“The only place success comes before hard work is in the dictionary”
– Vince Lombardi
I was very taken with an article about the world-class footballer Ronaldo last week. You may be aware that he won the Ballon d’Or last week, which is the award for world footballer of the year.
The article referred to some of the back-room team at Manchester United, where Ronaldo spent his early years. They commented that when he first arrived it was clear he had talent – but he lacked a good work ethic.
After 2-3 years of average performances at United something changed in Ronaldo. His work ethic in training and practice in particular did a complete U-turn. The gym manager commented that ‘I couldn’t believe the sheer effort
he started to put into every aspect of the training. It was pure monotony but he became relentless’.
He also started doing the same with his free kicks, staying for hours after regular team training to practice his dead-ball kicking.
He is now one of the most skilled kickers of a ball in the world and also one of the most feared strikers. Yes he had talent. But so do many other players that never hit the same heights.
Hard work, consistent practice and sustained effort – boring, unsexy and often painful. Yet it’s a common denominator in anyone’s success.
So, in that spirit…
What’s the 1 thing that if you did every day, would make the biggest difference to your life/career/business/health?
You pick. Get doing the boring.