GAMER

Game On 

"It" is hard to define. But get to know enough people with "it" and you begin to see a pattern emerge.

I call people who have "it" gamers.

Earlier in my coaching career, I didn't bother to define what that meant. I just knew that some people had the ability to step up when it was time to step up. These are guys that other people want to be around. People just want to listen to them and be on their team.

Guys who have "it" share the same attributes as all the other people who have "it." When I realized that all these athletes have the same traits in common, I came up with the G.A.M.E.R. acronym.

People who have "it" are:

G: Goal Oriented

A: Accountable

M: Motivated

E: Exact

R: Resilient

Are you a G.A.M.E.R.? Let's break it down and find out.

G: Goal Oriented

You can't get to where you're going without knowing what the hell you want.

Guys who have "it" know what they want. They have goals, and this exudes from them in the form of confidence. They know where they're going, and they'll do what it takes to get there.

If you can't clearly define what your goals are when asked, then it's time you sit down and figure them out. A guy who knows his goals bleeds "it".

A: Accountable

People with "it" are accountable for their own actions. Whether you're an athlete, an entrepreneur, or just a guy aspiring to own a warehouse gym, if you have "it" then you don't blame other people. Period.

If these guys suck one day, then they're going to say, "I suck today." They don't make excuses. You'll never hear, "Oh, well, I didn't sleep good last night" or "My ride from school was late." They are accountable for themselves. Always.

These people know, intrinsically, that they're solely accountable for reaching their goals or not. If they screw up, they'll take responsibly and move on. No blame, no excuses

M: Motivated

Self-motivated, to be specific.

If you have "it" then you don't need anyone else to motivate you. You're not the guy that needs the pre-game pep talk.

E: Exact

Winners are exact. To get to a high level, you have to make sure you're doing certain things to get there. This is where a coach or mentor comes in to help mold you. Some guys have "it" but they need to be steered in the right direction.

If you want to be an NFL football player, you don't need to work on running a marathon, or even a mile. Don't focus your training on things that don't matter, things that don't carryover in your sport. You have to be precise and do exactly the things that will help you improve

R: Resilient

This may be the most important element. The first four things don't mean shit if you don't finish.

Men and women who have "it" go to the end. You can be goal-oriented, accountable, motivated, and doing exactly the right training, but if you quit when the going gets tough, then you never had "it" to begin with.

People with "it" lose games. People with "it" get injured too. The difference in them and others is that they don't shut down.

I've worked with countless athletes in a multitude of sports, and I can tell you that most people with "it" have a story. They come off like they've got the world by the balls, but talk to them and you'll learn they've been through rough times. They might have had family problems or gotten injured, but they stayed positive and were resilient enough to come through.

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