Pursuit of Excellence – If you are good at something, does that mean you are meant do it?

Pursuit of Excellence – I am watching a documentary on Netflix about Todd Marinovich.  Marinovich was quarterback who was trained by his father to be the “perfect athlete.”  Marinovich’s father began training his son from birth to be a quarterback.

Todd asked the question at the beginning of the documentary – “If you are good at something, does that mean you are meant do it.”

Pursuit of Excellence

Based on the Todd’s story, the answer is probably – NO.  Marinovich never reached his full potential as a football player, although he did make it the NFL.

There is something very empowering about developing expertise and becoming great at something.  However, this is a two way street.

It requires -

1. A person who has the desire to create the success.
2. A coach who has the expertise to develop that success.

Having one without the other will eventually leads to failure.

Here are a couple of other thoughts on the topic  Pursuit of Excellence-

1. Slow and steady always seems to win the race - From my experience, the amazing athletes or the geniuses rarely reach the top.  The best in sports and in most fields came virtually out of nowhere.  We all know the story of Michael Jordan not making his high school basketball team.

2. Adversity develops skills - Dealing with adversity and being able to work through the adversity is what will distinguish the greats from those who are rams in any scenario.

3. Know your role - Marinovich’s main coach was his father.  Kids need fathers first.  It is OK for the father to be a coach, but if there is a conflict between father and coach, father should always win out.

4. Pursue excellence as opposed to pursuing perfection - We will never achieve perfection in anything that we do.  Excellence involves the pursuit of a better best in any situation.  The pursuit of excellence is a driver that will make life so much more exciting.

If you are good at something, does that mean you are meant to do it?  Well, that is for you to decide.