Grow Your Comfort Zone Like Two of the Greatest Athletes of All Time

You can often find similar mentalities in great achievers.

Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky dominated their own sports not just in their eras, but in the history of their sports.

Here are some common mentalities between the two:

On Fear and Loss

“I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot… when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.”
- Michael Jordan

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
- Wayne Gretzky

Thinking about loss will taint your ideas, your perception.

Focus on the task at hand, and execute as often as you can.

On Hard Work

“The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it.”
- Wayne Gretzky

“I’m not out there sweating for three hours every day just to find out what it feels like to sweat.”
- Michael Jordan

Work is its own reward.

Focus on working hard is often the only way to achieve your end goals.

Its guaranteed that there will be pain – that some things won’t go right.

Over the long run, however, many things will

On Fun

“The only way a kid is going to practice is if it’s total fun for him… and it was for me.”
- Wayne Gretzky

“Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.”
- Michael Jordan

Enjoy what you’re doing – and make sure you’re doing what you’re enjoying

Then if you’re focused on the end goal, you can have fun out of the tough stuff.

After all, what are you in it for?

“I wasn’t naturally gifted in terms of size and speed; everything I did in hockey I worked for”
- Wayne Gretzky

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
- Michael Jordan

Dream big, and know what you want.

There will be many reasons why you’ll be told that you can’t do something – ignore them

On Procrastination and Roadblocks

“If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”
- Michael Jordan

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

Ask yourself if you’re getting hung up on the little things or the big ones

It’s easy to get sidetracked on off on a tangent that isn’t in line with what you really want – and that’s where too many people end up.

Focus on the long term goals, and ignore the short term distractions – they usually take care of themselves