THE MINDSET OF BEING THE BEST YOU CAN BE

Here is an excerpt from a book that shows the mindset of competitor -- someone who is serious about being the best they can be.  It also shows the mindset of a coach that recognized greatest in someone and was determined to get the best out of that athlete.  It's a story of Dean Smith and Michael Jordan.

If anything, some thought, Dean Smith was a little harder on Jordan every day in practice then he was on other young players, as if accepting his greater possibilities and his own limitless ambition and holding him to it, setting higher standards for him than for the others. Roy Williams was also always pushing Jordan to work harder in practice. “I’m working as hard as everyone else,” Jordan answered.

“But Michael, you told me you wanted to be the best,” Williams once reminded him. “And if you want to be the best, then you have to work harder than everyone else.” There was, Williams thought, a long pause, while Jordan pondered that. Finally he said, “Coach, I understand.”

From "Playing For Keeps" by David Halberstam

COMMITMENT STARTS AT THE HEART

"Some people want everything to be perfect before they're willing to commit themselves to anything.  But commitment always precedes achievement.  I am told that in the Kentucky Derby, the winning horse effectively runs out of oxygen after the first half mile, and he goes the rest of the way on heart.  That's why all great athletes recognize it's importance.  NBA legend Michael Jordan explains that 'heart is what separates the good from the great.'  If you want to make a difference...look in your heart to see if you're really committed. 

From "The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader" by John Maxwell

PATIENCE

Look me in the eyes.
It’s okay if you’re scared, So am I.
But we’re scared for different reasons.
I’m scared of what I won’t become, and you’re scared of what I could become.
Look at me.
I won’t let myself end where I started, I won’t let myself finish where I began.
I know what is within me, Even if you can’t see it yet.
Look me in the eyes.
I have something more important than courage, I have patience.
I will become, what I know I am.

 

THE BEST FOCUS ON THE PRESENT

One of the terms we utilize with our players comes from Coach Don Meyer.  We tell them we want them to be NBA players.  NBA stands for Next Best Action.  In other words, we want them constantly player in the future and not in the past.  Great shooters have poor memories.  They never remember their last missed shot but instead, work to get their next make. 

It is the process oriented teaching that Coach Nick Saban drives home to his players.  He is not interested in his players checking the score or time on the clock as that information has nothing to do with them "dominating their opponent" on the next snap. 

While at LSU, baseball coach Skip Bertman had a small toy toilet in the dugout.  When a player had a bad at bat, a fielder committed an error, or a pitcher had a bad inning, they came in and "flushed" the toy toilet as a physical symbol that it's over -- it's gone -- time to focus on the here and now.

Of course this isn't an easy habit to develop -- especially for great competitors.  In his book "How Champions Think," Dr. Bob Rotella recalled a conversation where Dean Smith spoke to Michael Jordan about letting go of a bad game:
 
I remember hearing Michael Jordan speak some year ago about a lesson he’d learned from Dean Smith about dealing with failure. Michael had left the University of North Carolina and player a couple of years in the NBA. But he returned to Chapel Hill in the off-season to play pickup games with other Tar Heel alumni and talk with Coach Smith. 
 
On this occasion, he was talking to the coach about how hard it was for him to accept the seemingly cavalier attitude of his Bulls teammates toward losing. After a loss, he said, he would stay in the shower for an hour, replaying everything he did wrong as the hot water pounded over his body. Or he’d sit by his locker with a towel over his head, marinating his brain in images of mistakes. His teammates, on the other hand, would shower and get out of there. Michael thought they didn’t care.
 
Dean Smith disabused him of that notion. He told Michael that if he wanted to become the player he could be, he ought to give himself no more than ten or twenty minutes to reflect on a bad performance. That would be enough to learn everything that could be learned from it. After that, he advised Michael, he ought to think about playing great basketball in the next game—or do something else and not think about basketball at all. “If all you do is keep reliving your mistakes, you’re going to destroy yourself,” Dean said.

GRIFFIN LEARNS ABOUT WORK ETHIC FROM PAST NBA GREATS

The following is an excerpt of a story on the Clippers Blake Griffin that was written by Robert Morales of the Long Beach Telegraph.  The story speaks to how Griffin has not only heard about the work ethic of the great players before him but has used it to model his own work ethic.

“I’ve heard millions of Kobe (Bryant) stories about late-night workouts,” said Griffin, whose team takes on Detroit on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Staples Center. “One I heard, one time I guess he was in Italy and called Marco Belinelli (of the Spurs) at like 1, 2 o’clock in the morning and asked him if he had a gym for him, and so Marco found him one and he went there to shoot with him.

“And he (Belinelli) was like, ‘I thought we were going to just get some shots up, but we had like a full workout.’ Things like that. That’s work ethic, real worth ethic. It’s not just coming in when you have to and going hard. It’s doing extra, going above and beyond.”

Griffin hangs his hat on that credo.

“Work ethic has always been a big part of what I do,” he said. “I’m a firm believer, the more work you put in, the more you get out. You know, I love hearing stories about the Kobe’s and the LeBron’s and back in the day, Michael Jordan, how they work and how sometimes they’re a little different about it. That’s what makes them unique.”

HOW MOTIVATED ARE TO YOUR WORK: WIN OR LOSE

"After every game, I used to ask Michael (Jordan) one question: Five, six, or seven? As in what time are we hitting the gym tomorrow morning. And he’d snap back a time and that was it. Especially after a loss, when there wasn’t a whole lot to say. No discussion, no debate, no lame attempt to convince me he needed the morning off. You good? I’m good. See you in the morning. And the next morning at whatever time he’d decided, he’d awaken to find me standing outside his door. No matter what happened the night before-good game, bad game, soreness, fatigue- he was up working out every morning while most of the other guys slept."

From "Relentless" by Tim Grover

MJ ON LEADERSHIP

But a leaders has to earn that title.  You aren't the leader just because you're the best player on the team, the smartest person in the class, or the most popular.  No one can give you that title either.  You have to gain the respect of those around you or by your actions.  You have to be consistent in your approach whether it's basketball practice, a sales meeting, or dealing with your family.

A leader can't make any excuses.  There has to be quality in everything you do.  Off the court, on the court, in the classroom, on the playground, inside the meeting room, outside of work.  You have to transfer those skills, that drive, to whatever environment you're in.

And you have to be willing to sacrifice certain individual goals, if necessary for the good of the team.

From "I Can't Accept Not Trying"

PERFORM IN THE MOMENT

Game performances occur in the present, not in the past or future.

Although recalling positive memories of past performances and visualizing future ones can be useful, the best state of mind to be in is in the present.

George Mumford, who also work with the L.A. Lakers when Phil Jackson was coach, currently works with sports teams at Boston College. He still remembers his best student on the Bulls, none other than Michael Jordan "Michael made no distinction between practice and a game in terms of the effort he puts in," Mumford recalled. "He was the first one running sprints and doing all the other drills. He didn't have to prove anything, and yet he was always pushing himself. Not in an abusive way, but because he was truly in the moment and enjoying what he was doing."

Before, during and after practice and competition, constantly remind yourself, "Right here is the best place, and right now is the only time."


From "The Winning Spirit" by Joe Montana and Tom Mitchell

WHAT IS YOUR PICK UP GAME MENTALITY

The following comes from Steve Hale who was one of Michael Jordan's teammates:

Hale noticed another thing about Jordan: Even in pickup games, he has become unusually purposeful. There was a tendency in games like this, when there were no coaches around, for players to resort to what they did best, to reinforce their strengths and avoid going to any part of their game that was essentially weak. But Jordan, Hale believed, was constantly working on the weaker part of his game, trying to bring it up. It was, Hale thought, one more sign of his desire to be the best.

From "Playing For Keeps" by David Halberstam

STICK TO YOUR PLAN

How important is your circle of influence -- the people you hang with?  Are important is it to have strong goals? Here is what MJ had to say about it keeping focused:

"You have to stick to your plan. A lot of people try to pull you down to their level because they can’t achieve certain things. But very few people get anywhere by taking shortcuts. Very few people win the lottery to gain their wealth. It happens, but the odds certainly aren’t with them. More people get it the honest way, by setting their goals and committing themselves to achieving those goals. That’s the only way I’d want it anyway."


-Michael Jordan

HOW MJ BECAME THE "BEST TO EVER PLAY"

The following is conversation between Coach Roy Williams, then an assistant at the University of North Carolina and a young freshman named Michael Jordan:

When Michael Jordan first got to UNC, we were sitting at the track one day after conditioning. It was just the two of us. “Coach,” he said. “I want to be the best player to every play here.”

“You’ll have to work much harder than you did in high school,” Williams said.

“But, Coach. I worked as hard as everybody else.”

“Oh, excuse me. I thought you just said you wanted to be the best player to ever play here. Working as hard as everybody else is not even going to come close, son.”

That was the end of the conversation.

Two days later, after the next conditioning session, Michael comes up to me and we were sitting there alone again. He said, “Coach, I’ve been thinking about what you said. I’m going to show you. There will never be anyone who will outwork me.”

He did that. From that day on, Michael tried to kick everybody’s rear end in every drill.

From "Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court" by Roy Williams

MJ ON LEADING BY EXAMPLE

It comes down to a very simple saying: There is a right way and a wrong way to do things. You can practice shooting eight hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way.

If you don’t back it up with performance and hard work, talking doesn’t mean a thing.

I’ve always tried to lead by example. That is just my personality. I never led vocally. I never really tried to motivate by talking because I don’t think words ever mean as much action.

They always say a picture carries a thousand words. So I tried to paint a picture of hard work and discipline.

But a leader has to earn that title. You aren’t the leader just because you’re the best player on the team, the smartest person in the class, or the most popular. No one can give you that title either. You have to gain the respect of those around you by your actions. You have to be consistent in your approach whether it’s basketball practice, a sales meeting, or dealing with your family.

A leader can’t make any excuses. there has to be quality in everything you do. Off the court, on the court, in the classroom, on the playground, inside the meeting room, outside of work. You have to transfer those skills, that drive, to whatever environment you’re in.

And you have to be willing to sacrifice certain individual goals, if necessary, for the good of the team.

From "I Can't Accept Not Trying" by Michael Jordan

WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING FOR?

“I have no individual goals.  We play for one reason and that’s to win the title. Practice is more important than the games, and I will practice when I’m hurt, when 95 percent of the players in this league would sit out. I expect all of you to do the same thing. You will follow my lead.”

-Michael Jordan

MJ ON THE IMPORTANCE OF FUNDAMENTALS

"The minute you get away from fundamentals, the bottom can fall out.  Fundamentals were the most crucial part of my game in the NBA. Everything I did, everything I achieved, can be traced back to the way I approached the fundamentals and how I applied them to my abilities."

-Michael Jordan

MJ ON LEADING BY EXAMPLE

It comes down to a very simple saying: There is a right way and a wrong way to do things. You can practice shooting eight hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way.

If you don’t back it up with performance and hard work, talking doesn’t mean a thing.

I’ve always tried to lead by example. That is just my personality. I never led vocally. I never really tried to motivate by talking because I don’t think words ever mean as much action.

They always say a picture carries a thousand words. So I tried to paint a picture of hard work and discipline.

But a leader has to earn that title. You aren’t the leader just because you’re the best player on the team, the smartest person in the class, or the most popular. No one can give you that title either. You have to gain the respect of those around you by your actions. You have to be consistent in your approach whether it’s basketball practice, a sales meeting, or dealing with your family.

A leader can’t make any excuses. There has to be quality in everything you do. Off the court, on the court, in the classroom, on the playground, inside the meeting room, outside of work. You have to transfer those skills, that drive, to whatever environment you’re in.

And you have to be willing to sacrifice certain individual goals, if necessary, for the good of the team.

From "I Can't Accept Not Trying" by Michael Jordan

BULLS TITLES WON WITH ROLE ACCEPTANCE & FUNDAMENTALS

When we started winning championships, there was an understanding among all twelve players about what our roles were. We knew our responsibilities and we knew our capabilities.

And that’s why we were able to beat more talented teams. There are plenty of teams in every sport that have great players and never win titles. Most of the time, those players aren’t willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the team. The funny thing is, in the end, their unwillingness to sacrifice only makes individual goals more difficult to achieve.

The minute you get away from fundamentals, the bottom can fall out. 

Fundamentals were the most crucial part of my game in the NBA. Everything I did, everything I achieved, can be traced back to the way I approached the fundamentals and how I applied them to my abilities.

They really are the basic building blocks or principles that make everything work. I don’t care what you’re doing or what you’re trying to accomplish; you can’t skip fundamentals if you want to be the best.

You have to monitor your fundamentals constantly because the only thing that changes will be your attention to them. The fundamentals will never change.

Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.

It comes down to a very simple saying: There is a right way and a wrong way to do things. You can practice shooting eight hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way.

If you don’t back it up with performance and hard work, talking doesn’t mean a thing.

From "I Can't Accept Not Trying" by Michael Jordan

MJ ON THE IMPORTANCE OF CONDITIONING AND NUTRITION

MJ: ALWAYS HAD TO WIN

Leroy Smith on teammate Michael Jordan:

“He and I practiced every day together and he always had to win. If it was a game of Horse and you beat him, you would have to play another game until he won. You didn’t go home until he had won.”

LESSONS LEARNED FROM MJ

I have had the opportunity to work with Michael Jordan of the Bulls and the first time I sat down to talk with him he said a few things that were fascinating to me. First, he said that when people talk about him some say that he is quick or that he is a great jumper, but he said that his pride lies in his heart and guts. He is most proud of his ability to go all out, every game, on every play, at both ends of the court. Being first team all defensive team shows him that he plays the defensive end as hard as the offensive end.


The second thing he said that impressed me was that he goes out onto the court EVERY NIGHT EXCITED. How can he be excited to play or practice every night? He said that it doesn’t matter how he gets excited, he just does. He finds a way to get fired up every night. Some nights it is the guy he is playing. Other nights it is the place he is playing. He finds a way to be excited, to play hard every minute. Most guys don’t go all out every minute, that is why he thinks he is one of the best ever.

The third thing he said that spoke to me was that for awhile he just took care of himself. He did well, but his teams didn’t achieve. Then he made the decision that take care of just himself wasn’t enough, so he started to take care of himself and two or three others. He started to boost others up daily as well as #23. That in his opinion is when he started winning championships.

Notes from author Bob Rotella’s talk to the Umass basketball team 10-19-95

JORDAN ON PRACTICE AND LOSING

One of our favorite books in past seasons to assign to our players to read is "How To Be Like Mike," by Pat Williams.  It is a wonderful book with great insights and stories as to what made Michael Jordan great.

One of the stories shared by Williams was an annual meeting held by Phil Jackson the night before he started training camp. Jackson would bring his team together on the eve of the first practice and close by asking each player to give his individual goals. Jordan was always the last player to speak and he always had the same thing to say:

“I have no individual goals. We play for one reason and that’s to win the title. Practice is more important than the games, and I will practice when I’m hurt, when 95 percent of the players in this league would sit out. I expect all of you to do the same thing. You will follow my lead.”

In terms of handling a defeat, Jordan said, “Accept a loss as a learning experience and never point fingers at your teammates.”