Each day we a have a choice as to what we prioritize, what we will work on, and what we won’t. These choices may have a bigger impact than we can imagine. In his book Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else Geoff Colvin talks about Jerry Rice and what he chose to focus on.
Rice is argubly the greatest receiver in the history of the NFL and his work ethic is legendary, however, the biggest key to his succes may have been the choices he made on what areas and skills to focus his efforts on. Colvin writes in his book.
“Rice didn’t need to do everything well, just certain things. He had to run precise patterns; he had to evade the defenders, sometimes two or three, who were assigned to cover him; he had to outjump them to catch the ball and outmuscle them when they tried to strip it away; then he had to outrun tacklers. So he focused his practice work on exactly those requirements. Not being the fastest receiver in the league turned out not to matter. He became famous for the precision of his patterns. His weight training gave him tremendous strength. His trail running gave him control so he could change directions suddenly without signaling his move. The uphill wind sprints game him explosive acceleration. Most of all, his endurance training—not something that a speed-focused athlete would normally concentrate on—gave him a giant advantage in the fourth quarter, when his opponents were tired and weak, and he seemed as fresh as he was in the first minute. Time and again, that’s when he put the game away.
Rice and his coaches understood exactly what he needed in order to be dominant. They focused on those things and not on other goals that might have seemed generally desirable, like speed.”
Colvin, Geoff (2008-10-04). Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from EverybodyElse (p. 55). Portfolio. Kindle Edition.
What are the real keys based on your situation and your skill sets that you need to focus on. They may not be the obvious areas or the areas that others deem most important, but it is up to you to make choices. Your success is found in your decisions.
10:10 Sport 