Competitive Edge

Lessons from the sporting world for sustained success in life

Cyrus Rogers

• Publisher: Tracey McDonald Publishers
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781776260805
• Topic: Crescita personale
• Subtopic: Successo personale

Winners find a way to win.

Who better to learn from, on how to be successful, than those who've reached the top of their game and stayed there. Using sport as a prism, this book is for people who want to make changes in their personal and professional lives in order to beat the opposition and take home the gold.

Competitive Edge is a book about competition, struggle and hard work, but, ultimately, it is about success and the routes you can take to get to your own promised land. Jam-packed with lessons, observations and tips taken from the very best sportspeople around the globe, on how they found ways to win in their various disciplines, discover how you can be successful too.

Business is, by its very nature, competitive and the world is a tough place right now. There is a lot to be learnt from those who've triumphed in the ultra-competitive realm of professional sports, and their lessons are distilled in this book, a resource for individuals and business people who are looking to reach the next level.

Competitive Edge will serve as a guide to determine where you need to improve in the different aspects of your life, or business. It will give you an insight into how the very best adapted in order to rise to another level, and it will teach you how to get ahead and have sustained success in whatever endeavour you face.

Competitive Edge is a winner's guide to success and how anyone can achieve that gold medal, and also stay ahead of the chasing pack.

Cyrus Rogers is a television producer, business owner and motivational speaker who has combined his passion for sport with his keen interest in leadership, success and greatness. His obsession for sport has led to years of study, and research, of the very best sports stars and how they progressed to the top of their games. Having worked as a sports journalist for near on two decades, and having interviewed some of the world's biggest sports stars, Cyrus discovered that the essential elements for success in sport translate to business, sales and personal development.

CHAPTER 1

THE NEED FOR A COMPETITIVE EDGE IS CRITICAL RIGHT NOW

THE WORLD IS IN A PRECARIOUS place at the moment, with so many countries going through a massive upheaval. COVID-19 has caused the most disruption, more than previous generations have experienced, from plummeting oil prices to ravaged economies and mass deaths. It is deeply disturbing and distressing. Just watching the news and TV programmes we are bombarded by people talking about the hardship they are facing financially, and the turmoil experienced in poorly run states. Even before COVID-19 there were protests happening all over the globe that spoke to an uprising of the suffering masses in some of the poorest countries on the planet. Even in the so-called stable economies, where the problems are very different to those faced in the developing world, we see massive unequal societies, with poverty on the rise and a yearning for a new way of living.

It’s no surprise that there has been a rise in the number of nationalists globally, from Asia through to the Americas. Nor is it a shock to see people turning to these types of politicians, because they profess renewal, or a return to past glory days. A return to a life that was simple and where there was more of everything to go around. This type of pontificating speaks directly to the fears that people have. It could be about giving people a sense of purpose as they might have lost that with the economic struggles that exist right now. It could be about giving the masses a chance to believe in a world in which they will no longer suffer. There are a few unifying themes in the words spoken by these types of leaders as they turn heads and make waves for all the wrong reasons.

One of the key themes is the sense of purpose. Purpose is a major driving force for anyone. We all want to feel that what we are doing, or the suffering we’re enduring, has a meaning in the end; that there is a purpose to why things have happened, but more importantly, that there is a purpose as to why the leader in power, or the one looking to gain it, will keep projecting a message of direction. What people want are leaders who are able to set a course and stick by it. Modern day bureaucracy has made it difficult for most people to cut through the red tape and get things done. It seems as if there are way too many regulations and rules in place that make life harder. This isn’t necessarily a rallying cry for the poor, disadvantaged and displaced alone. This has been a rallying cry for all the people who have felt as if they haven’t been listened to, or included in the current discourse. Everybody wants to be heard and there are some leaders who give the impression that they are listening. But this is also a very dangerous time, because the nature of the messages being used in many cases are divisive, separating, and not intending to bring together the many diverse groups of people in a country.

As we look at purpose we must also face the reality that true leadership is required right now, especially with the world facing some deeply-rooted challenges such as poverty, disease and racial injustice, and there is much work to be done. One such area that requires real leadership is racial inequality and an area that has caused conflict, confusion and controversy is the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement that has swept throughout the world. I say it has caused controversy because there are groups of people who feel that there is a nefarious agenda afoot, and some people believe that there are large groups of people involved in illegal activity and violent protesting.

The reality of the global BLM movement is a lot simpler to understand than many have painted it to be. According to the Wikipedia page for BLM it is ‘a decentralized movement in the United States advocating for non-violent civil disobedience in protest against incidents of police brutality and all racially motivated violence.’ Here is part of the movement’s mission statement from their website blacklivesmatter.com, it reads: ‘Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.’ BLM was founded by three women – Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi – in 2013, after the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s killer, George Zimmerman. It started as an online and social media-led campaign using the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter and became widely used in instances of the unwarranted deaths of black people in the US and UK. The recent killing of George Floyd by a police officer, Derek Chauvin, in Minnesota led to massive protests and outrage as people of all races and religious backgrounds banded together to protest what was a criminal act by a law enforcement officer. George Floyd’s death happened in the same short period of time as the killings of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery by the police and by vigilantes, all in the USA. There was a global reaction to these events, with millions joining protest marches in cities around the world. The discussion that has arisen since the global protest marches started has been of massive importance and is a much needed one, as issues stemming from racism and racial injustice were being highlighted.

Many have contended that politics and sport shouldn’t mix and that there is no space in sport for activism, however, sportspeople are taking a stand and voicing their opinion on these critical issues, using their platforms to get their messages out.

Sport has become a central part of the Black Lives Matter movement as sports stars shine a light on racial injustice and police brutality in the US and around the world. NFL star Colin Kaepernick famously started the trend in 2016 as he knelt on one knee (taking a knee) during the playing of the American National Anthem before NFL games as a sign of peaceful protest to highlight the many lives that had been taken by law enforcement officers owing to police brutality. He was widely condemned for his actions by the American public and many political figures, including President Donald Trump. Kaepernick continued to protest in the face of a wave of criticism. Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the San Francisco 49s in 2017 and has since been unable to get back onto a team in the NFL, leading to a law-suit between him and the NFL that has since been settled.

WNBA star and former Most Valuable Player of the Year, Maya Moore, shocked the basketball community when she abruptly took a sabbatical from playing to focus on criminal justice reform as she endeavoured to have Jonathan Irons released from the Jefferson City Correctional Center in Missouri. Irons had served 22 years of a 50-year sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. Moore felt compelled to help someone who needed it, especially since she had the means to assist. Irons has since been released from prison and has been exonerated in a court of law, and Moore played a huge role in making that happen. Like Kaepernick’s and Moore’s actions had done, the Black Lives Matter movement also made an impact in England. The English football Premier League released a statement as they backed the movement, ‘The Premier League offered this backing as we wholly agree with the players’ single objective of eradicating racial prejudice wherever it exists.’ They also added that, ‘We want our message to be a positive one that recognises football has the power to bring people together.’ The players of every Premier League team had Black Lives Matter on their shirts and took a knee before kick-off of every match after the resumption of the league following its COVID-19 enforced hiatus.

In South Africa there has been a mixed response to the Black Lives Matter movement with many supporting the cause, though there has been resistance to the messaging from some quarters of the population. This has seen a number of heated debates take place between former and current sportspeople in the country. When asked if he would support the BLM movement, Proteas fast bowler, Lungi Ngidi, said he would and that sparked further debate from a few former Proteas players who felt that he was wrong to express that opinion.

Cricket was the first sport to resume after the hard lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic in South Africa and Cricket South Africa (CSA) released a statement in support of Black Lives Matter and of their star Ngidi. CSA said in their statement that, ‘We note the claims of discrimination and racism that have been made by current and former players and coaches, and we acknowledge that these are a part of the sport’s past, and sadly, its present,’ and continuing, ‘We have to face the reality, as management and custodians of the game, that we need to come up with creative, tangible and meaningful ways to address this – even more than we have done already – to make sure that they are not part of our future.’ They added that, ‘As a national federation that is custodian to a sport that is loved and played by South African men and women, CSA is actively working to redress the inequalities of the past and to make cricket a truly transformed national sport of winners.’ CSA organised the 3-Team Cricket tournament that was the first official sporting event to take place in South Africa during the pandemic, and all the players across the three teams took a knee to support BLM, including former Proteas teammates, Graeme Smith and Makhaya Ntini. It was a special moment to see the players united in an anti-racism cause that seeks to bring an end to racial discrimination in sport and society at large. However, much work needs to be done in order to make sport in South Africa more inclusive. This is a good start.

In Africa issues stem largely from terrible economies in most of the countries. The poverty and suffering that many experience in the poorest countries plays itself out in a dark and scary way, with no hope in prospect. Couple that with the inequality, the greed and corruption of the moneyed elite and you have a volatile powder keg ready to explode with catastrophic consequences.

The reason for this preamble is to paint a picture of how the world views itself now. I haven’t even dealt with the incredibly destructive and deadly coronavirus which has caused so much death, fear and economic meltdown. It, in many ways, is a plague in our time that has spread and triggered a global response not seen in a very long time. There have been health crises before, like the Spanish Flu and other viral outbreaks such as SARS and MERS, but nothing like the destruction caused by COVID-19 has ever hit the world with such ferocity, that has stalled economies and left so many fearful and locked in their own homes for safety. These are severely trying times that require new ways of thinking about the world, about our jobs, about ourselves.

This is a time where a focus on self is essential. We have to be able to see ourselves through this mess to get to the other side, with hope and with a purpose. It will be difficult and it will require hard work, but everything worthwhile in life requires both of these things.

Competitive Edge looks at ways that people – be they leaders or just ordinary individuals wanting to make a change in their own lives – can make a positive difference in their communities and nations. The right leaders know that pandering to their specific supporter base isn’t necessarily the way to bring about the correct kind of change for their compatriots. So, how do people become the right kind of leaders? And if you aren’t looking to lead other people how can you lead yourself to become the very best you that you can be?

This book will show you how you can groom people to uncover that extra something inside themselves that will help them find purpose; that special something that can have a major impact in their lives and help them become their best selves. It’s also about finding the strength and purpose within yourself and how self-leadership will be the key to turning your life around when times get really tough. Successful leadership can seem like an impossible dream, but it doesn’t require superhuman skills, nor does it need you to become a totally different person. Is it about being born with the leadership gene, and that being the only way to effect change? No. There are numerous ways to develop one’s own potential into something that can make a huge difference in their own life and the lives of others. There are no magic bullets to this technique and it requires only introspection and working on one’s faults, but it also means that any change that comes will be long-lasting and not fleeting. This book is about personal development and how it can help you become a more successful person.

I love talking about leadership, success and greatness, and it is also one of my favourite activities. I do it professionally as a keynote speaker, but they are also some of my life-long passions. I have always been interested in learning from people and situations. I recall being aware that my life was different to some of my friends and my own relatives. I would ask my parents why we had some things that others didn’t have, or conversely why others had stuff we didn’t. My fascination with people and the circumstances they found themselves in, often had me reflecting on how things could have been so different in my own life if my circumstances had been different. It seemed to me that there was a randomness to it: some people were lucky to have nice shoes, or unlucky not to have schoolbooks or food. There was clearly a divide and this captured my imagination and became a keen interest. We all question why there are haves and have-nots. Fast-forward to adult life and there are still no concrete answers why some people succeed and others fail. But there are several interesting methods of working on yourself that can get you to where you want to be.

Let’s start the process by looking at leadership. Let’s look at what makes a leader good or bad (I am not going to call out every bad leader in the world, though they have all raised their hands and are in the public eye). I want to talk about what makes a good leader – someone who is in a position of power and wants to make a difference for those who need the change the most. One only has to look at the United States and the United Kingdom to see the lack of unilateral support for the current leaders in those countries. However, both Donald Trump and Boris Johnson feel emboldened enough to make pronouncements for the sake of furthering the interests of the already rich few. This might come across as a neo-liberal view and it is in many ways, but there are numerous divisive pronouncements that they have both made that can’t be argued. There doesn’t seem to be much being done for the betterment of all the citizens of their nations.

The rhetoric is also relatively similar in both countries, with a focus on insulating them from ‘dangerous’ foreigners and delivering a new nation that only they or their parties can achieve. As someone who has grown up in Zimbabwe, many of these statements sound somewhat familiar to those made by the late former president Robert Mugabe. He, too, spoke about a need to make Zimbabwe great, and to ensure that they will never bow down to the West ever again. The majority responded to this sentiment, but outside of the speeches and bluster there wasn’t much being done for the upliftment of the people once the economy beg...