The Opponents

the opponents we never talk about

Most opponents you compete against have one or two "toughest players." They are the guys you always have to talk about and prepare for in order to be successful that night. There's another incredibly difficult opponent that all of us face, but not many of us talk to our teams about.

That opponent is human nature and its two toughest players are: success and failure. Both success and failure can affect us in positive or negative ways. It’s our job to make sure they both help us move forward, not hold us back!

We deal with failure by getting our team to understand that success is not a game of perfect. Winning is not a game of perfect. Being the champion is not a game of perfect. We will fail at times, just like everyone on our schedule will. The key will be what do we do and how we react to that failure.

Champions never look at failure as a devastation. To them it’s always a form of education. What did we learn and how can we improve? This is what allows champions to get past failure.

Success, on the other hand, is tricky. It can cause the "I have arrived" mentality that says I did it before so naturally it will continue to happen. To this point, there’s something I heard from Michael Jordan that I'll never forget:

"Success doesn't stop once you get there." - Michael Jordan

Complacency is not a part of lasting success. So just like failure, you can treat success in one of two ways as well: adulation or education. Will you live in the world of praise or will you figure out what made you successful and repeat and refine those actions that led to your success? The common theme when facing these two tough opponents: learn from — don’t live in — each outcome! 

January 2017 - KE