Road to excellence always rewarding

Rod Bannister Photo/File

I'M sure that the first 500 or so coaching lessons I delivered in squash, cricket and personal training were somewhat average.

Mentoring people in physical, mental, social, emotional, behavioural and habitual variables is very different to dispensing general advice to the masses in a gym or on a cricket pitch and squash court scenario.

In time my skill level and knowledge caught up with my enthusiasm and the overall product was good. In hindsight, if I hadn't persevered through those first 500 sessions the subsequent thousands since would of never happened, neither would all the blessings and gifts that have come my way from my time mentoring people.

Writing

Like my coaching sessions, this, too, was average when I began. I guess the lack of readers in the early days of blogging, publishing a book and writing this column gave me the opportunity to learn, grow and evolve without totally embarrassing myself in front of a large audience.

Over time I came to understand the type of language that does and doesn't connect with readers, the subjects that people explore combined with the mix of motivation, inspiration and humour that seems to be accepted.

Public speaking

Of late I have been approached to do more and more speaking engagements on; mental skills, motivation and sales training across business and sporting groups.

I must admit this new addition has been both terrifying and exciting and an area that I have considerable experience in having practiced mental fortitude in a competitive environment practically for a decade or so in my own sporting pursuits. I'm consciously refining, modifying and working extremely hard to make each delivery specific to the audience I am speaking to, ensuring that I get better at what I do.

The final bit

In our "I want it now", instant gratification and quick fix culture the sheer notion of perseverance, consistent practice, resilience and hard work (when you do not feel like it) is challenging to sell.

Sadly, but not surprisingly, many people are in love with the "idea" of success but often lack the fortitude, attitude and commitment necessary to turn their verbal theory into practical reality and turn their goals into a real-world result.

I agree that some things can be achieved very quickly - but real excellence is not one of them.