Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez reminded Joe Posnanski about the story of the rice and the chessboard. A king refused a man the right to marry his daughter but offered anything else. "The man pulled out a chessboard and said, “Then all I want is this. Give me one grain of rice for the first square on the board, then double it for every square after that — one piece of rice for the first square, two for the second, four for the third, eight for the fourth until the end of the board.”" You know how this ends...that is more than all the rice in the world.
Greatness comes from leveraging the exceptional and repeating it over and over and over, pitch by pitch, possession by possession. Pedro Martinez had three outstanding pitches and off-the-chart heart. "El corazón de un león...the heart of a lion.
Not every player wants greatness. Tim S. Grover distilled it in Relentless, "Decide. Commit. Act. Succeed. Repeat." Few in any profession pay that price.
What’s your most important concern? At the highest level of sport, winning is everything. But even there, wants differ. Owners expect profits; players value play (minutes), pay, and prestige. Many coaches seek upward mobility. But do you want success or need it? Are you building your body, your skills, your knowledge while your competitors are eating bon-bons?
Be great in your job. What's your job? Scorer, facilitator, rebounder, practice player? What are your today plan, the unrequired work separating ordinary from extraordinary? Grover writes, “The drive to close the gap between near-perfect and perfect is the difference between great and unstoppable.”
Coach Bob Knight said, "just because I want you on the floor doesn't mean I want you to shoot." Is it enough to be on the floor or do you need more, enough that sacrifice and suffering the pain of discipline is all that satisfies you?
Summary:
- Don't confuse good and great.
- Greatness leverages an edge over and over.
- Greatness begins with mindset and distinguishes itself through work.
- Do you want success or need it?
- Be great in YOUR job.
- Unrequired work and the pain of discipline are your constant companions.
- Doubling that grain of rice, rep by rep, possession by possession, defines legacy.
Lagniappe: excellent overview with video examples.
Lagniappe 2: As we rocket toward the post-season what is your best:
- ATO (after timeout play)
- Man-to-man play
- Zone offense action
- BOB - Baseline out-of-bounds play
- SLOB- Sideline out-of-bounds play
Lagniappe 3: UCONN Boomerang
