What do you have in common with Tom Brady and LeBron James?

Over the last eight days, two significant events transpired in athletics and sports. The first was Tom Brady retiring for the second time at 44 and after 23 years in the NFL. His career in the NFL was a long shot. He was selected in the sixth round, a low position to say the least, and chosen 199th overall. But he retires with seven Super Bowl victories (the most ever) and five Super Bowl MVP player awards, the most ever. His numerous awards and accolades were never thought possible by a slow, skinny kid from the University of Michigan. But today, Tom Brady is called the GOAT, the Greatest Of All Time.?

Also, on Tuesday night, LeBron James became the leading all-time points scorer in the NBA with 38,390 points. He surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with 38,387 in two fewer years of playing. His awards and MVP status are exceptional. He received the NBA's Most Valuable Player of the year award, he's won four NBA Championship titles, played in 10 NBA Championships, and many other awards I can't mention here. Oh, and his net worth is estimated at $1B. Yes, one billion dollars.?

The debate about the moniker of GOAT for Brady and James will be left to others. I suggest that there are three things you and I can learn from the likes of Brady and James that can, when internalized, have a real and tangible impact on our everyday human lives. Brady and James have three things in common.

1. They Love Deeply

Brady loved the game of football, and James continues to love the game of basketball. They didn't like their respective sports. They loved the game, the competition, the preparation, and the camaraderie with other players. They love "the grind." The daily, without faltering, the pursuit of being great.?

I haven't spoken with either of them personally and can only see their mindset from interviews and articles. Still, their love of the game helped them see themselves pursuing and accomplishing phenomenal results and success. Climbing to the pinnacle of any endeavor, especially the ultra-competitive world of professional sports, requires a love of the game that surpasses all difficulty, injury, trade, or hardship. The focus of James and Brady is rooted in an unquestionable desire to be the greatest the game has ever seen. As an 18-year-old kid from high school, LeBron James was asked about his goals for playing in the NBA. His response was simple. "I want to be the greatest ever to play the game."

Listen to the boldness and audacity of what LeBron said. "I want to be the greatest ever to play the game." The boldness strikes me in speaking out loud, "I want to be the greatest ever to play the game." Tom Brady also wanted to be great, and it's only in hindsight of 20-plus years of their playing careers that we can now see the connection between their reputation as great players today and their bold proclamations as young men.

2. They Learn Daily

Tom Brady was known for watching tape of his opponents. He devoured film footage and pushed his video production team to provide him with increasingly higher levels of film footage. To be the greatest in his sport, he wouldn't or couldn't rely on his talent alone. He needed to work harder and longer than his competitors. He approached each game believing he knew as much, if not more, about how an opponent would respond to his play calling than they likely did.?

LeBron James also had a hunger for learning. He is known for a conversation with one of his coaches about his shooting. His coach told him that this aspect of his game needed to improve to be the greatest. The coach said that greatness in the game started with greatness in his visualization and practice time. They outlined a two-hour practice schedule for his shooting on the court and a 30-minute visualization process he would do every day. Even during the grind of an NBA season, LeBron James adhered to this schedule.?

Some people love their game or profession, but their work ethic falters like an unreliable wireless network. Their work ethic is on some days and off others. But those that are great don't ever take a day or a play off. They believe that how they do one play when tired is how they play every play. They are 100% locked in for every play. They learn from every practice, every video session, every play, and every conversation with a player or coach. They are sponges for insights as to how to be great.?

3. They Live Boldly

From my experience working with transformational leaders, boldness is not an activity undertaken on its own accord. Boldness results from loving something so deeply that you "want to" or are "compelled to" learn about it daily. Loving and learning are not something we can turn on and off. It's hardwired into our love of an idea, dream, hope, or aspiration that is present in each of our DNAs.?

When the double helix of loving deeply their game and learning daily how to be great are combined, the life we see in Brady and James is one characterized as boldness, courageousness, and, yes, greatness.

Loving deeply, learning daily, and living boldly brings me back to the question asked at the beginning of this article. What do you have in common with Tom Brady and LeBron James? It's not their football or basketball skills. For me, I will never be great at football or basketball.

But, there is something that only you can be great at. There is something that resides deep in your heart, mind, and soul that, when acknowledged and expressed, will have the people that matter most to you saying, "You are great at X."

My question for you is a challenging one to answer. It's one that our current experience may want to avoid answering. Why? Because when you respond with clarity and conviction about what you want to be great at, you will have to answer whether you're learning daily and living boldly to be great at what you want. That's hard to do. But like in Alcoholics Anonymous, all progress starts by telling the truth.

Suppose you aspire to achieve greatness for yourself and enable greatness in others. In that case, the process of loving deeply, learning daily, and living boldly will challenge you, encourage you, mystify you, and ultimately catapult you to achieving your highest hopes, dreams, and aspirations.?

But where can you start? Here are five truth-telling questions to begin your journey toward your definition of greatness.?

1. What do you want to be great at?

2. Do you have a clear mental image of greatness over the next three to five years?

3. Are you great today?

4. What have you done to get 1% better today than you were yesterday?

5. What have you done in the first 39 days of 2023 to be great at that which you love?

William Hutchison Murray was a Scottish mountaineer and writer from my mother country Scotland. He is quoted often about commitment to an ideal or goal. He said:

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets: Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it!"

That leaves you and me with only one question. In what area of our lives do we want to achieve greatness?

Live Boldly!

Hugh Blane?is the President of Claris Consulting. He is a strategic advisor and executive coach to executives, entrepreneurs, and investors seeking market differentiation and greater enterprise value.

He is the author?of 7 Principles of Transformational Leadership: Create A Mindset of Passion Innovation and Growth, and his clients include VIVEX Biologics, Microsoft, Sony Pictures, Starbucks, Nordstrom, Providence Healthcare, Pepperdine University, KPMG, and Costco. He has published over 475 articles and videos on leadership and mindset at?www.clarisconsulting.net ?and is an in-demand speaker.