Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!
•The total number of professional athletes in the world is approximately 5,000. Forbes, 2012
•Bigger! Stronger! Faster!
Walter Bond, former NBA player and motivational speaker said the pressure to get better (bigger…yada, yada) every year as a professional athlete was incredible.
•According to a 2009 Sports Illustrated article, 78% of National Football League (NFL) players are either bankrupt or are under financial stress within two years of retirement and an estimated 60% of National Basketball Association (NBA) players go bankrupt within five years after leaving their sport.
Take aways:
1. It is hard to reach a level of excellence where you can derive a living from participating in professional athletics.
2. It’s harder to hang on to the funds generated by this unusual way of making a living.
3. The pressure to perform is daunting.
With that groundwork laid, I met a professional trainer (of sorts) yesterday on my business flight to Chicago. He was anxious to talk and share and I was less cooperative (to begin with). I was doing research, forming questions and preparing for my meeting but like a curious five year old, his glare was undeniable so I made (side) eye contact and he started firing off questions.
Where do YOU live?
What do YOU do?
Business or pleasure trip?
OK, I’ll bite.
Hi, I’m Eric.
[open the flood gates]
The readers digest version is that this gentleman works with professional athletes and leverages technology to a level most would fail to understand.
It’s BIG business, as we all understand based on salaries commanded by the most successful, gifted and awarded pros.
Have you ever wondered how pros maintain an edge, avoid getting hurt, perform at an unbelievable level consistency? It’s detail orientation.
A few examples I heard today include
•Breathing from your belly, not your chest (this dropping blood pressure as much as 30 points)
•Tweaking your body chemistry to fend off illness and injury
•Paying hyper close attention to nutrition, sleep, and hydration understanding that herein lies the secret to excellence.
As we watch supreme athletes compete and wonder quietly to ourselves how they do it or what makes them tick, the insight I just gained tells me that their discipline toward their bodies is far beyond what most could imagine. The detail required to garner the precision that makes the highlight reel of [pick your favorite sports channel] makes us scream with glee if it’s OUR team or yell in disgust if it’s the OTHER team.
What does this have to do with leadership?
Business is often looked at as a game. Leadership in business requires that we operate at a higher level (the Pros). Discipline in what we read, say or don’t say, do or don’t do, all matters because, like professional athletes, we are being watched at all times and our performance is on stage 24/7.
Have a blessed weekend!
Tenacious Cadence 