Chasing the Dream of Football Pro - The Diary of a Teen trying to make it » Confidence, Concentration, Goals, Success, Determination

Be a leader

Nicky — Mon, 31 May 2010 00:22:11 +0000

Found this from an article which summarised a book by Dale Carnegie – How to win friends and influence people. It’s about leadership.

Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment

A leader’s job often includes changing your people’s attitudes and behavior. Some suggestions to accomplish this:
Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly.
Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
Let the other person save face.
Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be “hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.”
Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.

What’s My Motivation?

Nicky — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:17:08 +0000

I think there comes a time in every successful person’s life when they ask what the purpose of their goal will do for them and others. I’ve asked myself the same question this weekend. I haven’t felt motivated to eat right, to train more and get up early in the mornings and do extra stuff at the gym or at home. In the game this weekend I didn’t feel as though I gave it my all because the motivation wasn’t there. That’s why i’m asking myself now.. what’s my motivation?

I’m thinking about it, and I know that ultimately, being a professional sports athlete (especially a footballer) would be an hugely rewarding and unforgettable experience that only a few people in the world being in the position would experience. What would it mean for me?

The Difference between being a businessman and a footballer is that in football you acheive goals as a team. In business you are only one person to do something, an entrepreneur to acheive something. In a team, people who have worked extremely hard everyone is fighting for one thing that affects the lives of others in joy and celebration. You are judged by what you have done. If i’m a great footballer than billions will listen because fans relate more. If i’m a great businessman than only millions will listen. Billions will change the world. Millions will not.

This is my Ultimate Footballers Experience:

Luxury

- Private Planes

- Luxury Hotels

- Finest Facilities in the World

Life

- To be apart and relate to things that only a few people in the world could ever experience as comes with playing in a world class team.

- Thousands of hours of work defined in a moment of amazing and mesmorising joy that is experienced with the millions of fans around you.

- Prove to myself, that I myself is the only obstacle to achieving my dreams.

Others

- Affecting the lives of tens of millions of people for the better, by helping them acheive a goal that is talked about forever. Whether that is winning the champions league or world cup.

- To be seen as simply a man who had dreams and became successful by acheiving those dreams.

- Football is the world’s game. Billions of people watch and support the sport and that is something that cannot be questioned. I, becoming the worlds figure of success and changing the world into a success oriented place communicating through the medium of football. Where people will be happier and more successful themselves.

These quotes are by champions and remind to keep on track of my goal:

Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever – Lance Armstrong

Every single day I wake up and commit to myself to becoming a better player. Mia Hamm

Pele called me the greatest footballer in the world. That is the ultimate salute to my life. Pele.

The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when no one else is watching.

Pain is weakness leaving your body. USMC.

If I am still standing at the end of the race, hit me with a board and knock me down, because that means I didn’t run hard enough.

New Video

Nicky — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:58:36 +0000

This was actually taken back in November but it’s only now i’ve edited it and stuff. Anyway it shows some OK bits when I was kicking the ball with my Dad on a Sunday arvo for about half an hour. Dad’s a useless keeper. Also has some ‘inspirational photos’ and such. Anyway here you go:

Believing you will suceed will make you succeed.

Nicky — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:34:46 +0000

So last night after watching Will Smith’s video on wisdom, I became really motivated. I have this red, mini football I got from my club’s Christmas party. I set a unreasonable target for myself that I would get 100 juggles with this mini ball by the end of the night. I could barley do 10 or 15 kick ups to start, my record was probably about 20, but I never stopped believing that I wouldn’t get 100 and eventually I got closer and closer until around two hours later YES! I got over 100 juggles.

So basically what seemed like an impossible task to start wasn’t actually impossible at all, it was just a state of mind.

I have also just come back home from a pretty hard fitness training, I hate them so much but I have realised that in order for me to become one of the best players that ever lived I need to have tough mental challenges for myself and so things like that is good for me and now I am enjoying it, that while i’m going through physical exhaustion that the exhaustion is just a state of mind, by body telling me that I can’t keep going. But in truth I can and like Will Smith says “I’m not afraid to die on the treadmill” ha ha

Just watched the most valuable Youtube video I think i’ll ever watch

Nicky — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:16:39 +0000

Will Smith is a man of his success. I think his philosophy that he outlines in this video is 101% true of all top successful people. Just watch this video, it may change your life.

Two favourite quotes I found:
“You might have more talent than me, you might be smarter than me but if we get on the treadmill together i’m gonna die! It’s that simple.”

“I hate being scared of something.. the only fear you have of fear, is fear itself”.

I was kind of scared going into the next two weeks of fitness in training. Now I know there is nothing to fear and that i’m willing to go all out and die to be noticed as the hardest working footballer there is.

Who Can I Be?

Nicky — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:22:52 +0000

My ultimate goal is to be in a starting 11 spot for Chelsea FC.

I want to be legendary not only for my performances on the pitch but off the pitch too.

I want to be admired by millions of people as someone who was nothing to something with companies worth hundreds of millions of dollars as well as living the life as a footballer. I will go down in history as a player that lived with everything, an object of success in football. I can help hundreds of millions of people, football can be the platform to do so.

I want to be a leader, a motivator on the pitch, a player un-fearful of any opponent. I will not treat a player like a God, I will analyse them and study how they are successful and then become better then they are.

I can be all of these things.

Two things

Nicky — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:49:27 +0000

I’ve found that one of the things I need to make sure doesn’t happen is lose the ball while dribbiling especially as I usually play an attacking role.
So this week I’ve really seen how putting ur foot next to the ball to shield the defender is really useful and now I understand why coaches tell you to do it.
Another thing, I’m not confident with one on one situations with the keeper. I’ve been told I relax to much on the ball before I shoot which is probably why my good right foot doesn’t produce enough goals. So I’m gonna work on that by..concentrating more and not relaxing before I shoot.

Anyway that’s two things I’ve learnt this week, on comes another,

Theo Walcotts Premier League Debut at 16 Years, 143 Days

Nicky — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:55:15 +0000

Thought i’d share a highlight vid of Theo making his PL debut at just 16 Years and 143 Days! Have fun
Theo! Theo! Theo!

Gotta be exceptional

Nicky — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:46:21 +0000

cesc fabregas and fans

Im on my way to training now and writing this on my phone and I was pondering about football. I’ve realized after my years of obbsession with football that to be something in this game you gotta be exceptional. You have to be good..but I don’t think good is good enough. You have to be the player who is more than that. I constantly have to be the standout, the player who is always an example in training and a player you can’t let go out of your starting team. One where the coach will always say brilliant finish or good nick that was what I was looking for and teammates will raise their thumbs up for.
Gotta be the one who plays well and sets the bar higher than no other player will be able to reach.

The funny thing with me saying this is that I currently don’t show any of those skills.
So I am setting this aim for myself starting from todays training and next games.

1. Be the best in everything you do and set a bar higher than anyone could reach.

Running late now and don’t want to miss out on my bus stop. Cyas

Update: After having this attitude I’m pretty sure I showed that I was the best player in the team today.

I can Make It

Nicky — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:30:33 +0000

Just lately i’ve realised that I can make it, I just need to believe that I will succeed. I need to dream big to acheive my goal of football pro. I know I will need to work hard in order to reach my dream and when the time comes that I walk out the tunnel to see my eyes open to tens of thousands of people only then will I know that I have reached the dream. But there’s a long way to go before that. I’m not even playing for a rep team or a proper youth academy. I can’t let myself fail, I know I can be better than those around me that have made pro. Practice, motivation and concentration will be my keys to success.