For years, Brandon Steiner, founder of sports marketing andsports collectibles company Steiner Sports, has been collectingsuccess secrets from legendary figures in the world of sports. Hereare some rules he lives by:
- Find your inner drive to succeed. Successful people havea different attitude. Bob Feller, Hall of Fame hurler for theCleveland Indians, says: "Kids playing baseball or anysport-or doing anything in life-must have self-discipline. You needto say no to a lot of frivolous things that waste your time. Whenyou come [to] this earth, you're given so much time. You canthrow it away or make good use of it. What you do with it is yourlegacy."
- Stay nervous. Sandy Koufax once said, "Sometimesthe most terrified people do the best work." The dominatingpitcher of the early 1960s, Koufax was the youngest inductee intothe Hall of Fame.
But most people don't realize Koufax had a fear of crowds.Imagine pitching before 54,000 Los Angeles Dodgers fans andsuffering from a fear of crowds! A little edge of fear can keep youfocused, and the nervous energy gives a boost to everything youdo.
- Do it anyway. Frank Robinson is a man of "first andonly" accomplishments. First and only MLB player to be namedMVP in both leagues, first and only player to hit 200 home runs inboth leagues, first African American manager in the major leagues.When I asked him what he did about that voice within that says,'You can't do it; it's never been done,' hereplied, "I handle it by not thinking about it. You keep thefocus on the situation at hand and let everything take care ofitself."
- Stay on top of your game. In 1999, I asked New YorkYankees star Derek Jeter where he was planning on vacationing. Iassumed he was going to relax--he'd just won his third WorldSeries in four years. "Where are you going to go?" Iasked.
"Go?" Derek answered with an excited gleam in his eye."I'm working out every day--spring training is just aroundthe corner!" Derek was letting me know that vacationsaren't a priority when you're striving to stay on top ofyour game. And guess who has had more base hits than any player inbaseball since 1996? Derek Jeter.
Excerpted from The Business Playbook: Leadership Lessons From the Worldof Sports.
