Career Advice from an NFL Hall of Famer

My friend Mitchell Levy of Thinkaha Publishing is publishing a series of tweets books.  They are similar to my latest career success coach book Success Tweets: 140 Bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice, All in 140 Characters or Less. 

Mitchell has recruited some interesting people for this series.  A while back he sent me a copy of #Sports Tweet, a book by Ronnie Lott and Keith Potter.  The subtitle is What I Learned from Coaches About Sports and Life.  If you’re an American football fan, you know Ronnie Lott.  He won four Super Bowls as a player with the San Francisco 49ers.  He was a ten time Pro Bowl selection and is in the NFL Hall of Fame.  He was a great player — a devastating hitter and intimidating defensive back.

I enjoyed Ronnie’s book.  He provides some great life and career success advice in the form of tweets.  Here are a few of the tweets that struck a chord with me.

# 1 – Don’t be intimidated by teams that are bigger, stronger or tougher.  There’s more to winning than size and strength.

# 3 – Pursue excellence…no, pursue perfection.  You might not get to perfection, but the pursuit will take you to the top.

# 6 – Racial diversity always means something.  Think about your teammates; really appreciate each other, and even your differences.

# 22 – Don’t have tight rear ends.  You’re gonna get beat sometimes, but don’t play like you’re afraid of getting beat.

# 27 – Backpedal and read the quarterback at the same time.  It sounds like nothing, but simple fundamentals make all the difference.

# 29 – Joe Montana proved that even on second is enough for a miracle; you still have a shot to win.  Don’t stop believing!

# 32 — When you stop learning, you start dying.

# 47 – It’s possible to be the toughest guy on the field and the nicest guy off the field.  If you need evidence, look at Merlin Olsen.

# 51 – James Lofton and Ahmad Rashad took me under their wings at my rookie Pro Bowl.  They made sure I knew how to be a man.  We all need mentors.

# 65 – A kid has to dream.  Even if dreams don’t all come true, we’re all better off dreaming.

# 68 – Get ready to work.  The best things in life don’t come easy.

# 76 – From the time I first put on the uniform, I never cheated myself.  In my mind, the stadium was always packed and the game was a big one.

# 80 – Kids’ sports are the best bridge builders.  People have to learn to get along and make their difference work for them and not against them.

# 109 – Adversity can make cowards, but it can also produce heroes.

#110 – If you don’t stare adversity down, it’ll take you down.

# 128 – Forget about success quickly.  Improve on it.  There are always other levels.

# 132 – I can hear my Little League coach saying, “Don’t step in the bucket.”  Even in life, plant your back foot and step into it, whatever it is.

I’ve chosen these tweets from Ronnie Lott because they are in line with my thinking about life and career success.  There are lots more – many about sports and the guys Ronnie Lott played with on the 49ers.  If you’re a football fan of a certain age, you’ll enjoy this book.

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  Sports can teach us a lot of life and career success.  Ronnie Lott’s tweets book #Sports Tweet has some great life and career success advice in 140 characters.  I am particularly fond of the career advice in the following tweets.  # 3 – Pursue excellence…no, pursue perfection.  You might not get to perfection, but the pursuit will take you to the top.  # 32 — When you stop learning, you start dying.  # 68 – Get ready to work.  The best things in life don’t come easy.  # 80 – Kids’ sports are the best bridge builders.  People have to learn to get along and make their difference work for them and not against them.  Check out this book.  I’m sure you’ll find some tweets that really resonate with you.

That’s  my take on Ronnie Lott’s tweets book, #Sports Tweet.  What’s yours?  Do you remember Ronnie Lott?  He was a great player wasn’t he?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts on the book or Ronnie Lott’s playing days in a comment.  As always thanks for reading.

Bud

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