In my life, I’ve been incredibly blessed to work with a wide variety of clients and athletes.
Looking back, I’ve literally worked with every end of the spectrum – from some of the most beat-up and beat-down rehab clients you can imagine, all the way up to elite athletes from virtually every major sport.
One area I don’t talk as much about was the three years I spent doing private, one-on-one training in the homes of incredibly wealthy clients.
And when I say wealthy, I mean crazy rich – several of these people had families whose net worth reached well into the nine figures range.
Needless to say, this time was incredibly impactful on me – not just from a coaching perspective, but from a general life perspective as well.
One of things I always reminded myself was that these people, no matter how rich, or how powerful they might be, put their pants on one leg at a time – just like the rest of us.
And the craziest thing is, these were some of the most kind and generous people I’ve ever met in my life.Many people are quick to say “Oh all rich people are *ssholes,” or something to that effect.
But you hear it with elite athletes as well – “so-and-so is just a spoiled brat.”
And I can tell you that there are while some people out there that fit this mold, the majority of elite athletes and wealthy people I’ve come in contact with are nothing of the sort.
In fact, there are numerous parallels between the two that I feel we can all learn from, and I’m going to do my best to summarize four of them below.
Parallel #1 – They Ask Great Questions
One of the first things Bill and I tell all of our interns at IFAST is to ask questions.
Why do we coach a squat that way? Ask a question.
Why don’t we do longer duration intervals with our field-sports athletes? Ask a question.
Why doesn’t Zach Moore cut his hair more often? Ask a question. (There is a reason for this too, BTW).
Whether it’s a wealthy person or an elite athlete, there’s a skill to asking great questions – to deepening your own knowledge base.
If you want to get more out of your training, or your life, you’ve got to be unafraid to ask questions so that you can heighten your own intellect and understanding.
Parallel #2 – They Trust Others (Especially Experts)
At some point, elite athletes and wealthy people realize they simply cannot learn everything they need to know to be successful.
In high-level sport, athletes often need a trainer, a massage therapist, a dietitian/cook, a skills/sports coach, etc.
Hell, just in the fitness business I need to know about program design, coaching and cuing, foam rolling, mobility training, corrective exercise, exercise technique, energy system training, stretching, injury rehabilitation, etc. The list goes on and on!
Furthermore, think about it like this – that’s just the X’s and O’s of training. We haven’t even talked about actually running a fitness business yet!
If you want to get the most out of your training, your business, or your life, you have to give up an element of control and learn to trust others.
I know that since I started working with Pat Rigsby and Nick Berry, my businesses have literally exploded.
With regards to my own training, giving the reins to Mike Tuscherer to start writing my programs was a huge leap of faith.
But let me tell you this – the results have not been disappointing. In fact, I’m enjoying one of the best training runs I can ever remember.
If you want to maximize your potential, to get more out of your life, you need to figure out what you’re really, incredibly good at, and then slowly start to outsource the rest.
Surround yourself with experts – and watch your success explode.
Parallel #3 – They Have a Willingness to Be Coached
People who want to be successful also understand that beyond just using experts, they want to learn from them as much as possible, as quickly as possible.
Quite simply, they are willing to be coached – to work with someone to expedite their results.
People (or clients) who are stuck in their ways are always battling you. They’re the first to hire you, but also the first to question your judgment or your tactics.
Ultra-successful people are willing to give up the reins – sure they may want to know why something works, but the most important thing to them is that they’re getting the desired results in the most efficient way possible!
Now granted, you need to make sure the person you’re working with is qualified. But there’s no better way to fast-track your results than to hire an expert, and allow them to work their magic for you.
Parallel #4 – They Have a DRIVE to Succeed
I’ve saved this for last, but this could be the most important point I’ve made so far.
Whether we’re talking about elite athletes or wealthy, successful people, some of us just are not willing to settle.
We’re not going to give up.
We’re going to make the best out of every situation – to bend reality to our will.
I firmly believe that if we’re talking strictly about athletic talents, there were at least 10 people in the world with Michael Jordan’s physical traits when it came to basketball.
So why did we not have 10 Michael Jordans?
Sure, there’s lot of things that factor in here, but I honestly believe the thing that separated Michael Jordan from the rest of his basketball peers was his God-given athletic ability, paired with his uncanny and unparalleled drive to succeed.
Others may have had similar traits or skills, but they didn’t have the work ethic and drive to push them they way Michael did.
Summary
Many people who say that elite athletes are spoiled, or that wealthy people are rude, honestly have no clue what they’re talking about.
Their number of exposures or interactions amount to such an incredibly small sample size, they shouldn’t even bother dropping their two cents.
Don’t be a hater.
Don’t let your biases and interpretations skew the facts.
Are you as successful as you want to be?
What can you learn from successful people to get more out of your own life?
The four things above are just a few that came to the top of my head. What can you add to the list?
I’d love to hear your thoughts or insights below!
All the best
MR