Beliefs That Work in Sport and Life

No sport beliefs arrived on stone tablets. Some 'takes' won't work for everyone.

1. Be a lifelong learner. Celebrating ignorance is the dog that won't hunt. 

2. Emotion seldom overcomes talent and preparation. Therefore, "every day is player development day." 

3. Continually work to teach more and better. 

4. Outwork the competition. Work smarter, more efficiently. Nick Saban asks, "are you investing your time or spending it?" A few years ago, I took the free Coursera Course, "Learning How to Learn." 

5. Reflect. Why did that work or not work and how did it impact the outcome? Never believe in our infallibility.

6. Study psychology and influence across domains. 

• Dan Pink - author of "Drive" 
• Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein - Advertising mavens
• Robert Cialdini "Influence" author
• Chris Voss (former FBI hostage negotiator)

7. Be open to new ideas. There is always someone or something (artificial intelligence) with ideas that can help us improve. 

8. Think again. What's on our 'rethinking' scoreboard? Can a pair of All-NBA wings lead you to a title or do you need more positional diversity?

9. Think in terms of probabilities. A range of possible outcomes exist. Books that address this include Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke, More Than You Know by Michael Mauboussin, and The Most Important Thing by Howard Marks. 

10. "Read. Read. Read. Read. Read." - Werner Herzog   Include fiction and 'disconfirming' material that asks us to question our beliefs. Better to reread a great book than read ten poor ones. 

11. Share. "Basketball is sharing." - Phil Jackson   Share the ball. Share the sacrifice. Share knowledge. Share lessons learned from failure. Share credit. 

12. Seek balance.  

13. Find mentors; be a mentor. "Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence." 

14. Build better habits. "We make our habits and our habits make us." Pick a habit, stick to it, and check your progress. Process and systems enhance outcomes. 

15. Study leaders. Become a storyteller with tales of great leadership. Doris Kearns Goodwin's book, Leadership in Turbulent Times excels with profiles of Lincoln, the Roosevelt's and Lyndon Johnson. 

Lagniappe.