So “The God of Cricket”,Sachin
Tendulkar announced his retirement date this week…Already,reams have been written
already about Sachin’s Tendulkar exit date after his 200th Test
match. Here is my one-page contribution to add to the ream on lessons from his
Career.
Deliberate practice:
During his first tour to Pakistan
at the age of 16, Sachin Tendulkar used to practice for hours together until
the grounds men complain that they got to leave for the day.Even now after
being 24 years into the Trade, Tendulkar is known for his hours of practice
routines on the “Nets” with the ball being thrown at him in the way he would
want to. This reminds of Kobe Bryant’s typical deliberate practice sessions which
last from 4:30 am to 11:00 am, only to be followed by Team practice sessions!
As James Clear,mentions in this blog post Deliberate Practice , the
trick to be elite in the Art that you pursue is due to two factors, Consistency
of practice & being deliberate about the Practice itself.
Focus:
As Greg Chappell famously put it “Travelling
with the Indian Cricket team is like
travelling with The Beatles…And Sachin was Indian Team’s John Lennon”. Being under public scrutiny can
be intimidating & Sports arena is an easy place to get
distracted….Spectators, Opponents, Crunch situations, Victory, Defeat…not to mention the thin line between Triumph
& Disaster. Just the sheer fact that Sachin has managed to retain the focus
on his Cricket for 24 long years is the testimony to his greatness.
Demeanor:
Even Gods are supposed to have feet
of Clay…Not with Sachin, who held aloft lofty standards of personal conduct on
and off the field. Sport history is replete with shenanigans of Sporting legends , from Maradona to Borg
who mistook their sporting talent to be the armory for their missteps in their
personal conduct.On and Off the Cricket ground, Sachin Tendulkar is an epitome of Humility under pressure who
preferred his Bat to do most of the talking as a response to his rivals.
So….we may not become Sachin Tendulkar of our trades because we are mere mortals…but the least we can do is to Practice consistently & deliberately, with Focus while
retaining Humility.If we do this, the rest of the Fluff…Money, Accolades & Ascent on the Ladder will chase us…We need not chase them!
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