The Way of the Champion

LACROSSE legend Paul Rabil wanted a guidebook for the road to being a champion. So, he went looking for guidance from some of the greatest athletes, coaches, entertainers, and entrepreneurs in the world. He wanted to know what made them great. What he learned he put into this book, The Way of the Champion.

Champions aren’t born. They’re made through determination, discipline, and sacrifice. “It’s equal parts strategy, philosophy, psychology—and sheer determination.” Setbacks are expected. They are “opportunities to learn from, to adapt, and to come back stronger. A champion understands that success is upon a foundation of failures, where you choose to rise with unwavering resolve.”

The Way of the Champion is divided into three sections: Amateur, Professional and Beyond the Game. In the early stage—amateur—the “goal is to find the thing you will eventually fully commit to. The thing you have potential in.” For the professional, it’s all in. “You have to invest more of your time, more of your resources. To get an edge, you have to do things your competition isn’t willing to do.” Beyond the Game is about impact. “Embrace the responsibility that comes with greatness and use your platform to effect positive change.”

Each section is filled with concise essays—short and to the point without the usual fluff. Some lessons from each section:

AMATEUR

Let Go of Outcomes: “Success and failure come from the same place, so that’s where the archer points all of their attention: not on the outcome, but on the effort. Don’t think about creating a publicly traded company. Think about the problem that needs to be solved, and the value you’re creating for your customers. Let go of the target.

The Voice No One Else Hears: How do I speak to myself? We all get into negative thought patterns. “The way to break a negative thought pattern? Be prepared with a positive one.”

Be Coachable: “Talent is a commodity. Work ethic is a commodity. But the ability to take coaching and instruction, to hear a critique and then work to address it—that is rare. Be rare. Be coachable.

A Week Off Is Really Two: “That the week I took off was two weeks. It was a week of not getting better and it was a week of getting worse. Two weeks less of improving at the things I’m in control of. So, a dividing line between success and failure is simply the ability to bounce back quickly. To accept that failure is part of this process. And never mope just because you messed up, never take a week off. Because it’s really two.”

Study the People Who Shouldn’t Be Good: Study the people who shouldn’t be as good as they are. Don’t study the entrepreneur with a wealthy family background and practically unlimited resources who started a successful business. Study the entrepreneur who faced financial struggles, bootstrapped their venture, and encountered numerous failures before ultimately building a thriving company.”

Be Great Everywhere: The grunt work is the champion’s work. “What distinguishes the greatest from the merely great is that the greatest don’t turn it on and off. They are wedded to certain behaviors and habits. They do them all the time. They strive for greatness every day, everywhere, on and off the field.”

Confidence on Demand: “If you want to build your confidence, go build somebody else’s. If you want to feel good, go make your teammates feel good. Don’t wait for a pat on the back—go pat someone else’s, and it will come right back to yours.”

PROFESSIONAL

Go Deep: “If you’re struggling in life, I ask you if you have consistency. Turning pro, being consistent, being insane about your craft—requires sacrifice. There’s no more sampling and dabbling.”

Confront the Brutal Reality: “Confront the brutal reality—right now. Of your current abilities. Of your injury. Of your team’s prospects. Of your height. Of the odds of making it into the big leagues. Of the situation you got yourself into. Don’t give in to wishful thinking. Don’t lie to yourself. Accept what it is, fully, completely, honestly. Then? Work doing something about it. Prevail in the end, somehow, someway.”

The Pendulum Swings: “When you are at an extreme—when things are going well or unwell—remind yourself that the swing in the other direction is just a matter of time. That you can’t have the swing up without the swing down. And you can’t swing back up without experiencing the pain of the downswing. Just commit to the experience and trust that you’ll come around.”

Know Who to Listen To: “I had to discern who I listened to—and who to accept feedback from. You have to be able to take the wise criticism and ignore the armchair experts on social media. You have to be able to sift through the noise to figure out what is and isn’t accurate. To know who to listen to.”

Make People Better: “The way of the champion is not just a personal quest. It’s not just about your own progress. It’s not just about the heights you alone can reach. The effect you have on those around you is just as important—if not more so. Do you lift others up? Do you bring others along with you? Do you make people better?”

BEYOND THE GAME

Inspect What You Expect: “In every domain, whether it’s family business, sports, or entertainment, leadership stems from setting clear expectations and demonstrating the dedication and passion needed to surpass them. When leaders inspect what they expect, they cultivate a lasting culture of excellence that endures.”

Ask For Help: “When I finally started practicing asking for help, I discovered three things. First, I rarely found anyone who didn’t want to help. People love to help. Second, I found I was building stronger relationships with those whom I showed this type of vulnerability toward. They could trust me. Asking for help is a pillar of honesty. And third, I was able to improve and get things done much faster with help.”

We’ll See: “I’ve lost championship and gold medal games, gotten traded multiple times, been through a divorce, made bad investments and worse life decisions. I’ve come out on the other side understanding that there is no ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ Life is complicated. In the moment, at least, you can’t call it. Horrible things lead to incredible things, and vice versa, all the time. Best to accept all that happens. To embrace all that happens. To say to all that happens … We’ll see.”

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 08:08 AM
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