Inside The Mind Of Elite Athletes Who Become Outstanding Business Leaders

We know that the road to becoming an exceptional athlete is tough, and earning millions playing your favorite sport is a near-impossible dream for most. Yet, there is a small group of people who do experience extreme success in sports. Interestingly, these are the very people who follow up their brilliant athletic achievements with almost unmatched achievements in business or another career.

Michael Jordan earned over $93 million playing basketball. As high as this amount may sound (since he played mostly in the ‘80s and ‘90s), his total career earnings pale compared to the estimated $145 million he earned in 2019 alone, almost seventeen years after he retired from the game. Like many other elite athletes, Jordan has parlayed a successful sports career into a massive enterprise as a retired athlete.

The story is the same for other superstar athletes. Anna Kournikova, David Beckham, George Foreman, Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus, and many others earn far more in “retirement” than playing their sport. These former athletes now manage enterprises, market brands, review P&L statements, make investments and divestment decisions, and make hiring and firing decisions. Every day they deal with a host of complex issues that even the best business schools don’t teach.

The lessons they learned through the journey of becoming the best at their sport are far more valuable in business than those gained by someone spending a career climbing up the corporate ranks.

World Champions are different:

Coach Gabe Jaramillo is a rare individual who has repeatedly facilitated extreme talent development from a childhood dream to world fame. He has coached eleven of the world’s #1 tennis players and dozens of world top 10 players, starting from their formative years and working with them through their journey until they have become legends of the game. His students include many of the all-time greats such as Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Maria Sharapova, Monica Seles, Kei Nishikori, Jim Courier, Anna Kournikova, and many others.

Over the years, Jaramillo has seen thousands of pre-teen players, all with dreams of becoming the next superstar, walk in through the door. But he can spot the very few who will become elite even before he sees them hit their first ball. Despite their tender age, the future champions are noticeably different. They have an unmistakable aura. They walk with confidence; they look you in the eye, have clarity of purpose, know precisely what they want to achieve, and are committed to getting there.  These are the people who become champions in their sport and continue to excel well after their playing career is behind them.

He has observed four characteristics that differentiate the most exceptional players from others who may be just as talented but never quite make it.

They know what they want:

Even at a formative age, the future champions have big dreams, and they have set very high expectations for themselves. If you asked any of these youths what their goals were, without hesitation, each would respond, “to be number one in the world.” Jaramillo says these players are cut from a different cloth; they are unique, tracing their own destiny. They prefer not to imitate anybody, not even the world’s best. They want to become exceptional in their own way.

Many of Jaramillo’s best students, all future world number 1’s, know what they want over the long term. They have their post-tennis life mapped out, sometimes even before they play the junior tennis circuit. According to Jaramillo, Andre Agassi did not want to be just a tennis player; his childhood goal was to become a global brand. Sharapova always wanted to become a superstar, and Anna Kournikova mapped out her post-tennis career while still a teenager.

But they don’t just wish to be number 1. Everybody has the same dreams. The most elite are different because they have shifted their perception, and in their minds, the outcomes are real before they happen. Jaramillo gives examples of how Andre Agassi, even as a junior, planned to beat tennis great John McEnroe. Or how Marcelo Ríos mapped out his strategy to win against Agassi years before he would even earn his way to be on the same court. Being elite means that you have to make your dreams a reality before they can become real.

Professionalism

Jaramillo has noticed that the most outstanding players have always exhibited a very professional attitude towards their work from an early age. They had established routines like enhanced preparation, showing up thirty minutes before practices, and getting physically and mentally ready. They always organized their equipment for the session and would ensure the courts were immaculate. Then they set precise practice goals for every session and worked till they achieved them. The champions were a stark contrast from other players, many equally talented, who rushed onto the courts, barely in time for practice, and unprepared. They never made it to the top.

Practice sessions in championship tennis require a lot of “stuff.” Beyond their rackets, players come to practice with four or five cans of tennis balls, several towels, water bottles, energy bars, grips, band-aids, etc. While some might not be bothered by the clutter, champions like Andre Agassi would never stand for their court to be less than spotless. He would spend the first few minutes of every practice making everything immaculate before he even thought about hitting a ball. Regardless of their age, the most exceptional players treated every session with a rare degree of professionalism.

These qualities of professionalism are so ingrained in the champions’ minds that they permeate everything they do. Jaramillo believes that every exceptional follows a very structured and planned out routine.

A high-risk tolerance:

The most exceptional athletes are not afraid to make mistakes and to learn from them. They know when to push the limits and when to be conservative.

Jaramillo recalls an incident when Andre Agassi was playing a junior tournament, and his shots were consistently missing the line by mere inches during the match. Jaramillo told Agassi to shift his aim a little more inside the line so that those shots would be good. Agassi responded, “Don’t worry, Gabe, those shots will go in when I need them for the Grand Slams.” He did not care about the results of his junior event. He knew that he had to learn to hit shots precisely on the line; that was the skill he was trying to develop.

Jaramillo’s most exceptional students always executed each shot as it was meant to be, without thinking of the consequences. They understand that becoming a champion means taking risks when it counts. And if the risk does not pay off, they forget fast and don’t overthink mistakes; they learn and move on. They understand that if they don’t push themselves and get out of their comfort zone, they will stagnate.

They outwork everyone else

Jaramillo and other elite coaches agree that the most exceptional athletes are the ones who are willing to hit one extra shot, swim one extra length, run one extra lap, roll one more putt, do whatever it takes to get better.

At the end of formal practice sessions, all the future champions, without exception, were the ones who stayed out in the dark, working on specific things on their own. They never viewed practices as a chore. Learning and perfecting new skills was an integral and essential part of their lives. These students understood the significance of extra work and how it related to outcomes. Every elite player had built a detailed improvement plan and stuck to it through dedication, self-motivation, and sacrifice. 

Even as youths, the future superstars hated to miss even a single training session. The worst punishment Jaramillo could give students was to keep them off the courts. If that ever happened, these were the students who pleaded and negotiated with the coaches and offered to clean the team bus rather than miss a practice session.  

These qualities translate to business success.

According to Coach Gabe Jaramillo, there are many traits exhibited by world champion athletes, but the four discussed above are universal in every elite he has trained. These habits apply to everyone, not just athletes. They can help you become exceptional. 

Eventually, there comes a time for these athletes to hang up their tennis racket, or put away their golf clubs, or stop kicking a ball. But while they stop playing their sport, they never separate from their deep-seated traits developed over the years. These championship habits are responsible for translating their extreme success in sport to extreme business success or excellence in other domains.

These are the elements you need to focus on to achieve extraordinary outcomes or help your children or your teams achieve greatness. They separate the good from the great. And while the examples in this article are with athletes, the same principles apply to the most accomplished achievers in any field. Through my ongoing research with exceptionals across disciplines, I have come across countless examples of people who excelled at one thing in their formative years; and used the skills they developed to become just as successful in their second act.

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