Practice?!
Thirteen years ago, Allen Iverson ignited a media frenzy over a single word.
We’re talking about practice.
His full rant was quite a bit longer, but contained the word practice some 17 times!
That news conference likely marked the pinnacle of celebrity and attention for the 26 year old Iverson, a player who had been nicknamed ‘The Answer’ by a city starved for championship caliber sports for nearly a decade.
Philadelphia, and much of the nation, would sensationalize that news conference for months to come. Sports analysts, players, coaches, and basketball fans alike would debate passion vs work ethic. Some would defend the frustrations of a young, aggressive, but injury plagued, player. Others condemned a highly paid athlete for not respecting his coach or his sport. But the ironic reality, the debate had long been decided…
While you may want to make an exception for professional athletes, the fact is we are talking about practice. Seriously, who does that anymore? Most adults gave up on practice long before Allen Iverson ever took the court.
Of course, musicians practice. Runners practice. Hunters, chess players, and dancers practice. So do golfers, gamers, photographers, and the military — just to name a few. And just like training and discipline, practice is great for our children. But professional adults don’t practice…
I’ve already written at length about the competitive nature of business in my articles on training and discipline. I’ve compared the salaries of executives with the financial incentives of collegiate athletes. So this time, let me offer the story of an alternative role model…
Long before Iverson, another athlete arrived in Philadelphia. Long before water ice or cheese steaks. Even the venerable soft pretzel was still a century away. This athlete was only 17. Iverson was 20 when he was drafted. He was a swimmer from Boston, who looked like an ‘unmade bed’. He did not arrive with much fanfare, but he too would become a media sensation.
That young athlete was Benjamin Franklin. Franklin spent much of his youth engaged in ‘deliberate practice’. A technique he credited for making him the writer and statesman he would later become. More importantly, ‘deliberate practice’ became a lifelong pursuit.
It may seem odd to compare Franklin and Iverson. Odder still, Iverson may seem more approachable. The passage of time has a habit of doing that. But while both came from humble beginnings, it was Franklin who was the businessman. And Franklin who is the better model for the importance of ‘practice’.
In fairness, Iverson does have the better crossover. And while he referenced practice 17 times — I only made it to 13…
Thanks for reading! If you liked this article, be sure to ❤ recommend it.
Originally published at www.linkedin.com.
