The Purpose of Training is to Learn About Yourself

Hello

The plan for these newsletters is for them to be sent out now on Tuesdays so that I can share the Podcast, the latest Youtube video, and the recording from last week’s live call. 

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This week’s pod.

This week’s video:

Last week’s live call. 

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Alright enough of that, let’s jump in. 

This week we are talking about training as a stimulus to getting to know yourself better.

I am going to open up to you all today. In 2020, I quit my job to go full-time on a business that I started. The day I put in my two-weeks notice I wrote this:

“Here I stand on the doorstep of a great journey. It is not great because of the potential reward. It is great, however, due to the opportunity for total failure. No money. No progress. Nothing to show for it. Why is it exciting? Because I get to see what I do when I have my back against the wall.”

When we chase anything, we typically chase the best case scenario.

That is a good thing. It can drive us out of our comfort zone. It can lead us to make decisions that have long term benefits. It can force us to admit what we value.

But what happens when you don’t get the thing you want? You don’t get the D1 scholarship you dreamed of. You have to play at a lower level than you imagined. You don’t get the role you wanted.

That is when you learn who you are.

If you can’t see the personal growth in the pursuit, all you are left with is: did I succeed or did I fail?

Yes, accomplishing your goals is great. But it isn’t the most important thing.

The most important thing is who you become in the work.

Let’s use Michael Jordan and Kobe as an example.

Michael Jordan is often touted as the greatest basketball player of all time, he also has one of the most criticized Hall of Fame speeches ever. Not because he was overly thankful or arrogant about his accomplishments. 

The criticism comes from his unwillingness to let the pettiness go. He spent the speech settling old scores, and reiterating his dominance over all the guys he played against and even a guy who he played with in High School (He even invited him just so that he could say it to his face). 

He needed to be the best, so that he could feel like the best. A trait that won him a lot of accolades and basketball immortality, but also made for bitterness and pettiness in the years following his retirement. 

Kobe felt different.

After retirement, he immediately took on other pursuits. Writing. Building. Creating. What did he credit his success to? The Mamba Mentality.

He said, I can do this because I have honed the ability to work harder than anyone else. He didn’t just learn how to win. He learned what his limits were.

He didn’t just learn hard work. He learned how hard he could work.

That is why you can harness that mentality anywhere: on the court, at your job, in your creative efforts, in anything.

MJ achieved greatness to prove he was the greatest. Kobe achieved greatness to prove to himself how far he could go.

On the court they both looked like killers. Off the court they couldn’t be more different.

There is a lesson there.

Do you want to be MJ or Kobe?

Have a great week!

Kyle