Odell Beckham Jr. has ascended to superstardom in the NFL faster than anyone I can remember, but there is good reason for it. At the end of the day, it’s okay to make spectacular plays, but like Eli Manning said about Odell, “That’s not why he’s a tremendous receiver.”
Certainly that’s something to keep in mind when you talk about what it takes to be a pro—at anything you do in life. I asked Eli about his assessment of Odell’s performance and asked Odell about where his “total pro” mentality comes from.
With that, here are three tips from Odell Beckham Jr.’s early career performance to model the way you carry yourself in life.
"@OBJ_3 makes spectacular plays, but that's not why he's a tremendous receiver." -Eli Manning https://t.co/XzCNI9NvTY
— Steiner Sports (@steinersports) December 5, 2015
Play at your “Game Speed.”
People talk about the differences between pace of play in practices and in games. With Odell, there’s only an ON/OFF switch. In life, if you’re not preparing every day to be at your peak, you’re going to falter when “your moment” actually comes.
Why does Odell make all of his spectacular plays? Because every run, cut, jump and catch has already happened on the practice field.
Want to ace a test? Land that new job? Sign a new client? Prepare yourself to win the day the day before.
There is no such thing as a “Big Game.”
You never know when this game is going to be your last one, so you have to go out on your field and cherish every moment.
Here’s something to do: write down on a piece of paper a list everything you did yesterday, leaving some blank lines in between each item. When you’re done, for each thing write down what you could have done better.
This little “Monday Morning Quarterback” exercise should show you why it’s important to rid yourself of regret and always be at your best.
Don’t let a day go by without feeling like you got better.
If there’s one thing that you should always keep in mind, it’s that your success will be dictated by what you do when no one is watching. Odell has it—that stone-cold mentality that drives him to outperform his competition on the football field.
Translation for us non-superstar all-world freak-of-nature athletes? That drive and determination is what keeps you studying for that test an extra hour, making those extra 10 calls on a slow sales day, driving out to a potential client that’s two hours away, etc. The point is that there is no stopping a good work ethic because with a good work ethic you will be able to learn more each day, sell more each day, be a better husband or wife, father or mother, brother or sister each day…and it will give you all the right tools to find success.
