All the great ones in any profession have the same curiosity about one thing for sure: how can I get better? Kobe Bryant, for example, is on a never-ending search for ways to improve. He doesn’t care what it takes; his goal is to strive for perfection.
The only way to truly get better is to find areas of your game that you have deficiencies in. The great ones’ deficiencies may be relatively small, but to them, it doesn’t matter; they just want to get better. In order to identify these deficiencies, you have to be able to handle the truth.
The truth isn’t always easy to hear, but the great ones don’t worry about easy. They don’t worry about being embarrassed, and they don’t concern themselves if they have to take a hit. They simply want the truth in any form it’s given, provided it helps them to get better.
Two lessons here:
- Players need to be open to — and then handle — the truth in order to improve.
- Coaches can’t be hesitant to deal in truths. As Pat Riley said “you have to deal in reality with today’s player.”
Finally: if your players truly want to get better, they have to be able to deal with the truth. If they don’t believe you, tell them to ask Kevin Garnett, ask Chris Paul, ask Lebron James, ask Kobe Bryant. They are some of the best in the game, and I know they deal with the truth, as I have worked with all of these great ones. They want the truth!
