"Nothing is really fun unless it's hard. We've got to embrace that things are going to be hard and we've got to embrace to be excited when things are hard." - Mike Leach

Kurt Warner did the math on his career:

"In college, we play 12 games in 365 days. In the NFL, we play 16 games in 365 days."

That's less than 5% of your days.

95% of your life is lived in practice. In preparation. In the ordinary moments that nobody sees. And here's what Warner learned the hard way - that 95% is where trust is built or lost.

Early in his career, Warner couldn't figure out why he was riding the bench. He had the talent. He could make the throws. But his coaches told him something that changed his entire perspective:

"We can't really trust you with the ball in your hands... because we don't know who you're going to be from day to day."

It wasn't about his arm - it was about his consistency.

Warner's coaches saw a different player every day. Some days locked in, some days coasting. And that inconsistency made him untrustworthy when it mattered most.

"Before you can be trusted, people want to know that you are dependable. Are you going to be the same guy? Are you going to treat people the same way? Are you going to go about your business the exact same way on a daily basis?"

The big moments get the highlights. But the big moments are earned in the thousands of small moments before them.

Your coaches, your teammates, your family - they're not judging you on your best day. They're judging you on your average day.

This week's question: How are you showing up every single day?

Source: Kurt Warner’s Playbook - Perseverance, Humility, and Lighting the Way for Others

The skill that separates champions from everyone else isn't talent - it's how quickly they refocus after mistakes.

Graham Betchart calls this "next play speed."

Every coach wants their team to move on from mistakes. But wanting it and building it are two different things. So how do you actually embed the next-play mindset into your culture?

It starts with how you live it every day.

Nick Saban said, "If what you're doing is not going to help them play better... then you're not a very good coach."

That's the filter. When a player makes a mistake, your response either helps them play the next play better - or it doesn't.

If you're still yelling about the last play while the next play is happening, you're coaching for your frustration, not their performance. You're modeling the exact opposite of what you want them to do.

The next-play mindset has to be trained, not just talked about. It has to be reinforced in practice, in film sessions, in how you respond to errors in real time. Ask yourself:

Your team will mirror your behavior. If you can't let go of the last play, neither will they.

What does your response to mistakes teach your team about moving forward?

If the answer is yes, that's someone you can build with.

Jocko Willink calls it "Extreme Ownership." I've been thinking about how that concept applies to everything - my team, my coaching, my family, my son.

Ownership sounds simple. But most people only practice partial ownership. They take credit when things go well and make excuses when they don't.

Real ownership is threefold:

Ownership of yourself. Your actions. Your attitude.

That's it. That's the whole game.

When you truly own your life, excuses become irrelevant. You stop waiting for conditions to be perfect. You stop needing external validation. You just handle your business.

This week's question: What part of your life are you not fully owning right now?

For coaches and leaders:

For athletes and performers:

All of these posts and more are in the Coaching Vault.

What I am reading and listening to:

📚 Book: The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts by Shane Parrish

🎥 Video: Kurt Warner’s Playbook - Perseverance, Humility, and Lighting the Way for Others

🎧Podcast: 10 Lessons on Identity, Obsession, and What It Takes to Be Elite - AJ Shavell | The Playbook with Colin Jonov

Want More?