(Adapted from Coach Vidal’s new book Down 40 Love: Private Lessons on Turning Adversity into Competitive Advantage, May 2024)
“I am never a victim.”
Tom Brady
You can’t change a poor result, but you can profit from one. The secret is ownership–taking 100% responsibility for your outcomes.
As a leader in sports and business, I am responsible for everyone’s growth. It’s a privilege that begins with my own evolution.
Everything I do and say, every single move I make affects the players I coach and the executives I advise. Peak performance is the goal.
No excuses. No alibis.
There’s nothing so influential as your own personal power.
CHECK YOUR TECHNIQUE
In tennis, complainers and losers never want to look at their own “technique”–where fundamental change occurs.
It’s easier to blame the wind, the sun, your opponent, or a “bad line call.”
Champions on and off the court behave like owners, which is all about agency, control, and betting on yourself to get the job done.
The most exquisite leaders double down on perfecting the basics, make vital tweaks, and find ways to turn obstacles into opportunities.
HOW THE BALL BOUNCES
To create positive change in your life and work, you must understand three truths.
First, unless you change, nothing else is going to change.
Miracles tend to follow movement, not the other way around.
Second, no one cares about your goals.
This may sound cynical but it could not be “truer.”
People are focused on themselves, not you.
Third, no one else will do whatever it is that you want for you.
The Calvary isn’t coming. Heresy?…Maybe…but to win big in the game of life requires playing offense, not defense.
In team sports, you may not be the one who can make the winning shot, however that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t hunger for that opportunity.
“Never complain and never explain.”
Benjamin Disraeli
THOUGHTS FROM A CLOSER
Most people express dissatisfaction to the wrong source. Spouse. Friend. Colleague. Stranger. The mysterious they. When the fact remains…
“They” can’t change your situation. “They” can’t make you feel better. “They” can’t give you what you want.
Listen: if you’re going to growl, then bark at someone who has the power to make things happen.
More often than not it’s the person in the mirror.
Action Exercises
- Where in your life are you behaving more like a victim than a victor?
- What is your desired outcome?
- Who can you turn to for wise counsel?
Remember, dominance is daily.
Are you ready?…Let’s go!
René Vidal
Leadership Resources
