The Roots of Success — Frank Sonnenberg

What do a gold medal Olympic athlete, a celebrated businessperson, and a prima ballerina have in common? They began their journey by learning the basics, practiced them from dawn to dusk, and never forgot that achieving stardom would require mastering them. As Michael Jordan, the legendary NBA Hall of Famer, said, “You can practice shooting eight hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way. Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.”

In reality, however, many people feel that practicing the basics is beneath them; they believe they’ve achieved a certain level of distinction and want to move on. Additionally, when some individuals encounter challenging situations, their knee-jerk reaction is to seek complex solutions, rather than returning to the basic fundamentals. In their minds, significant challenges necessitate intricate answers. However, complex problems don’t always require complex solutions.

Never underestimate the power of getting back to basics.

The ABCs of Success: Rediscovering the Basics

Think about lessons that you learned when you were young. Although they may sound basic to you today, the moral still rings true. How many of them do you practice every day?

Here are 20 maxims that offer valuable lessons:

1. Take responsibility for your actions; it’s empowering.
2. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
3. Find joy in the little things.
4. Take risks but calculate them wisely.
5. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
6. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
7. Slow and steady wins the race.
8. The devil is in the details.
9. Learn from your mistakes; they’re valuable lessons.
10. Keep an open mind; it fosters growth.
11. Listen more than you speak; it’s how you learn.
12. Embrace change; it’s the only constant.
13. Learn to let go of what you can’t control.
14. Treat others as you want to be treated.
15. No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
16. You can’t please everyone.
17. Hard work is its own reward.
18. Two wrongs don’t make a right.
19. Stay committed to your values; they guide your choices.
20. Everything happens for a reason.

Getting Back to Basics: The Power of Fundamentals

Some people think that possessing strong moral character, obeying the Golden Rule, or adhering to the precept of “what goes around comes around,” are niceties — and can be ignored when you’ve reached a certain age or plateau in life. That’s why they call them the basics, they think.

The truth is, they’re the basic building blocks in life. The strength of any structure lies in the integrity of its foundation; in life, our foundation is built on the basics.

The true path to excellence lies not in complexity, but in the ability to execute the basics flawlessly.

If that’s the case, do you keep the basics top of mind? Do you learn them, live them, and practice them diligently — until you achieve mastery? Or do you cut corners, look for shortcuts, and take the path of least resistance? In sports, if you master the fundamentals, you don’t have to worry about the score. It takes care of itself. The same holds true in life. You have to master the fundamentals if you want to be the best at what you do.

Check out Frank’s new book, BECOME: Unleash the Power of Moral Character and Be Proud of the Life You Choose

Do You Focus on the Fundamentals?

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Additional Reading:
10 Critical Rules for Living a Happy Life
A Simple Reminder That Could Change Your Life
The Facts of Life — Grown-Up Version
33 Expressions That Have Stood the Test of Time
Moral Character Matters
25 of Life’s Most Powerful Lessons
Critical Lessons That They Fail to Teach You in School

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