A Values-Based Approach to Living- Part 4: Competitive Greatness, Hard Work & Enthusiasm
Today is Part IV of my series on A Values-Based Approach to Living. In this post, I focus on competitive greatness, hard work and enthusiasm. You can read Part I here, Part II here and Part III here. Part V will be published next Tuesday. I hope you enjoy this next edition. I’m very grateful for your readership!
Competitive Greatness
Joe DiMaggio, the Hall of Famer and Yankees great was asked many years ago by a reporter why he played so hard. “Joe D” responded, “Because there might have been somebody in the stands today who’d never seen my play before, and might never see me again.”
For Joe DiMaggio, image mattered, but so did making a lasting impact. The above quote defines much of what competitive greatness means to me, particularly when you consider that the great DiMaggio played a sport that jammed 154 games into a six-month period. And for DiMaggio, that also meant a few games (almost) every year in October.
Competitive Greatness is the pinnacle of legendary Coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. Coach defined it as follows,
“Perform at your best when your best is required. Your best is required each day.” — John Wooden
Competitive greatness is a mindset that is always on, even when we’re not officially competing. It never turns off because it is inspired by a desire to be great and to advance forward in the direction of anything we set out to accomplish. This is the maximum, adrenaline-fueled zenith of self-satisfaction, human achievement and aspiration to reach our peak potential.
Competitive greatness is a feeling, a value and also an experience. Competitive greatness optimizes our thinking, enabling us to acquire the skills we need to be our best, while simultaneously summoning the fire inside of us that wills us toward our proverbial finish line. Competitive greatness enlightens us. Our brains form deep thoughts that ultimately transition into physical output — whatever our intended effect or goals may be.
In sport, music, business and academia, the people we often admire most are not necessarily the most talented, rather, those who made the most with that they were given.
Hard Work
“Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.”
The remarkable story of Olympic champion Wilma Rudolph is one worth telling to all Americans for generations to come. She was the first female American to win three Gold medals at one Olympic Games and is one of the greatest female athletes in history. She first medaled at the Olympics when she was only 16-years old. She reached the pinnacle of her sport four years later at the age of 20.
Despite her remarkable athletic feats, what is most impressive about Rudolph’s life is how she overcame stunning odds to even compete in the first place. You see, giving up was never her thing.
Rudolph was born a very sick child in 1940, premature and without much hope. She contracted polio, which led to infantile paralysis, which then caused her left leg to twist and grow abnormally. Throughout her youth she needed to get treatment on her leg. As she once described it:
“My doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.” — Wilma Rudolph
Rudolph also survived scarlet fever — at the time, a leading cause of death in children — and double pneumonia. Rudolph was the 20th of 22 children and grew up poor in the segregated South. To say that the deck was stacked against her would be an understatement of epic proportions. Just getting a chance on the field of competition seemed like a tall order.
Yet as Ms. Rudolph proved, there is no substitute for hard work and a positive attitude. She persevered and played sports throughout her youth despite all of her ailments. She practiced every, single day and was so determined to succeed, she simply powered her way out of leg braces and kept working until she was free. She is a model for all Americans, regardless of race or creed.
We’re all given varying degrees of talent in life. Hard work is up to you. No one can give it to you and no one can take it away from you. One of my favorite sayings in life came from one of my first basketball coaching stops. The coaching staff at that high school used to say every practice:
“There are two things you always control in life — your attitude and your effort.”
I’ve taken this with me everywhere that I go and it’s become one of the sayings I live by. Work hard and work intelligently, whatever your circumstances are. Or as another all-time Yankees great would tell you:
“There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you.” — Derek Jeter
Enthusiasm
When we were younger, we were given the blessing of a vibrant imagination by our parents and school teachers. Many of us wanted to be firemen, astronauts, librarians, lawyers, doctors and professional athletes. Not all of us reached those lofty, admired professions. As I’ve grown, I’ve learned that those priceless seeds of optimism and imagination should power a lifelong journey toward living with enthusiasm and purpose.
Enthusiasm means so much to me because I know that my life is testament to living with greater happiness and fulfillment when my mind is occupied with enthusiasm for what I do. It’s why I took the time nearly seven years ago to write down all the things that I wanted in my life. I didn’t do this to become rich or necessarily more successful.
I did it because it dawned on me that so much of the enthusiasm that filled my life throughout my youth and into my 20s had suddenly vanished. I wasn’t doing what I loved, much of my motivations were dormant and it was slowly killing me inside. I had to make a change and by God, I did. I now do things I love to do — things that I’m skilled at and that bring out the best in me.
Enthusiasm is the secret formula that gives life to every goal we aim to accomplish. Norman Vincent Peale wrote in his popular book, Enthusiasm Makes the Difference:
“Enthusiasm can only be aroused by two things; first, an ideal which takes the imagination by storm, and second, a definite intelligible plan for a carrying that ideal into practice.”
Endeavor to find your passion, what moves and inspires you and then put together a plan for living a life that incorporates what you love into how you can support yourself. Life is so much more fulfilling when you do work that you love.
More to Come!
If you enjoyed reading this, please be so kind as to share with others and recommend my piece. Also, please share your thoughts below. Any recommendations for a new writing piece? Please provide that as well! I’m always open to new ideas.
My upcoming book, The Courage to Have Faith in the 21st Century is due out early next year. Contact me via my website here and and subscribe if you feel inclined!
