I worship at the altar of interdisciplinary excellence. What works in one sphere works with minor modifications in others. A performance culture shared from manufacturing, education, or the arts applies to basketball.
Tim Ferriss' chapter in Tools of Titans on Netscape founder Marc Andreessen illustrates the point. Andreessen sold Netscape to AOL for over 4 billion dollars.
A few 'translations':
DON'T ACCEPT FAILURE. Failures don't just happen. They happen because of systematic mistakes and errors that have potential corrections. At practice last night, I caught the girls "apologizing" to each other for turnovers. "It's okay..." Well, it's not okay. Don't throw the ball out of bounds or fumble it because youre not engaged in THIS PLAY.
NERDS AT NIGHT. What are you working 'after hours'? When you're not doing your primary job (e.g. for students, studying), are you investing or spending time? If you plan to go to college or have another "five year plan", are your behaviors and habits consistent with your goals. I want to be successful in the market. Have I studied, prepared, and stuck to my trading plan? "Plan your work. Work your plan." Remember, "nerds run the world."
RED TEAM EXERCISE. What's the 'other side' of the trade? If you were playing yourself, how would you proceed? Are you playing to your strengths or are you exposing your weaknesses? Goliath walked into the Valley of Elah overconfident of his physical superiority, only to walk into the slings of his marksman opponent David. The giant never had a chance.
ONE DIRECTION. We're either moving forward or we're falling behind. What have I done to advance?
ONE RULE TO LIVE BY. For Urban Meyer, it's "Above the Line". Bill Belichick's mantra is "Do your job well." Southwest Air is the "low cost airline." Phil Jackson says, "basketball is sharing." Comedian Steve Martin opines "Be so good they can't ignore you." What's your rule? I believe that we must "share something great."
STUDY THE OPPOSITES. Take a contrary look at conventional wisdom. That takes 'original thinking'. Consider the quote, "a child born today will never learn to drive a car." What will that require on your part to benefit from the transition to self-driving tech.
Key quotes from Marc Andreessen:
"Every billionaire suffers from the same problem. Nobody around them ever says, "Hey, that stupid idea you just had is really stupid." (Other side of the trade)
"Far more money has been lost by investors trying to anticipate corrections than has ever been lost in corrections themselves." - Peter Lynch (Commentary on trends)
