LEAD with Discipline
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered as a man who displayed great integrity; not because he did things right every once in awhile, but rather because he did them right all the time.
In the context of sport integrity can be thought of as “controlling the controllables” or what an athlete does when the coach isn’t looking.
Human beings all too often have the tendency to cut corners or give less than his/her maximum effort; however are usually always able to muster up “A little bit more” when called out by ones superior (coach/boss), or when the individual perceives he or she is being watched.
In ones pursuit of mastery, success should not be found in the eyes of others, as it is possible for one to give less than maximum effort and still “win”. Instead success should be found in ones own reflection, knowing that he or she did everything possible to “become” the best version of themselves.
LEADers view success in terms of a destination; a place where he or she is headed opposed to ones current reality. In sport an athlete must never rest on his or recent success as the most important play is the “next play”. In business, a salesman should never rest on his or her last sale as there is always a new sales opportunity to pursue. In life, individuals who want to leave a lasting legacy must be consistent in his or her daily actions. As the old saying goes, “what have you done for me lately.”
LEADers such as Tim Kight believe, “success is the result of the accumulative impact of ones daily actions repeated over time. An individuals habits, skills or anything of significant can only be achieved by repeated behavior over time. If one is going to be successful, he or she has to have relentless focus and effort… After all lots of people start things, but not that many people maintain the relentless commitment to the necessary work to achieve success.”
It is almost impossible to fathom the adversity that Dr. King overcame during his life. Had he overcame simply just one of these hardships, he would be remembered in a positive light as a change agent for racial equality; however he never rested on what occurred yesterday or the events of today. Dr King is one of the greatest humans to ever walk this earth because he was a dreamer always striving for what lay ahead.
Coach Nelson serves as a high school football coach who is pursuing his doctorate in Sport and Performance Psychology. He has worked for division 1 athletic departments, professional sport franchises, a Fortune 100 Company and has won numerous awards for his LEADership abilities.
His mission is to positively influence the world through Love, Effort, Attitude and Discipline (#LEAD). To learn more about the LEAD philosophy follow him on Twitter Levi Nelson or reach out via email at rln10@zips.uakron.edu He’d love to learn about or help you in your journey!
