ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS

By Vince Lombardi

There was a marvelous book that came out in 2001 titled: What It Take To Be #1. A lot of people write books on the topic of being #1 but this particular book is about Vince Lombardi, one of the great coaches and leaders of our time. It is written by someone who knew Coach Lombardi at a very deep level -- his son, Vince Lombardi, Jr. It is an inside look at the way Vince Lombardi lived his life and coached his teams. One of the better chapters deal with seven elements of success in the Lombardi philosophy.

COURAGE

Courage is the habit of mind that allows us to meet danger, opposition, or hopelessly long odds with poise and resolution. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage means experiencing fear.

"The important thought is that the Packers thrived on tough competition. We welcomed it; the team had always welcomed it. The adrenaline flowed a little quicker when we were player the tougher team."
-Vince Lombardi-

PASSION

Passion and enthusiasm are the seeds of achievement. Enthusiasm is like an ocean tide. There's a certain inevitability about it. Passion sweeps obstacles away. It's tough to be a leader if you can't energize your people and tap into their emotional energy.

"To be successful, a man must exert an effective influence upon his brothers and upon his associates, and the degree in which he accomplishes this depends on the personality of the man. The incandescence of which he is capable. The flame of the fire that burns inside him. The magnetism which draws the hearts of men to him."
-Vince Lombardi-

SACRIFICE

Character takes sacrifice: the giving up of one thing for the sake of another.

"I think you've got to pay a price for anything that's worthwhile, and success is paying the price. You've got to pay the price to win, you've got to pay the price to stay on top, and you've got to pay the price to get there."
-Vince Lombardi-

TOTAL COMMITMENT

Closely related to the habit of sacrifice is the habit of total commitment. Total commitment means no loafing, idling, standing around, goofing off or phoning in sick. The essence of commitment is the act of making a decision.

"I would say that the quality of each man's like is the full measure of that man's personal commitment to excellent and to victory -- whether it be football, whether it be business, whether it be politics or government or what have you."
-Vince Lombardi-

HARD WORK

Jim Howell, then head coach of the New York Giants where Lombardi was an assistant would comment: "When other coaches -- the rest of us -- would leave the Giant offices, there was always one light still burning, the one in Vince Lombardi's office."

"If you really want something , you can have it if you're willing to pay the price. And the price means you have to work better and harder than the next guy."
-Vince Lombardi-

DISCIPLINE

Hard work is also discipline: the kind of focused training that develops self-control. Discipline helps you make the hard decisions. In leading a team or organization, discipline leads to freedom.

"A good leader must be hard on himself than anyone else. He must first discipline himself before he can discipline other. A man should not ask others to do things he would not have asked himself to do at one or another in his life."
-Vince Lombardi-

MENTAL TOUGHNESS

Mental toughness was one of my father's favorite topics. He believe it was the single most important skill leaders could develop in themselves and the people around them. Mental toughness is the ability to hold onto your goals in the face of the pressure and stress of current reality. It's the ability to hold on, and hold on , and hold onto what you want in the face of what you're not. Mental toughness is the glue that holds a team together when the heat is on and helps that team persevere just a little bit longer, which in many cases is just enough to outlast the opposition.

"Mental toughness is many things, and rather than difficult to explain. It's qualities are sacrifice and self-denial. Also, most importantly, it is combined with the perfectly discipline will, which refuses to give in. It's a state of mind --
you could call it 'character in action.'"
-Vince Lombardi-