Want to be the Best? Empty Your Cup

July 13, 2018

If you were putting together a team right now, what would you look for?

What sort of player would you draft?

What would you prioritize to win a championship?

Or, if you were putting together a staff to run the business of your dreams, what would your interview process look like? Who would you hire to help you reach your goals?

That’s a lot of questions.

But I’d love to know.

What do you think is the one thing that foreshadows greatness?

In over twenty years of coaching elite tennis players, I found that one trait stood out more than any other.

On the surface, though, it appears greatness can come from many different things.

I saw a lot of fast players make it to the top. I also saw big-hitters become elite. And I also saw smart players and unorthodox players and strictly disciplined players dominate their peers.

But there were always exceptions to those rules.

Fast was never a guarantee. Neither was big-hitting, brains, weird styles or discipline.

One thing, though, was always true. One trait always guaranteed excellence.

An empty cup.

Metaphorically speaking, of course.

No matter who the player was, if he/she had an open mind, they achieved their goals. Every time.

If they were open to believing big goals, open to restructuring their schedule, open to learning how to perfect their strokes, success was inevitable.

Great achievers are completely open to learning all the time. No pride, no prejudice, no annoying, meddling parents.

As long as the student is open-minded, all goals are doable. Nothing is off the table.

Some of us, though, come with our own stipulations. We don’t want to be told what to do. We know just as much as he does.

And what if we do it this way instead?

Yet it’s exactly those preconceptions that make us impervious to coaching.

If we’re not improving, that’s why.

Our minds are too closed.

Do you want to build a team or create a staff? Do you want to be the best at anything?

It’s simple.

Empty your cup.

My book is called The Inevitability of Becoming Rich, and you can find that here.