Learning from the Best

Let’s do a quick exercise…

What’s your favorite sport? And who’s your favorite athlete performing your favorite sport? What makes them great — what is it that makes them outstanding at what they are doing? I am sure you can quickly come up with a person and their “magic sauce.” For me, it’s climbing, and seeing people like Marc-André Leclerc (“The Alpinist”) climb easily and confidently is simply awe-inspiring. And if a sport is not your thing, pick a different pastime.

Here is a simple, obvious, and regularly forgotten insight: If you want to master something, study the highest achievers in your field.

Want to become a better tennis player? Study Serena Williams. Golf? Tiger Woods. Soccer? Lionel Messi. (Feel free to replace these people with whomever you consider your top performer)

Now the question becomes: Do you want to become a better founder, leader, manager, public speaker, coder, designer, you name it…? Figure out who the top performer in your fields are and start studying them — as you can learn so much from them.

It truly is one of the quickest (and, for some reason, often least trodded) paths to becoming (much) better at whatever it is you want to do.