How to succeed: life lessons from sport - By: Rodney J Smith

I'm an avid fan of rugby union, at least in part because I'm fascinated by what makes teams succeed or fail, and because I believe that many of the factors that lead to success or failure in rugby apply in equal measure to life in general. The main difference is that in life the opponent you face is more often than not yourself: those negative beliefs, attitudes and character flaws that keep you from reaching your potential.

With that in mind, here are some of those lessons I've gleaned from watching rugby:

Be committed and disciplined
Any team that starts a match without being prepared to pay the price to achieve victory will almost certainly lose the encounter. This reveals itself in weak tackles (or not even bothering to attempt a tackle), not running hard and fast enough to break the defensive line or catch an attacking player, and not being on hand to support your team-mates when they are in a good position.

Often this half-heartedness has more to do with mental fatigue or laziness than with physical capability. Let's face it, we all have days when we'd rather stay in bed, but to be successful you need to beat down that attitude whenever it raises its head in your life.

Have a plan and stick to it
No team wins many matches without a well-thought-out game plan that maximises their strengths and minimises their weaknesses. You have to know what you want to achieve if you're to have any hope of doing it. And not only that, you need to stick to the plan when things don't go your way. Every team experiences setbacks, but those that keep their heads up and keep trying give themselves a chance to win.

Be alert to opportunity
Notwithstanding what I just said about sticking to the plan, you should also engage your brain and be alert to opportunities that arise. If your coach has instructed the team to keep it tight amongst the forwards but you somehow find yourself out on the wing with the ball in your hands and an open tryline, you'd be an idiot not to go and score. In rugby terms it's called playing with "heads up" and is all to do with recognising the situation you're in and acting accordingly.

Work hard, work together
Rugby, like life, is a game of teamwork, which is why the all-star Barbarians team doesn't beat other teams nearly as often as their on-paper potential would suggest they should. That's because invariably they have very little time to get to know each other and prepare for their matches, and so end up playing largely as a group of talented individuals rather than a family who are prepared to lay it on the line for each other. In a well-functioning team, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Believe that good things can happen, and don't give up
I've already mentioned the importance of putting setbacks behind you and staying focussed on what you're trying to achieve. Many times I've witnessed teams in a winning position easing off their intensity towards the end of a match, believing the job was done, then going on to lose the match. The lesson: it's not over until it's over; in sport, often your greatest chance to win comes when your opponent believes he has one hand on the trophy.

In life this translates to sticking to your goals and remaining positive even if you can't yet see the results you're after. A breakthrough may be just around the bend, but you'll miss it if you give up. And equally important when you achieve success, to keep doing the things that got you to that position, so you can build on your good foundations.

Don't give in to fear
It's easy to feel fear when you're the only thing standing between an opposing 120kg lock forward and your tryline, or between your family losing your house because you can't meet the mortgage repayments. But start playing not to lose rather than trying to win, and you've as good as lost already. Fear causes you to seize up, become risk averse, and make mistakes that you would not ordinarily make.

Notice that nowhere have I mentioned talent or luck, which are two factors that most people would consider vital to success in sport or life. I won't deny they play a role, but I believe that most of us vastly overate their importance. Ironically it is (quite often) not the most talented who achieve the greatest heights - perhaps because they don't have to work that hard to achieve good results, and thus don't develop the drive and ambition of those less well-endowed. Also, I don't find it that helpful to focus on these things because they are outside our control; one's energy is always better spent in focussing on what is within your control. As veteran golfer Gary Player once said: "the more I practice, the luckier I get".

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