When I look back on my time as an athlete there has been some great lessons to be learned. Unknowingly really I stumbled upon these lessons as I looked back on my career. The biggest lesson I left with after experiencing it first hand being out of the NFL for a year is sticking with something long enough to see it through. And I don’t just doing something with little effort. Doing a little one day then doing a little here and there when you feel like it. I am talking about going 100 percent everyday focused completely on 1 certain thing until you are so good at it that eventually you can get paid really well for it. When I look back on my journey to the NFL. I went all in and was prepared to either fail miserably or triumph grandly. Sometimes I look back on my NFL career as it stands right now and see how it can be looked at as a failure. When I switch my perspective it is more of lessons learned that a failure. Seeing my career as a failure only inhibits my future progress. Instead, looking at failures as lessons gives me insights on how I can make a better move in the future. It also allows me to write this in hopes that someone else doesn’t fall victim to the lessons I learned. Now don’t get it twisted. The only way you will end up with good lessons is if you go 100 percent everyday. Only then can you be for certain that the lessons you have learned are true. If you are going through the motions or only giving it 50 percent effort then how can you know for sure what works and what doesn’t work. When you give it your all each day you can know for certain what has worked and what doesn’t. During my career, I tried everything and did everything as I thought fit. The only area I know I could of done better was being a little more bold. Luck favors the man of action. I can tell a quick story of this being true. On the sidelines of my 3rd NFL game, I found myself sitting on the sidelines without a real role on the team. In a moments notice a teammate of mine had gotten injured playing gunner on punt team. The special teams coach was frantically running up and down the sidelines trying to find a player to put in the game. Standing there I jumped at the opportunity to play the position. Maybe reluctantly he threw me in the game and I did well enough to earn the starting role in the next game. In that game I earned 2 tackles and became the starter at the position. It was something that I had never done before but it offered me a valuable role on the team. Beating sitting on the bench twiddling my fingers. Now some may say it was a strike of luck but in reality it was taking action on an opportunity. Luck seems to strike the men of action. One that takes action before it is too late will put themselves in position to be so called lucky. Now being ready for that opportunity is another talk. That is were consistency comes into play. When you go 100 percent and consistently show up then you are more prepared for that opportunity and if it doesn’t work out then you are favored with a lesson of what to change for the next time. From a young age I consistently pursued a career as an athlete. It wasn’t a here and there thing. It was following a ruthless schedule of continuing to try to better myself each day and put myself in a position to be the best that I could be. When others would put in 1-2 hours a couple days a week, I would put in more hours and work on something everyday. Imagine over a year period how much better I would be getting. Now take that and times that by maybe a 4 year college career before the NFL or go back even further to pop warner. That’s a lot of years and a lot of hours before the overnight success happens on draft day. There are no 1 day successes unless you win the lottery I guess. Building something takes time and as I start to transition out of my first passion I see how long it really took to build something and the effort it took. If I am going to want to build something great again then it is going to take a lot of time and focus. There are no shortcuts, there are no secrets only consistent hard work and dedication. I tell you one thing and that it is worth building something special whether its a career, a relationship or anything that is going to take time. It is one of the most fulfilling things I have done but the journey doesn’t stop now. Life keeps adapting, keeps changing and it is up to us to continue to build and focus on what we really want to build in this life that helps make the world a better place.
Chapter Review:
You need consistency with whatever you are doing in life. If you don’t water and nurture your plants than they will die. It’s the same with your career and relationships. If you aren’t consistently pouring into the things you want to grow and build then they will no longer exist. This past year I have been learning to grow my own food. It’s a lot more work than maybe I realized at first but I have already learned this great lesson of consistency. I have to consistently show up each day and take care of my plants or they won’t grow as well and produce a bountiful harvest. Without consistency nothing grows. Literally and figuratively. It’s time to get serious about what you are doing and consistently show up 100 percent in all your ventures in life. The other road leads to a life of mediocracy. I have felt this the past year as I navigate what I want to do past my NFL career. Jumping from thing to thing seeing what I like to do. Without consistency nothing will grow or prosper. Keep Going!
Questions:
- What areas in your life have you been too inconsistent?
- What are 2 actions you can take in order to become more consistent?
- When was the last time you consistently did something to completion? How did it make you feel?
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