GREATNESS DOESN’T GO ON SALE
Today’s Black Friday, the day that proves – more than any other day of the year – that many of us will do just about anything for a deal. People have spent the night camping out in store parking lots. They’re stampeding through doors with little regard for human safety. Some, sadly, are literally squaring up to fight someone for that last item on the shelf. All the absurdity of Black Friday validates just how much we love a bargain, and the ridiculous lengths some people will go to find one.
But today I want to take a minute to clarify an important reality that you are responsible for accepting in your own life, and – whether you're a parent, a coach, or some other athletic leader – one that you’re responsible for developing in the life of your young athletes. Simply put, it's that greatness doesn’t go on sale. Despite the Black Friday culture we live in, where most of us are desperate to find a deal, champions recognize that there's a high price to pay for success in any important area of life, and greatness requires that we pay the full price.
Champions are who they are because, despite their natural ability, they've done the hard work it takes to become great in some really important areas. They've cultivated some unique qualities that set them apart from others and make them people worthy of winning. These are the skills and abilities that really make a champion a champion. They define those who've paid the price that greatness requires.
If you’re serious about helping the kids in your care become their best – as athletes and as people – then you are responsible for developing and cultivating these unique and important abilities. I hope you can see clearly today that your kids can't become their best without them.
The challenge is that developing these winning abilities isn’t cheap or easy. You can’t spend the night camping out in a store parking lot on Black Friday to buy your child a love for the game. You can’t stampede your way into a store to get your child the toughness it takes to overcome adversity. And even if you were willing to square up and fight someone for it, you won’t find the humility it takes to get coached, the selflessness to be a great teammate, or the courage to really compete sitting on a shelf somewhere. Those qualities can’t be found in a store aisle, an online warehouse, or a Black Friday circular.
If you really want your athlete to learn how to do what champions do, there's a price that must be paid. Helping them be great where it really matters takes a daily commitment. That’s because greatness in any of these areas can only be built through a long, slow process. For your athlete, that process includes trying and failing. It includes learning and growing. It includes struggling, improving, and eventually succeeding. This is a challenging journey, one he or she probably can't navigate alone. They’ll need plenty of help and support along the way, which is of course where you come in.
As a parent, coach, or athletic leader, you’ve got a price to pay - a daily commitment to make, too. For you, the process of helping your kids reach their potential includes supporting and encouraging. Sometimes it means challenging them and holding them accountable. It means recognizing the opportunities that exist each day to teach, train, and equip them in the areas you see clearly as most important to their success. It means relentlessly working to help them develop the mindset and the habits that their very best requires them to possess.
Things like passion and toughness, like humility, selflessness, or courage - they don’t come cheap. They must be built and strengthened every day. Your child has an important part to play in that process, and he or she must accept that responsibility. But you have an important part to play, too, and how you embrace that challenging role will probably help to determine their approach. It all starts with accepting that greatness doesn’t go on sale. That despite the culture we live in, where most of us are desperate to find the ultimate bargain, there is a high price to pay to be great at anything in life. And even on Black Friday, greatness requires that we pay the full price.
