Discipline eats talent for breakfast

When I was 7 years old I played my first organized baseball.  You've already read about how that year began with me kicking and screaming going to registration.  I didn't learn the full story of how that season ended till many years later.  I had been selected to the all-star team my first season.  My parents didn't tell me because they already had summer plans and the all-star schedule conflicted so they told the coach I couldn't join the team and they didn't tell me so I wouldn't be disappointed.  The next 13 years our summer plans worked around baseball.

I made the all-star team every year of little league, then I made the high school team, practicing with the varsity team as an underclassman (2 practices every day).  Then I made a Metro-Atlanta High School All-Star team.  Then I made a very real discovery.  Discipline beats talent.  I had more talent than most of the guys on that team BUT, most of the guys on the team had more discipline than I did. As a little league player we all tried the same but talent usually won.  As we got into high school, the guys that were committed started working out and training outside of practice.  And those guys that I used to beat with my talent began beating me with their discipline.  Today, I rarely see a major league ball player display talent beyond what I had.  BUT, they have the discipline to do what's needed that I didn't have.

I see the same thing in leadership of teams.  Some people have leadership talent that gets them on the team, in the game and even winning some.  It's the leaders with discipline that continue to add capacity and win over time.

Talent can win games.  Discipline wins championships and creates dynasties.

This is good news for all of us.  Talent is really difficult to obtain if you don't have it naturally.  Anybody can apply disciplined behavior today.  Some people are "natural" leaders.  The rest of us can become leaders through disciplined behavior.  Just as I experienced with baseball, often the natural talent shines early on BUT the disciplined behavior wins over time.