Can you be a Sachin?

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 200^th 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!