By William Li
In both business and in basketball, there are individuals who have natural talent. We’ve all been in a situation before where we are listening to a charming, eloquent individual speak and we find ourselves marveling at how this person is able to effortlessly convey their vision and communicate their goals. Some people are simply gifted with personality and with the talent of weaving words into stories. Likewise, there are basketball players who are physically dominant, whether through their imposing size and strength or their incredible athleticism.
As a little guy who loves to compete in this sport for giants, I recognized early on that my only chance at leveling the playing field was through preparation. Even though I am almost always the smallest player on the court, I have the confidence that my obsession with working on the same shot or the same move hundreds of times will pay dividends during the game. I have confidence in how I will perform because I have trained tirelessly for each scenario and I have a strategy for neutralizing an opponent’s size or strength. Seeing the results of my preparation over the years is the reason I apply it to every area of passion that I pursue, including my work. The same way that I recognize I may not be the most talented in basketball but that I can outwork my competition, I employ the same mentality when it comes to the challenges of my job.
I am in my 30s now and while I play basketball primarily for the exercise and for fun, my pride follows me every time a game starts. I can’t shake this fascination to always want to improve and learn everything I can to gain an edge during competition. This pride and yearning for progress is also what drives me at the workplace. My love for basketball has molded my philosophy into other areas of my life.
Know your strengths, recognize your weaknesses. Use your strengths to cover up the weaknesses. And most importantly, be better than who you were yesterday.