The best thing I’ve read in some time was the advice Nick Saban, the winning college football coach in history, gave to Alabama’s basketball coach who kept getting … close. Almost there.
Alabama basketball kept getting upset, and the call went to Coach Saban. “What have we got to do to go all the way?”
The answer: “Don’t dwell on it. Focus on the next opportunity to come. Next, Next, Next.”
This is the best advice I can give to 90% of LinkedIn, to folks in tech who feel the ball hasn’t fully bounced their way. Sometimes, it’s even the best advice I can give to myself.
So many of us feel like we gave it all, but got laid off. Or that the VCs overfunded the company. Or that that CEO let us down. Or the plan was too hard. Or the founders misled on the financials. Or the cofounder that abandoned us. Or This. Or That.
And that dwelling on it kept Alabama, as good as they were, from getting into the Sweet 16.
It probably will do the same to you. A chip on your shoulder can be good, it’s motivating. But we all dwell on the losses, the misses, the lost opportunities too much. It’s a game yes, but it’s also about the game. If you’re good, just get back into it.
And if you did have one win in your career? “Avoid rat poison” Saban told them. And so when they finally made the Sweet 16, they celebrated. For 30 minutes. And then just got back to business.
