What Sunil Gavaskar taught me …and I don’t even play cricket!
So, you want to work less, earn more and build awesome wealth. If you can do that you will be more fulfilled, never have to worry about money and spend more time with the ones you love. Most people do not realise but sports can show businesses and business owners how to do that.
A long time ago I played cricket. I was quite good too. But I am old now and that means my knees are no longer reliable as they used to be. When I kneel, all muscles below my waist freeze and I am unable to get up again unless there is an incentive such as a delicious chocolate cake on offer. And my hips only operate when I use them to visit the fridge to see if miraculously a dish of butter chicken has turned up that 5 minutes ago was not there.
This then means if I padded up to play cricket, I would be useless.
But in December 2024 a fantastic organisation called Simple Minds organised a fundraiser for cancer and their guest of honour was Sunil Gavaskar.
Now he was my childhood hero. But I appreciate anyone beyond Gen X or those not into cricket may have no idea who I am talking about.
This guy is a legend even by today’s standards. Yes, he may be 75 years old but this a small man (he is only 5ft 4in) but has a big personality. Also, his knees and hips seem to still operate so he knows a lot more than I. Obviously.
Anyway, I have always said the sports world has a lot to teach business owners about operating a business.
If you look at traits of successful sports people and successful business owners there is a pattern.
So, during the question-and-answer session, Sir Gavaskar was asked what advice he would give to parents of children showing promise in the field of cricket.
And he responded that parents put enormous pressure on their children and that many are not ready or have the right mindset to make it. Many do not have the three D’s. And when I heard what the 3 D’s were, I knew that these are relevant to any business, to any business owner and even to those not in business.
So, what are the three D’s?
1. Dedication
I advise startups constantly. I will see two things with a startups. I either think the product or service is great. Or it is crap. But the number of times I am proved wrong is incredible because the great product or service business fails and the crap one somehow becomes a success.
How or why? Well, the business success is not about the product or service. It is about how much the business owner is dedicated to their business and its success.
I also see a lot of businesses fail. In most cases it is because the business owner was not dedicated or did not give the business enough focus to make it a success.
Sir Gavaskar asked me a question privately. How many successful sports people do you know who are not dedicated to or love their sport? The answer is, obviously, not a lot.
Love and be dedicated to your business. It is the first D to success.
2. Determination
Know that life is hard. Business is hard. Being a sports personality is hard.
It is how you respond and react to failures or times when things are tough that count. How determined are you to be successful?
Most businesses I see fail or close down is because there is a lack of dedication. Many will come up with excuses to cover that they are not dedicated. I have seen all the excuses possible.
– I have health issues
– I have family issues
– I am not good at ……
– I don’t have the money
– I don’t have the resources
– I don’t have the staff; and I have even had some that say
– I needed to get my nails done or I am getting my hair done
Those that are dedicated to their business have a simple mindset. I will do whatever is necessary to make my business successful. And then they go out and do it. If you do not have that mindset, business is not for you.
Be dedicated to your business. It is the second D.
3. Discipline
I must admit this is not one of my strongpoints. And to be honest it is not a strong point for many business owners. That is because we know what we need to do but then we do not do it.
Sports people are particularly good at discipline. But I think I know why discipline works for sports people but not so much for business owners.
It works because sports people have dedicated coaches and mentors.
Businesspeople rarely do. You see coaches and mentors see things from the outside. And they are constantly pushing and constantly demand improvements. Tiger Woods was considered the best golfer in the world. He stayed there and became even better when his coaches changed his swing, and they were absolutely disciplined during the change. Most sports people employ dedicated nutritionists who are disciplined enough to ensure the right food is eaten every single day.
Discipline is doing the right things consistently. In most cases businesspeople are juggling a lot of things. We all know the catchphrase ‘’Jack of all trades but master of none’’
Sports people become masters through discipline and listening to their coaches and advisors. And in team sports such as cricket if the whole team has discipline is it likely the team achieves more? Research says it does.
Business owners should take heed and do the same. If your business does not have a dedicated business advisor, your chances of being fully disciplined is reduced.
The final D – be disciplined in your business.
So, there you have it. Sunil Gavaskar’s 3 tips to become successful not just in sports but in anything you want to achieve in life.
But I know what you are thinking. You must have some skills to become a successful cricket player, soccer player an even a darts player. Surely you need skills in business and life too.
And I will tell you what I learnt from one of the most successful soccer coaches call Sir Alex Ferguson. His view was that he could coach anyone to become a professional soccer player. Anyone who wants to become a great player needed to be completely focused, really want to be great and learn from their coach. I guess he was talking about the 3 D’s too.
And the same is true for business. Many of the successful business owners I know do not have any special skills. They just follow the three D’s.
Article by Hitesh Mohanlal from the WOW! Advisors Group.
