Success Is Your Only Option. Here's How to Find It. (Podcast) On this episode of The Capability Amplifier, former NFL All-Pro Bo Eason talks about finding motivation to be the best at what you do.
By Mike Koenigs Edited by Dan Bova
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NFL All-Pro, acclaimed Broadway playwright and performer, motivational speaker, leadership trainer and author … seems like impossible accomplishments for one man in one lifetime, right? Prepare to be impressed and inspired, meet Bo Eason!
I got to sit down with my friend, Bo, to discuss his first book, There's No Plan B for Your A-Game. In the book, Bo shares the secrets of his many successes and shows how anyone can be the best in the world at what they do: the best leader, the best business owner, the best athlete, the best artist, the best partner, the best parent…
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The title There's No Plan B for Your A-Game came from Bo's mom. When he and his brother were kids, they had big dreams. They wanted to be professional football players, but there were absolutely no pro athletes where they grew up. There was no one to look up to or to ask for advice. Parents of their friends would come over to try and talk his mom and dad into having a plan B for them so they weren't heartbroken when their dreams didn't come true. Bo's Mom would physically throw these people out of their house, and made sure that they were never to be heard from again. She told the boys, "You can have these dreams because there's just one option. Success."
Bo is an expert at reinventing himself. He's done it four times over his career, from NFL star to playwright and actor to motivational speaker and now, author. I think he gets better and better with every evolution. Hands down, he's the most amazing speaker I've ever seen. How did he do it in a world where many people stagnate when they reach a certain level?
Bo's simple declaration; "I want to be the best."
"If you're going to be the best at something, no matter what it is, then you've got to do one thing better than anybody else. And that thing is to improve. You've got to improve day in and day out and the only way to improve is to go beyond your current capacity. That requires being outside of your comfort zone. Even if you're great at what you do, you've got to get better if you're going to be the best. It's a constant, ongoing process. Never be quite comfortable."
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Most people think it's really hard to be the best but Bo says it's even harder to be "mediocre," because that's not in our DNA. "It's much easier to be the best. No one has ever uttered the sentence "I want to be an Olympic silver medalist.' Ever. Why? Because that's not how we're made. We're not made for silver medals ... we're made for gold. You don't win a silver medal, you lose the gold and enjoy the silver, which is pretty great … but it's not what you wanted. It is not why you signed up for the Olympics. We're made to be number one."
"When you're uncomfortable, when you're struggling, which is a biological necessity to be the best, you know you're on the right path. Most of us hate struggle but if you're cool with it and being outside your comfort zone…you're going to end up being the best in the world in your chosen field because no one else ventures there."
If you're ready to accelerate your "A-Game" capabilities and work beyond your current capacity then make sure you listen to the Capability Amplifier podcast episode with Bo. You're going to learn a whole lot about who you are and who you can be if you're willing to do the work.
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