LeBron James is one of the best basketball players of all time. An instant impact player and a max contract athlete. I recently listened to the podcast he did with Tim Ferriss. A few takeaways for athletes in any field.

Being Talented Will Only Get You So Far- Set The Standard

LeBron came into the league as one of the most athletically gifted athletes in modern history. This made him a good player who would most likely have a good career. LeBron wanted to be great. So he put in the work. To be the very best you have to be talented AND outwork your competition. Read about great players and find the common thread. Steph Curry, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan all had insane work ethic. Set the Standard.

Consistency is Key

When asked what separated guys who left the league with nagging injuries or had shorter careers Lebron said “…consistency.” Being great is about waking up every day and doing the work to be the best. Waking up focused and determined every day is extremely difficult. It takes discipline. You can’t go through the motions you have to be obsessed.

You Need Someone Pushing You

Early in his career LeBron linked up with his trainer for 14 years Mike Mancias. Mike is obsessed with athletic performance. Mike pushes LeBron when LeBron doesn’t want to recover. Mike lets LeBron know when LeBron isn’t performing at Lebron’s best. You need someone that you can rely on to push you when you don’t want to push yourself. LeBron sets the standard and Mike helps hold LeBron accountable to that standard.

Critics Are Part of the Territory

LeBron for the last 14 years has had only one quote posted in his locker:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Even the best basketball player in the world can be impacted by harsh words. Like a mantra he has to remind himself every day that the critic has no concept of the blood, sweat, and tears that go in to being the best. Critics don’t know the work or the sacrifice it takes. They can’t be trusted and must be ignored.

You Can Always Get Better

LeBron at all times has a list of things he is working on in his game. One of the best players for the last 10 years has a list of things he needs to improve upon. Kobe was this way as well. When you are at the top the dogs are coming to take you down. You have to push yourself to be even better. Set a new standard. Be better than you were the year before. Stagnation is not an option.

Loyalty | Family

The two words LeBron has tattooed on his ribs. One word on each side. No matter what happens with his teammates they are family. He’s loyal to them. They are in the fight together for better or worse. He won’t throw them under the bus and will love them with their faults. He doesn’t expect his teammates to be him. If you’ve seen the Cavs teams under LeBron you know he had plenty of reason to complain. Never did. And this leads us to…

Leadership Is Your Responsibility

LeBron reads books on leadership to enable him to be a better leader. How his teammates perform is his responsibility and he communicates with each one in a way that allows them to be their best. Great players make everyone else around them better. This season we are seeing a lot of very talented individual players being left on the sideline for 2019. Why is this? Because good players who create bad teammates aren’t worth their talent. You can’t bring down your team and replace that with individual play.

Conclusion

Taking responsibility for yourself and your teams performance is how you become great. Setting a standard and consistently executing on it day in and day out is how you become great. You are in control of your performance. You are in control of your destiny. Ignore the critics and do the work.