I’ve written about practice. How getting where you want to go has everything to do with work and practice, and incidentally how The Final Step is the best book to practice with.
But it’s more than practice. Practice comes second.
Attitude comes first. My little guy is an athletic phenom. He plays baseball two years above his age group. Athletically, he belongs on that team no question about it, but he’s the smallest by far. He weighs about 12 pounds soaking wet. One of the coaches has recommended a strict diet of milkshakes and peanut butter cups over the winter.
Now, despite his size, his attitude has always been that of a killer. He will win. He will rip your throat out to win. He will rip out your throat and squeeze as hard as he can, and he will not let go until he wins, period.
Now, just when you think he’s a monster: I’ve also seen him throw a kid out at first base, jog over, and walk that player back to the opposing dugout with his arm around the players shoulders telling him what a great hit it was and that he’ll likely make it to first next time.
His killer attitude in conjunction with his physical skills is what puts him on that team. The attitude is key. And here’s why. At practice, we started doing a long throwing competition. Catch a pop fly, then throw the ball about 120 feet into a big square net.
My little monster fails terribly at this game. “Because he is the smallest and not strong enough?” you ask. Good question. And here’s my answer: yes and no.
He is plenty strong enough to make the throw, but knowing he is the smallest he has just now started to use that as an excuse. “I can’t win anyway,” he tells me, and low and behold he gets out in the first round every time.
The reason I bring this up is that I was reminded again yesterday about attitude by a man whom, at the time he wrote it, was at the very top of his field. I mean the tippy, tippy top.
You wouldn’t recognize the name, and it doesn’t really matter. Just understand that he was absolutely elite in his very competitive field. The cream of the crop.
And here he writes about what he called the “Fighter Pilot” attitude!
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Of all things that contribute to success, the most important by far is attitude. An attitude that says that you will do (within the bounds of good taste and legality) anything that is necessary to make the work you are doing for yourself or your clients a success. No excuses. No missed deadlines. No half-assed work. No “throwing it together.” No, nothing except for your very best.
Not Ever!
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I’m also thinking about it as it applies to what I’m doing, and to you and your work and your studying.
Attitude is key. That’s why I challenge you, yes you heard that correctly. I challenge you never to say, no, never even think any of the following…
•This is so dumb that we have to do this.
•I can’t believe I have to learn this.
•When am I ever going to need this?
•Who cares about this anyway.
•I’m terrible at taking tests.
•How does this help?
•How am I supposed to remember all of this?
•How am I supposed to get all of this done?
The list could go on forever, but you get the point. Attitude begins with self-talk. If you convince yourself this exam is dumb or worse yet that you are dumb, you’ve lost.
My wife used to teach 8th-grade math. She is amazing at it. She is the Math teacher you wish you had. She loves it, loves the kids, and loves teaching it.
She would come home dejected after parent-teacher conferences because inevitably someone’s parent would say, “Well, I was never good at math, so I’m not surprised Sally is struggling.”
And she would see the wind go right out of the child’s sails. The excuses begin, and it’s almost impossible to overcome them. Especially when mom and dad make them for you.
Don’t allow any excuses. Do your best work. Don’t worry about your past or how your parents did or how your classmates did or anything else. Do your best work.
Do whatever is necessary to win.
Hmm. Maybe start by picking up your copy of The Final Step, and putting it to work for you.
Brian Wallace