Observations on Why You Should Emulate the Principle, Not the Person
Aristotle had Plato, Nikolai Tesla had Thomas Edison, and even Steve Young had Joe Montana. In today’s world, this generation of players want to be the next LeBron James or Patrick Mahomes and golfers want to be the next Tiger Woods.
Role models have always been an integral part of our culture, though we see every day a danger associated with wanting to become someone else. There may be a million reasons to aspire to be like someone you admire; role models and mentors can be incredibly inspiring. They allow us to set goals, mirror an example, and follow in someone’s footsteps.
But do you really want to be someone else? Do you want their whole life, or do you just want an aspect of it? You may admire someone because of their work ethic, intellect, leadership, personality, or their outlook on life, but don’t make the mistake of focusing just on the person alone. LeBron James touched on that point in one of his famous Nike ads.
“You don’t want to be me. You want to be better than me.” - LeBron James
Redirect your focus on how that person got to where they are. How did LeBron or Patrick Mahomes get to where they are? Dedication, hard work, focus, passion, shrewdness, etc.; all contribute to a good role model’s success. So, don’t just look to the end product; look at the means by which the mentor traveled to achieve what they have achieved. The principles, as great author Steven Covey often says, are where your focus should be.
Without a DNA match, you cannot be that person. You are aiming for the impossible. You can desire to be a person because of what they have—money, fame, that new BMW. But, how did they obtain these things? Were their principles and methods ethical? Were they sustainable through hard work? Do you really want all their stuff and the hard work that goes with it, or just the stuff? Are you willing to do X (whether good or bad) to get that stuff?
Often times, your role model has made a substantial personal investment in what they do. The opportunity cost of matching what your role model has achieved generally involves a large amount of time, money, and missed experiences. Ask yourself; are you in the position to sacrifice time, money and experiences?
It Takes a Lot to Be a Tiger
Think of Tiger Woods. He has been golfing since age three. You may flip on the US Open one Sunday afternoon, see Tiger valiantly trying to continue on one leg, and you may still think, “Gosh, I wish I had a swing like that!” After the tournament, you go out to the driving range, grab two buckets of balls, and work on your drive. Monday comes around: do you go and hit three buckets? Tiger would. You see that Tiger has hundreds of millions of dollars in endorsements and winnings; you see the perfect drive that will put him in position to make a run at the tournament. You don’t see the Tiger that is at the driving range, fifteen minutes after dark, squinting through the night to see if his 300th iron shot of the day went to where he had planned. You don’t see all of the work he and his father put into his craft since he was three. You see the end product, which makes him less of a role model, and more a center of envy.
If Tiger’s principles, rather than his persona, were your role model, you would go out on Monday, hit three buckets of balls, then go again Tuesday and hit four. He should not be your role model because he birdied the 18th hole to force a playoff 10+ years ago. He should be your role model because of how he put himself in position to do so. It was the role Tiger’s dedication played in his success that should be your model. What if Tiger failed? What happens if Tiger Woods ends up double bogeying that 18th hole, not forcing a playoff, and loses? Does Tiger’s failure mean you should not admire the hell out of the fact he played with a torn ACL and two stress fractures—enough knee damage that would keep most of us on the couch asking if someone could please hand over the remote?
Dedication, as a concept, is incapable of failure. Tiger’s dedication revealed that he would come back again and again and try even harder. Find a way to be your own version of Tiger. Go out and take the necessary steps to follow his principles.