35 Lessons For Anyone Training Elite Pastors, Athletes Or Business Leaders

I work with pastors for a living.  As part of my personal growth and continual desire to get better as a coach, I recently came across a resource which has helped me tremendously.

You may not know the name Idan Ravin but the elite players of the NBA sure do.  In fact, they have him on speed dial.  Ravin, a former lawyer, is a personal skills coach for ultra-talented players like LeBron James, Chris Paul, Carmello Anthony, Kevin Durant and many others.

In his book, The Hoops Whisperer: On The Court And Inside The Heads Of Basketball Best Players, Ravin discusses his training techniques and approach.  As I read his book I realized how the principles are directly applicable to my work in serving high-profile pastors.  If you are involved in coaching pastors, athletes, or business leaders, this book is a must-have resource.  You can order your copy by clicking on the image or HERE.

To demonstrate my point, the following are 35 Lessons For Anyone Training Elite Pastors, Athletes Or Business Leaders taken directly from Ravin’s incredible book:

1. You can’t be weeded to a script when working with superstars.  Sensitivity to their rhythms is important.
2. Tone and privacy matters a lot.
3. With each accomplishment, superstars step closer to the clouds and farther from the ground, which means when they fail at anything, even briefly, they tumble farther, faster, and harder.
4. The gym is a place of humility.
5. Vying for their affection ensures immediate closure of the relationship.  Trust is built over time.
6. Create a space that’s your’s, where you dictate the parameters.
7. Repetition must be done in a proper form.  A high-stress task must be done with high intensity and sensory overload.
8. They turn to you for what you know, not for what you don’t.
9. Many are “plus-one” learners.  They will master a drill after one practice round and immediately integrate the drill to game situations and perform at game-speed.
10. Happiness on the court softens happiness off the court.
11. Never take an aggressive tone because of how poorly I respond to sarcasm and raised voices.
12. High-profile athletes are often wary of forging new relationships because they assume outsiders want a slice of their magic.  Relationships need to grow patiently and organically.
13. Chase personal goals during personal workouts.  Chase team goals during the times with the team.
14. Ultra-successful people resent the lazy.  They take bread off their tables.
15. High-profile athlete buzzwords – private, secure, and exclusive.
16. They enjoy venues that let them rub elbows with those who have more money than they do and want nothing in return.
17. Some days they just don’t have it.
18. Being overwhelmed is part of the learning process.  It helps tone down arrogance and highlights the actual distance between good and great.
19. Every NBA player is talented.  Do you want to be great?
20. As their capacity expands, so does their capacity for learning.
21. They recognize fatigue is only temporary and directly related to their improvement.  That’s when the real workout begins.
22. Training has to have a purpose.  They don’t run just to run.
23. Tough love is insane.  The best results come when an athlete is calm.
24. I work best with them I see the world through their eyes.  They are smart and speak their own language.  It’s my job to understand them, not them understand me.
25. Keep workouts focused, tight, and with minimal interruptions.
26. High-profile athletes are CEOs of their world.  You have to adapt to their clock.
27. She played the game.  She deserved all the glory.
28. The super-famous stay among their own.
29. It’s possible to change a player’s behavior and patterns of movement over time though careful, repeated instruction – but it can happen faster by putting him in an environment that magnifies his weaknesses and forces him to adapt.  These are smart, off-the-charts competitive guys, and when they have to, they’ll find a way to become comfortable with the uncomfortable.
30. Famous people can spot awe quickly and it marks you for manipulation.
31. Don’t overload talented people with detail.  Pro athletes have a short attention span and demand results.  It’s better to show than tell.
32. use your first (coaching) session to diagnose.
33. Great players are sensitive to their engines, highly aware of their bodies and thresholds.
34. Hard work is something every successful person does.  But Kobe’s effort combined with his intensity, attention, talent, diligence, consistency, passion, commitment, mental stamina, and killer instinct was astounding.
35. Superstars live in a world of consumption and they can quickly dispose of what they consume.

Once again, this book is an incredible resource that has helped me as a personal leadership coach.  I recommend everyone picks up this book.  You can do so HERE.

My book Timeless: 10 Enduring Practices Of Apex Leaders is available for purchase.  If you have ever wanted to become the leader God created you to be, this book is for you!  By combining leadership lessons from biblical heroes like Jesus, Daniel and Joseph, along with modern day leaders like Bill Gates, Nick Saban, Kobe Bryant and multiple pastors, Timeless will equip and inspire you.  This book is not to be read alone.  Discussion questions are included in each chapter allowing you to develop those in your circle of influence.  Click HERE or on the image provided and order your copies TODAY.