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Career Lessons from Backup Players
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
No one wants to be seen by their organization as being second string or mediocre. For many athletes, that is how they are seen every day of their careers. They receive few accolades; the expectations for them are low and they receive few opportunities to change the mind of the people who are in charge. Despite that, many backups perform terrific services to their teams and sacrifice for their team and its success.
Here are a few things that we can learn from backups that can benefit many of us in our career:
1. Complaining doesn’t make things better.
James Michael McAdoo had a successful collegiate basketball career for the University of North Carolina yet he was undrafted by the NBA. He signed a free agent contract with the Golden State Warriors where he was on 2 championship teams. He was one of the first players at practice, sometimes arriving as much as two hours before the stars on the team. The enthusiasm and motivation that McAdoo provides to the rest of the team was invaluable and showed that no matter where you are in an organization, you matter. Complaining doesn’t change your circumstances. Action does. Attitude does. Giving more of himself helped him become a champion . . . twice.
