Is talent enough?
As a former head basketball coach with decades of experience evaluating talent, it really upsets me when I see athletes not living up to their potential. Why does this happen? Is it complacency? Their ego? Are they grossly misinformed about what it takes to actually be great? After seeing the super-talented Nick Kyrgios painfully drop out of yet another major tennis tournament, I decided to dedicate the #CJJblog this week to why talent isn’t enough to be great. Enjoy.
- Desire. The desire to be great is hard to come by, but crucial to be paired with talent. All the talent in the world will go nowhere if the drive to be great is absent.
- Passion. Are you passionate about what you do? To me, it’s clear that Nick Kyrgios doesn’t love the game of tennis and it shows in his career resume.
- Mindset. Are you in the right mindset? Do you have the right work ethic? How is your attitude? It’s important to self-assess and ask yourself these questions consistently.
- Mental. How are you in between the ears? Do you get flustered like Kyrgios when things go wrong and spiral out of control? When things get tough, the great ones shine.
- Great team. It’s important to surround talent with a great team of individuals to help nurture and develop it into greatness. Coaches, trainers, friends, etc. all need to be on the same page. At this current moment, Nick Kyrgios doesn’t even have a coach, which is extraordinarily rare in professional tennis.
- Body. Do you take care of your body? It’s clear that Kyrgios is not in shape and he even came out and said he only trained for Wimbledon for two weeks leading up to the tournament.
- Student. To be great, you have to be a student of your craft. Are you consistently learning new skills? Take your talents to new heights by constantly learning and growing your mind.
Did You Know? Coach Jim Johnson is excited to share with you that he has teamed with the ARC of Monroe to share a virtual inspirational presentation on Thursday, July 22nd at 3pm. It is free to attend and open to the public. HERE is the link to learn more and sign up.
Life Tip #40: Add more disciplines to your life to become a more attractive person
Deckard & Company