Success Secrets
I’ve spent the past year on the Perform Better speaking circuit giving I talk I have simply called Success Secrets. Next month in Long Beach I will give it for the last time and move on to a new topic. However, I want to take a minute and share the essence of the talk with you. I have had the pleasure of reading some great books in the past year, many centered on how people succeed in a wide variety of professions. Books like Outliers, Talent Code and Talent is Overrated inspired me to share my story.
I am a “fitness expert” I guess. I am also a very average looking, balding, fifty two year old with no distinguished athletic resume. If this is the case, how did I end a fitness expert? Simple, I read more and coach more than most people. As Outliers author Malcolm Gladwell would say, I have put in my ten thousand hours.
The bottom line of the presentation is that success is much more about hard work and perseverance than it is about talent. We all know that the best players don’t make the best coaches, we just don’t always know why. My theory is the best athletes never had to learn to work to get what they wanted. They always were at the head of the class. Those of us that struggled to make a team know what it is like to have to work toward a goal. That gives us the potential to be great coaches. The key as a great coach is to figure out how to motivate and develop a great athlete.
The bottom line? Sincerity wins. One of favorite quotes is “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. It is more important to be the hardest working, nicest guy in the room than the smartest.
I have another quote I love. It simply says “work hard, be nice”.
July 12, 2011 at 1:03 pm
love reading your blog!
July 8, 2011 at 9:48 am
Dear Mike Boyle
I’m 38 years old with 10 years on the business. Being a Strenght Coach and Personal Trainer for the last 10 after 14 years of training as an Athlete, give me another perpective about ” success secrets”.
Athlets are not Good readers and really bad listeners…That’s why we don’t see so often Good players becoming good Coaches!…
But You know that don’t you…
I’ve read ” talent overrated”, and all Books from “malcom Gladwell”, and will go for ” talent code”, NeXT month.