The Peyton Manning Personal Development Lesson!

The Peyton Manning Personal Development Lesson!Whether you’re an NFL fan or not, I spotted a great personal development lesson from Peyton Manning’s move to Denver, and it might not be what you thought…

As it happens, I *am* an NFL fan, I have been for many years since it first appeared on British TV screens back in 1984. March 2012 sees one of the biggest stars of the sport, Peyton Manning, effectively being dumped by his team.

After The Colts dumped him, there was a rush by several teams to get his signature, and it was the Denver Broncos that won the race.

Now, you might think that when talking about Peyton Manning and personal development, I’d be focusing on his work ethic, his not missing a single game for years prior to the 2011 season, or maybe his innovative way of playing his position.

These are all undoubtedly areas to look at and learn from, bit in fact the big lesson I spotted came from a comment by John Elway, Denver Broncos quarterback legend, and now part of the executive team at the club.

Elway said that the rest of the team were already better players since the signing, even though they hadn’t even met Manning yet!

On first reading that may sound laughable, like just so much sporting cliché, and while it could perhaps be classed as a touch clichéd, looking a bit closer at what Elway said can be instructive…

He said that the reason the other players were now better despite not having even met Manning, was expectation.

Manning is known as a perfectionist, with a set of expectations that he has for team mates. As the fulcrum of the team, and with being such an established star, what he says goes, so if he expects you to do something better than you currently are, you had better start improving really quickly or start looking for a new team.

One problem that Denver has had in recent years, and this is common amongst lots of NFL teams, is mistakes at critical moments, either due to bad technique or lack of concentration.

Manning will not tolerate either of those, and with players from outside wanting to join Denver now he is there, the pressure on the existing roster will increase.

So, how do you think the current players will look at their own performance going forward? Do you think they will want themselves to play better? Not only want, but *expect* themselves to play better?

Yes, they will.

And if self expectation goes up, bolstered by knowing they have a future hall of famer running the team, it’s likely that performance level will go up.

This can be taken off the sporting field and applied to your own life. Think of something that you know you could be doing better. Then imagine who would be the Peyton Manning in your situation – who would make you, force you, to improve.

Once you imagine that increase in expectation, turn it on yourself, and demand better of yourself as if that incoming presence was actually there. Expect better and act like it!

So, think about how you can apply this lesson to your own situation, and you might just see better results, even if like the rest of the Denver team, you’ve never met Peyton Manning!

By the way, this idea of self expectation is one I write about in my book ‘Transform Your Life in 21 Days!’ and also my free 8 step goal achievement formula!

‘Til Next Time,
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
P.S. You can read about the technique I use to make profit writing about sport in my guide Make Money From Sport!

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