دانلود کتاب بازی خود را بالا ببرید: رازهایی با عملکرد بالا از بهترین ها

In 2013, USA Basketball invited me out to Las Vegas to work at a camp alongside some of the best college coaches in the world, giants like the University of Kentucky’s John Calipari, the University of Florida’s Billy Donovan, and Gonzaga University’s Mark Few. The first day was dominated by shooting drills and scrimmages before the coaches conducted a formal draft, led by CBS’s Bill Raftery and ESPN’s P. J. Carlesimo, to select the teams. But as I looked out onto the court, I wasn’t watching college stars or future NBA prospects. No, the players were all middle-aged men with lots of disposable income, a willingness to hustle, and an undying love of basketball. USAB was getting into the sports fantasy camp business, a booming industry. Incredibly successful men will pay serious money to run up and down the court for hours, shoot hoops, and get yelled at from the sidelines by their heroes. That’s their dream. I worked this camp for several years, and it’s a fantastic experience. The participants may take their private jet to Las Vegas and get chauffeured to the gym in a Bentley, but they are almost universally down-to-earth guys. They are just incredibly driven and enormously successful. The glamour of being a multimillionaire and Fortune 100 CEO drains away as they pant up and down the court with their headbands, gym shorts, and for some, beer bellies. But this doesn’t diminish them in my eyes—not at all. In fact, it elevates them. I love how seriously they take the games, how intensely they prepare, how they get out there early to do foam rolling and stretching, how they scream their heads off at the referees after a blown call. During breaks in the day, they’re making calls, conducting deals, and running their businesses. Then the games start up and they’re on the court again, boxing out and hustling back on defense. They’re hypercompetitive. It’s how they got where they are in life. And that competitive element is not a switch they can turn on and off—it’s in their nature, part of who they are. Athletic skills may not transfer from the boardroom to the court, but the approach, fundamentals, and attitude most certainly do. Sport is the great equalizer, and these guys know it. Everyone might “yes” them all day—waiters scurry to find them the best wine, valets hustle after their car—but deep down they want someone who will get on them for a poor shot or swat their layup into the stands. They want to earn their buckets . They know that you get strong by going uphill. And there’s nothing like a basketball game against other fierce competitors to see what you’re made of.