Sometimes in the world we are in it is so easy to get caught up in the buzz, in the GOATS in the FOMO moments that we miss some of the little things that those who are successful do to achieve their best.
Case in point…a blade of grass. As I was reading Lars Anderson’s book “A Season In The Sun,” about the championship season of Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I was struck by some of the little things the future Hall of Fame quarterback did or noticed as he got to game day. One was his obsession with the way the wind was blowing at ground level before he took the field. Did he consult a weather app or check with a team meteorologist? Nope. He pulled blades of grass and tossed them in the air to see which way they went.
Maybe it was just another Brady quirk right? His attention to gaining an edge is maniacal in many ways, and its why he is after all…Tom Brady. But then last week I was watching “Hard Knocks” on HBO, following the preseason of the New York Jets. There was Aaron Rodgers…pulling out and flipping some blades of grass into the air for the exact same reason. Now whether it is common but little known practice, a shared thought somewhere along the way, or a superstition, who knows.
But if that small attention to detail is good enough for Rodgers and Brady, and it gives them the confidence to do what they do, either mentally or physically, then it should serve as a great reminder of how important it is to always look left and right and make sure that the little tings are absorbed into the big picture.
By the way, with Rodgers now leaving State Farm, maybe there is a Scott’s Turfbuilder promo sitting out there as he tosses the blades into the air.
We never know sometimes which way the wind will blow, but it is good to take note.
Little things matter.
