1. Recruit and fill in all aspects of your life that you desire to be filled
The success of a winning team involves a complete roster, with each starting position filled with the best player for the job. The same idea applies to your life. For example, especially in college, filling your time with the best opportunities you can and will lead you to become the best version of yourself. You should always try to find the opportunities that will challenge you and develop your character. Your end goal is to land a job after graduation and it should be one that you're qualified for and can succeed at. If you just take whatever easy opportunity comes to you, the chance for growth and development may not be as great as if you seek out something more challenging. Work hard and use your time wisely while you're young so that you can develop all aspects of your character and by the time you graduate, you'll be a well-rounded winning team.
2. Know your strengths and your weaknesses
Each player on a team is different- a receiver is better at catching while a quarterback is meant to throw the ball. Those players excel at their positions because they realized their strengths and have spent their time developing them to their advantage. Take this same approach to your time. If you know that you're able to complete homework assignments and tasks better when you have a few days before they're due, then, you should plan your time accordingly. Don't wait until the last minute and then produce mediocre work when you could've managed your time differently. Identifying your strengths and weaknesses early on in life will set you up for success for the rest of your life. I'm sure Tom Brady didn't become a Super Bowl champion quarterback by developing his blocking skills in his early years of football.
3. Hard-work
One simple word that encompasses so many things. Just like a team spends hours and hours a week practicing, you need to dedicate the same time to the things you want. Your schoolwork, projects, a part-time job, and typically anything worth having is worth working for. Football teams don't win games without putting in the blood, sweat, and tears necessary to work together for an end result. The most successful people are those that are willing to do whatever it takes to make their dreams a reality. And the earlier you learn what it is that you desire in life, then, the easier it will be to lay out the essential steps to make it happen.
4. Don't be afraid to fail
The quarterback throws the ball, you jump up in the air, land on the ground with it in your hands. It's 4th and ten and you're ready to take off and get the first down. And, what happens? The opponent comes out of nowhere and runs through you like you're made of dust. You could've ran to the other side, maybe faked him out and made it over the line. You can't change what happened, and that's okay. People make mistakes, it's a fact of life. And the sooner you realize that we all have flaws, the sooner those mistakes will be easier to move on from. You can't change the past; thinking about what could've, would've, and should've happened is not the best way to spend your time. Realizing and embracing that at a young age is only something that will make your adult life easier.
5. It's not over until the last second
A football game has four quarters and plenty of time to change the end result. A team could be dominating in the first half, ready to write a big letter W in their score column. But life is unexpected and time changes things. It's a very real possibility that team can fall during the second half and replace that W with an L. It's the same way throughout life. Maybe you don't land the internship you really wanted to or you don't get into the club you hoped for. That doesn't mean it's over. College is four years, sometimes longer, and there is always more time to achieve your goals. "When one door closes, another one opens." We all know the saying, and no matter how cliche, the message behind it couldn't be more true.
