The Will to Win

July 29, 2009

I've never been a big Bobby Knight fan. Although he's the "winning-est" coach in college basketball history, he's most famous for his anger outbursts - throwing chairs and punches at people and players. He always seemed more like a boot camp drill sergeant than a coach for a game.

Bobby Knight, now retired, shows up here and there on TV as a sports analyst or commentator. He recently had an appearance on ESPN's coverage of a bass fishing tournament. The network had hired him to come in as a "coach", and work with a few of the top fishermen in the nation before the tournament. This was obviously done simply for entertainment value - having this famous drill sergeant coach come in and instruct these millionaire bass fishermen.

It was entertaining, but Bobby Knight said something that stuck with me. He started out by telling the guys - "People always talk about the Will-to-Win, but the Will-to-Prepare-to-Win is infinitely more valuable than the Will-to-Win, and is what will determine how far you go.

How true that is. The Will-to-Win is easy. When the game is on, the crowd is roaring, and the adrenaline is pumping - everyone wants to win. Day in and day out, when it is cold outside, and no one is around - the people with the Will-to-Prepare to Win go outside and start running.

Most things worth achieving have a long hard road to get to them, not just sporting championships. If you have the Will-to-Prepare-to-Win, you will get out on the road even when the end is so far off you can barely see it.

-- Greg