7 Lessons from Wayne Gretzky

“Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.”

Lessons from Wayne Gretzky

# 1 — Be confident and learn from older players.

He joined a hockey team at the age of 9, even though all the other players were ten years old. He had an unshakable confidence and took advantage of playing and learning from older players in order to accelerate his learning curve. Even though they were stronger and faster, he was able to outsmart them by using his intelligence. He had this ability to predict on a very consistent basis where the puck is going to end up.

# 2 — When faced with negative experiences, try to turn them into positive ones.

Wayne Gretzky scored more than 1000 goals by the age of 13. That was an outstanding performance. However, the jealousy of other teammates and their parents was annoying. They all tried their best to bring Wayne’s self-confidence down. Being under that pressure made him and his family move to Toronto where he was still playing excellent ice hockey. Many people would have felt intimidated and maybe even given up, but that was not Wayne Gretzky’s case. He used his negative experiences and tried to push himself even harder instead of feeling “down”. He is one of those sportspeople who get motivated when obstacles arise. He did not allow external circumstances have an impact on his mood and performance, he turned it into motivation. It was this determination that led him to achieve his dream and become a record breaker in the NHL. When you are being hit with adversity, there are only two options: do you want to swim or do you want to sink? Needless to say, Wayne was surely keen to swim!

# 3 — In sports your speed and size doesn’t always matter.

Wayne Gretzky was not particularly fast or tall but as he outlines he wasn’t naturally gifted in terms of size and speed because everything he did in hockey he worked for, and that’s the way he will be as a coach.

# 4 — Be focused at all times, no matter what.

When Gretzky was on the ice, he was so focused that he did not allow anyone or anything to distract him during the game. He lived in the NOW. He considered hockey always as 90 % being mental and 10 % as being physical. He seemed to have this brilliant skill of reading the goalie, knowing exactly when the time comes to execute. He was very often able to know where the puck would land, but not just that he also figured out very quickly how to get there the fastest possible way.

# 5 — Find something that helps you to take off your mind.

Gretzky was known in the ice hockey industry, but few people know that he was also the co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He could often be seen enjoying a game sitting in the stadium whenever he had some free time. What we can learn from it is that a person should not just be 100 % focused on their most favourite sport but also pursue other activities that help them to keep their mind off and take a break from your job. No matter how much passion you have for your sport, diversify your interests and activities.

# 6 — Show humility and modesty.

In whatever team Wayne Gretzky was playing during his career, he was always either the captain or alternate captain. He was known as “The Great One”. When the Rangers selected a trio of superstars, he was not one of them wearing the “C” and the “A”. Instead of demanding from the management team to be the Captain, telling them that he would deserve it more, he declined with grace. He is still considered as the greatest hockey player of this world, but he did not wait for anyone to express their recognition or accolades. He focused on the game and put the team’s needs before his own.

# 7 — Taking calculated risks pays off.

Wayne Gretzky once said YOU MISS 100 % OF THE SHOTS YOU DON’T TAKE. He was a person who enjoyed taking calculated risks. He wasn’t perfect and surely did not always score, but he always had the motivation to shoot no matter what the outcome would be. If you never take any risks, you will never have the opportunity to succeed.