Eleven Traits of the Best of the Best
(Extracts from the book The Training Camp by Jon Gordon together with thoughts of my own)
‘Coach Ken knew that Greatness was a Life Mission and that being the best really wasn’t about being better than anyone else, but about striving to be the best you could be and bringing out the best in others.”….. Jon Gordon
1. The Best know what they truly want.
-You have to know what you are working toward. It’s very often in the distance, but you need to have a clear vision or picture of it. Bill Hybels in his book Courageous Leadership defines Vision as “A picture of the future that produces passion.”
2. The Best want it more.
-How do you compare two people and decide who wants it more? Truth be told we cannot measure desire in terms of thoughts and wishes, as virtually everybody has a desire to be better, to be successful. If you are not taking initiative, what is the point of all the ‘wishing’, so you can see who wants it more by a person’s actions.
3. The Best are always striving to get better.
Almost anybody who wanted to be great will have been striving for or pursuing perfection, with passion. It requires time and effort, but more importantly it requires a willingness to move beyond your comfort zone. If you are striving to be better, then you are growing and if you are growing it is not always comfortable. To be the best, you have to be prepared to be uncomfortable and you have to embrace it.
4. The Best do ordinary things better than everyone else.
You need to become a master of the ordinary, the basics. Ever read the ‘Outiers’ by Malcolm Gladwell? They talk about practising, focussing and improving the little things every day. They found that what separated the best violinists from the good or average was not talent, but the amount of time spent practising. By the age of 20, the best had practised 10,000 hours, the good 8,000 and the average 4,000 hours. It’s not rocket science, there is no substitute for practice and hard work.
5. The Best zoom-focus.
To be the best, it’s not just about striving to be better, it’s about getting better by focussing on the right things. It’s not simply about practice, it’s about focussed practice. It’s not just about taking action, but taking zoom-focussed action. When you zoom-focus on the process, the outcome very often takes care of itself.
6. The Best are mentally stronger.
The good news is that if you are mentally strong, you can become stronger and if you are not mentally strong now, you can develop mental and emotional muscle over time. I think I know this better than most, as I was mentally very weak at school and as a young adult, but I learnt how to deal with my fears and trained myself to become mentally strong. It’s about trying to remain positive when adversity strikes. It’s about being resilient when facing pressures, challenges and change.
7. The Best overcome their fear.
One has to confront the issue of fear if we are to achieve greatness, it’s the ultimate battle. Far too many withdraw and lose this battle, instead of embracing their fears and going on to achieve their dreams. The good news is you don’t have to do it alone, your friends, your family, your coach are all in the trenches with you.
8. The Best seize the moment.
They do this because they do not allow their fear to define them. I’ve often quoted Dawson Trotman, who says that the greatest time wasted is the time getting started and the reason for this is because many people have a fear of failure and they are not prepared to try, to understand that every journey starts with a single step. You have to seize the moment and tomorrow never comes, so why not start today? Even if you lose or fail at first, you are one or more steps closer to being better than you previously were.
9. The Best tap into a greater power than themselves.
John Ortberg talks about the game of Monopoloy where the aim of the game is to Acquire and to be Ruthless, but at the end of the Game, as in Life all the Material possessions go back in the Box and there comes a time when you have to ask yourself what really matters?
Very often Pride creeps into our lives and we believe we can do it alone. This can lead to us trying too hard, as we try and seek acceptance or love based upon our accomplishments and success. The problem is that there comes a time in your life when you realise that all the material success and accomplishments in the world count for very little and cannot fill the void. It’s a little ironic how Pride can push you to be your best, but often keeps you from it.
But there comes a time when you realize that you cannot achieve, you cannot do it alone and you start to tap into a power greater than you imagined. It’s the hardest thing in the world to do, to hand over control but when we do, it allows us to become more than we wanted to be. It inspires us and moves us to maximise our potential.
10. The Best leave a legacy.
How does one leave a Legacy? Nelson Mandela left a Legacy by aspiring to a bigger purpose, by making your life about more than yourself. In ‘the training camp’ they talk about moving from success to significance and our Fellowship leader once said life is about striving to move from prominence to significance.
11. The Best make everyone around them better.
They do this through their own pursuit of excellence and in the excellence they inspire others. One person in pursuit of excellence raises the standards of everyone around them. It’s in the striving where you find greatness, not in the outcome. Being the best doesn’t last. But the person you become and the impact you may have on others are timeless.
“My spirit and beliefs had never been locked in that Prison. My body could be contained but the story of my dreams could not. He didn’t understand that the only Prison that takes away a man’s freedom is one that doesn’t allow that man to dream.” – Nelson Mandela, who was held captive for 27 years on Robben Island.
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