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Here’s where we are headed today:
Lou Holtz on adversity⚡
Wayne Gretzky’s advice for young athletes and other mental fitness principles 🥇
Favorite posts I found this week 🏆
Free mental fitness links 👇
Lou Holtz on Adversity
“Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity.”
3 Things: Wayne Gretzky’s Advice for Athletes, 7 Realities of Leadership, and Language and Repetition
1. MENTAL FITNESS: Wayne Gretzky’s Advice for Athletes
Wayne Gretzky shares the advice he gives to every young athlete: "The commitment and the work ethic is worth it."
"My dad was a big believer that the harder you work as a kid, the more fun you're going to have as an adult. And the more fun you have as a kid, the harder you're going to work as an adult."
Read that again.
It's one of the truest things ever said about success.
Work now, play later. Or play now and work forever.
I talk with coaches, athletes, and executives all the time who want the results, but struggle with the sacrifice. They see someone else's success and forget the years of invisible work that created it.
Gretzky didn't become the greatest hockey player ever by accident. He became it through daily choices that compounded over decades.
"The commitment and the passion for what you're doing is so worth it at the end of the day. Just believe each and every day - it's really, really worth it."
Commitment is a choice. It's choosing long-term growth over short-term comfort.
"I wouldn't trade my life in for anything in the world."
Outcomes and rewards require sacrifice. The key question is: what price am I willing to pay?
Your competition is making that decision right now. What's yours?
2. TEAMS: 7 Realities of Leadership
Leadership is hard.
It means doing more. It means setting the standard. It means taking responsibility.
Most people want the title. Few want the weight that comes with it.
Here are 7 realities that every leader eventually faces:
Expect to Give More Than You Receive - Leadership isn't about receiving anything from your team, but being there to give to your team. Great leaders invest time, energy, and emotion into their teams. They accept the responsibility to connect, support, and uplift the team during challenging and positive times.
You Can't Please Everyone - Great leaders don't try to please everyone. They know it isn't about popularity, but about responsibility. It means making tough choices and tough decisions. Leadership is being willing to do what's right for the team even if it doesn't make you liked.
There Will Be Ups and Downs - Leadership isn't a linear journey, there are good times and bad times. Each phase, whether up or down, comes with its own lessons and opportunities for growth. This nature of leadership demands resilience, adaptability, and a steady outlook to keep people focused and moving forward together.
Criticism and Conflict Will Happen - There will always be criticism and conflict when you're expected to hold people accountable and lead. Effective leaders use communication and accountability as ways to improve and strengthen teams. They approach these challenges constructively and look to understand different perspectives.
It Will Take Sacrifice - It should be about connecting and truly caring about your team. That means not thinking about what you can accomplish, but asking what can we accomplish together. For many leaders, the satisfaction you get from achieving team goals and positively impacting others outweighs any personal sacrifices made along the way.
You Have to Have a Vision - A clear, compelling vision provides direction and purpose. It serves as a roadmap, guiding decisions and actions. A strong vision helps with alignment and accountability because it sets a clear direction. It inspires and motivates team members by giving them a sense of shared purpose.
Being a Leader is Rewarding - Despite the challenges, leadership is immensely rewarding. The impact a leader can have on individuals, teams, and entire organizations is profound. Leaders have the unique opportunity to influence, inspire, and build the future. The rewards of leadership come in the form of growth, team success, and the realization of shared goals.
As Kobe Bryant said: "If you're going to be a leader, you're not going to please everybody. You gotta hold people accountable even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable."
The question isn't whether leadership is hard. It is. The question is whether you're willing to accept that reality and lead anyway.
3. WHAT I’M CHEWING ON: Language and Repetition
I've been thinking about the power of language and repetition within a team.
David Marquet, the former commander of the nuclear submarine USS Santa Fe, wrote about a concept he called "continually and consistently repeat the message."
Most leaders say something once and assume their team got it.
Marquet's insight? They heard you. They think they understand. But they're picturing something completely different.
His advice: Repeat the same message day after day, meeting after meeting, event after event.
Sounds redundant. Sounds boring.
But what's the alternative? Changing the message? That creates confusion and kills direction.
I see this all the time with coaches. They introduce the team standards in August, maybe revisit them once or twice, and then wonder why the culture isn't sticking by November.
Your team doesn't need new messages. They need the same message until they can see what you see.
What message are you repeating?
Source: Turn the Ship Around! by L. David Marquet
Free Mental Fitness Links 👇
For coaches and leaders:
For athletes and performers:
All of these posts and more are in the Coaching Vault.
That's a wrap for today. If you want to spread the joy, make sure to refer the newsletter to someone you think would benefit!
What I am reading and listening to:
📚 Book: Time is a Tool by Benajmin Hardy
🎥 Video: Tom Brady | Champion Mindset
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