Daily blog #22
The most powerful tool
Do you have a goal or ambition? Most of us do yet many of us still make this one mistake. Following a schedule. When I say “schedule” I want you to think about a simple math equation, 7×6 = 42. You know that if you subtract 1 from any of the “7’s” it will become a 6 and your equation will not add up. Seems pretty simple… However, many of us set goals with a clear idea of what it takes to achieve them yet allow ourselves to miss a practice here, miss a workout there, eat junk food here, sleep in there and so on. The problem is that while it is very easy to convince yourself that “one weight lifting session” doesn’t matter, in the course of a year or however long it takes you to reach your goal of being the best player in pickle ball or golf, it all adds up… Or doesn’t I should say.
Kobe Bryant is famous for his strict schedule of 5am workouts and 3x a day sessions, the man’s life was built around being the best scorer in the NBA. It didn’t matter what the situation was, everything on the schedule was getting done. On vacation, on the road, playing in a golf tournament… That just meant working out at ten o clock at night some nights but him and Tim Grover, also trainer to Michael Jordan and Dwayne Wade, were accomplishing everything in that schedule.. If not, he might not have been the 17-time NBA All Star (second highest in the league) or 9-time All Defense selection. If you don’t believe that talent is pure work, that’s a cop out so you don’t have to work as hard. Whether it’s true or not, for the sake of your self respect and your work ethic you must refuse to believe that “talent” is some God-given gift but rather a result of your habits and your discipline.
If these aren’t your habits, don’t expect to flip them around over night, but start. Start by making a checklist of actions that bring you to your goal and those that don’t. You may be shocked at how much of your life takes away from your goals, I was. Then you can start to eliminate the ones that subtract and add the ones that push you to your goal. Over time you will experience such a massive change, the person you looked back on will be unrecognizable. If you’re reading this thinking, I don’t need that, you are either a successful individual who already recognizes this truth or you’ll never reach your goals because you refuse to acknowledge how much of success comes down to plain hard work and consistency. For most of us, this requires us to change ourselves in ways we aren’t ready for. Those who are will make a massive change starting today. Those who aren’t, might need life to beat them up a little bit more but eventually, the pain of change will become greater than staying the same.