Former New York Yankees shortstop, Derek Jeter, once quoted the iconic former Yankees center fielder, Joe DiMaggio, in reference to a competing mentality that should be constant regardless of the situation: "Joe DiMaggio once said: 'There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, I owe him my best.'"

One of Talent 409's Core Values is quite simply "Always Compete". It's an idea I got from reading about Seattle Seahawks Head Coach, Pete Carroll, but it's a value I've practiced in my own life since I was old enough to understand the importance of a competitive work ethic. I had DiMaggio's mentality on the field or in my parent's garage swinging at whiffle balls off a tee. It didn't matter if someone was actually watching me or not; there was work to be done and I was going to attack it with as much of a competitive drive as I could each and every day.

On last week's #TuesdayTalk I spoke about competition and if you listened you probably noticed how I said that if you only compete when you are winning or performing well then you are actually a loser. That may be a little harsh to some people, but it's absolutely true. Success is hard to achieve. It's ten times as hard to achieve when your attitude and your effort towards competition are set on coast. A lot of athletes are of the mindset that it's easier to coast through workouts and practices and think you can just "turn it on" for a game setting. The reality is there are probably a handful of human athletes that have ever been able to do that and 1). their talent level was most likely exceptionally higher than yours and 2). they most likely did not have that attitude and level of effort on a consistent basis because at the highest levels if you aren't prepared then you don't succeed. Let me say it again: at the highest levels if you don't prepare then you don't succeed. And when you don't succeed you find out very quickly that the sport you play has no time for people who are lazy and don't see competing as a path towards ultimate success.

Another way to look at DiMaggio's mentality is compete like you think no one is watching. There are some great examples of athletes that have taken the "compete like you think no one is watching" attitude and gone on to have abundant amounts of success. One of my favorite stories involves the legendary Kobe Bryant, formerly of the Lost Angeles Lakers. A member of the 2012 Olympic Gold Medal squad, Bryant's work ethic was detailed in a Reddit post by a Team USA trainer who said that Kobe once held a workout from 4:15 a.m. to 11 a.m., refusing to leave the gym until he made 800 shots. Kobe Bryant was a competitor, there is no question about it. The will to compete burned deep within Kobe well before he was an NBA and Team USA star, but even after he found success he did not let up in his work ethic when it came to competing. 

For all of us, competing at a high level all the time should be something we actually want to do. How many of us go into a season and think to ourselves Man, I can't wait to sit the bench or Well, we probably aren't the best team out there so what difference does it make if we lose since we never win many games anyway? These are thoughts and attitudes carried by the aforementioned losers. Winners don't let complacency creep into their minds, and when it tries to, they squash the thought before it fully develops. Winners look at adversity and see an opportunity. They see competition as an opportunity to better themselves and their team.

So this whole compete mentality is really just a personal decision. One that can affect your successes or lack thereof, and a decision that can make you a profoundly more effective leader. There is something special about that person that leads by example. When one person catches the mentality it spreads like wildfire. And that's ultimately what leads to sustained and consistent success as an individual and as a team.

Don't be a loser and Always Compete.