike Tyson:
Discipline is doing what you hate to do, but doing it like you love it.
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Nothing that has meaning is easy
“To get anything of value, you have to sacrifice. The harder thing to do and the right thing to do are usually the same thing. Nothing that has meaning is easy. Easy doesn’t enter into grown-up life.”
-The Weather Man (2005)