Everybody wants to be extraordinary and achieve great success in life, but not everyone is willing to put in the determination and do the unusual to get the results.
In his best-selling book, Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead, Laszlo Bock shared an interesting encounter by Damon Dunn. This is what he wrote in the book…
Before Damon Dunn became a professional football player and then founding a real-estate development firm, he attended Stanford University in the mid-90s.
Damon recalled heading to a Stanford fraternity party while he was a student. It was 11 PM, dark, and that night, it rained heavily.
Damon then noticed a lone figure at the driving range, methodically hitting golf balls. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
Four hours later, at 3 AM, Damon left the part for his dorm. Thwack. Thwack. The figure was still there, still hitting golf balls. Damon wandered over.
“Tiger, what are you doing out there hitting balls at 3 AM?”
“It doesn’t rain very often in Northern California,” replied the kid who went on to become one of the most successful golfers in history. “It’s the only chance I have to practice hitting in the rain.”
Impressed by Tiger’s determination?
This is what it takes to become the best of the best.
How Committed Are You?
So, how committed are you toward your goals and your dreams? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to achieve the results you want? Or are you going to just think and say about it, but at the end of the day, did nothing?
This is what separates extraordinary people from the ordinary. They are 100% committed and are absolutely determined with their targets.
They’d willing to do whatever it takes to produce the results they desire.
If you read and study successful people who went on to achieve extraordinary results in business, career, and life, you will often notice that they all shared a common characteristic — they’re 100% committed and determined.
Tiger Woods trained in the rain from 11 PM to 3 AM just so he could become a better golfer.
The same story happened with Kobe Bryant.
In 2012, Kobe Bryant was selected as a member of the Team USA, and at that time, a trainer name Robert was working with Kobe to prepare for the Olympics. And this was what Robert said about his experience with Kobe:
I was invited to Las Vegas to help Team USA with their conditioning before they headed off to London. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade in the past, but this would be my first interaction with Kobe.
The night before the first scrimmage, I had just watched “Casablanca” for the first time and it was about 3:30 AM.
A few minutes later, I was in bed, slowly fading away, when I heard my cell ring. It was Kobe. I nervously picked up.
“Hey, uhh, Rob, I hope I’m not disturbing anything right?”
“Uhh, no. What’s up Kob?”
“Just wondering if you could help me out with some conditioning work, that’s all.”
I checked my clock. 4:15 AM.
“Yeah sure, I’ll see you in the facility in a bit.”
It took me about twenty minutes to get my gear and get out of the hotel. When I arrived and opened the room to the main practice floor, I saw Kobe. Alone. He was drenched in sweat as if he had just taken a swim. It wasn’t even 5:00 AM.
We did some conditioning work for the next hour and fifteen minutes. Then, we entered the weight room, where he would do a multitude of strength training exercises for the next 45 minutes. After that, we parted ways. He went back to the practice floor to shoot. I went back to the hotel and crashed. Wow.
I was expected to be on the floor again at about 11:00 AM.
I woke up feeling sleepy, drowsy, and pretty much every side effect of sleep deprivation. (Thanks, Kobe.) I had a bagel and headed to the practice facility.
This next part I remember very vividly. All of the Team USA players were there. LeBron was talking to Carmelo and Coach Krzyzewski was trying to explain something to Kevin Durant. On the right side of the practice facility, Kobe was by himself shooting jumpers.
I went over to him, patted him on the back and said, “Good work this morning.”
“Huh?”
“Like, the conditioning. Good work.”
“Oh. Yeah, thanks Rob. I really appreciate it.”
“So when did you finish?”
“Finish what?”
“Getting your shots up. What time did you leave the facility?”
“Oh, just now. I wanted 800 makes. So yeah, just now.”
The original story was posted on Reddit, you can check it out here.
Hence, ask yourself right now, how much do you want it? How committed are you toward your goals and your dreams?
There is a reason why people become extraordinarily successful.
If you are not putting in the work, if you are not fully committed, or if you are not determined enough, you will never get it.
Do you think you deserve the success you seek?
