Sir Alex Ferguson says anyone can play football, but only those with strong practice habits become true footballers. He uses Gary Player's bunker practice as an example of deliberate preparation for rare moments. Host Evan Carmichael connects this to entrepreneurship, noting people quit early because they underestimate how much consistent effort matters.
Good morning, Believe Nation! Today's message is practice. Over to you, Alex Ferguson. I wake up every morning, espresso keeps me going.
The advice I give to any young kid is anyone can play a game of football, anyone. But practice makes you a real footballer. You see games on a Sunday, pub games, oh, love a game of football. The real players have had a practice ethic about them. You know, you take the, I remember being at lunch in Glasgow many, many years ago and Gary Player was the golfer. And they asked him that question, why do you keep practicing from the bunker? 'cause he was famous for getting out of the bunker. He says, "Well, I know I'm gonna be in the bunker one time in the game, maybe twice in a game, and I've got to put in a hole." He says, "That's why I practice and practice and practice." That's a great example of what you have to do to be a top player.
I really love this message. I think it's important for entrepreneurs because I think people just give up too soon. People give up before they get good at it. I think whenever you're trying something new, you might have certain expectations, you might have a certain level of taste, right? You might know what is good, but your abilities to actually produce suck because you've never done it before. Just like any skill that you want to pick up— you want to learn snowboarding, you want to learn French, you want to learn how to make sushi, you want to learn, you know, how to market a business— at the start you're gonna suck. That's part of the process. And people just expect to be good out of the gate, and they give up way too soon. And I think you dramatically overestimate what you can do in a short amount of time, but underestimate what you can do with practice over time, consistent practice. And I keep coming back to my YouTube channel as an example as you guys are watching it because I've done now 3,000 videos on the channel and I'm still getting better, right? And I still don't think I'm good enough. I still want to be a better speaker, a better YouTuber. I'm still practicing, but it's 3,000 videos later, you know. Some people, they get 10 videos in, they're like, "I'm not good enough yet." You barely started, you know. And so it's developing the routine, developing the habit to practice, to get better every single day. You know, if you want to be a great YouTuber, then and then dedicate an hour every day to getting better in front of the camera. Even if you never post the videos, just to get practice. I remember when I was with, dealing with my agent and he had me do my foundation story. I did the same story, I don't remember how many times, 20 times, 30 times, and it was a half an hour video. This wasn't just some 1-minute video, it was long. And I kept doing it and doing it and doing it and I never published any of the videos. I think I may have put one up as a raw video. Every time I did it, it wasn't just to create that end result, it was for me for me to get better so the next time I made a new video on something totally different, I would have more skills. And so every video that I make, even now, is great for the channel. It helps, it provides value, but it's also me practicing to get better and better and better and better. So whatever you want to get better at, just practice. And don't, don't give yourself these false expectations that you're going to be good right out of the gate. You're going to suck out of the gate. Expect it. Don't get discouraged. Keep practicing and just get better every single day. So the question of the day today is What are you practicing? Leave in the comments below. We'll join the discussion. Thank you so much for watching. Have an amazing day. Continue to believe. And I'll see you again tomorrow morning for another shot of espresso. I wake up every morning. Espresso keeps me going.
