Giving a Sh!t is a Superpower!
Why everyone loved the 4 Nations Faceoff and Winners care more
"I would rather die of passion than of boredom." — Vincent van Gogh
Van Gogh’s words aren’t just about art, they are a philosophy for life. Passion is the fuel behind every great achievement. Yet, in contrast to Van Gogh’s belief, most people sleepwalk through life. Whether it’s our career, relationships or even leisure activities, the truth is we spend too much time going through the motions instead of giving it our all. You can blame it on laziness, competing priorities or a society that discourages exceptionalism, the net result is displays of passion are rare.
Can you think of anyone who did anything truly great dispassionately? Vincent van Gogh, Kobe Bryant and Steve Jobs were obsessed with their craft; this is why they accomplished incredible things. It came with a lot of discomfort and sacrifice but that’s why people who know nothing about art, basketball and technology know these names. We are drawn to people that go after their goals with every fiber of their being.
Nowhere was this more evident than in hockey’s 4 Nation Faceoff tournament. Players proud to represent their countries played their absolute hearts out. Their effort along with the political tensions culminated in the Canada - US finale drawing among the highest ratings for a non-Olympic hockey game ever. Many of the 16 million viewers were not regular hockey fans but they were fascinated to see 40 of the best players play like their lives were on the line.
This stands in contrast to what we normally see in pro sports and our daily lives. We encounter too many “quiet quitters”, people not invested in their craft or willing to put in above the minimum effort required. People will claim to be ambitious yet won’t do anything outside the strict confines of their job description (or go into an office when required). Seeing somebody passionate should be motivating but most people would rather dismiss this person as a workaholic or label them obsessed like it’s a bad thing.
This is the wrong reaction. This article is going to explain why simply caring will give you a massive advantage over most people, but why the very best are obsessed.
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Why people loved the Canada vs USA game
A short Intro to Hockey
As a Canadian I need to dedicate at least a few hundred words to how great this game was. Although this still relates to the topic of the article, if you really couldn’t care less about Sportsball, you can continue with the rest of the article below.
Hockey is a fast, physical game. NHL players can skate above 30KM per hour, and shoot pucks >100MPH. With people and pucks whizzing around at high speeds, players can’t afford to coast. If they don’t give their utmost effort on each shift, they can get seriously hurt or worse—cost their team a goal. This is a key aspect of the sport; hockey is very much a team game.
Don’t get me wrong, there are individual accolades but the culture of hockey is focused on winning and you can’t win without a great team performance. This is why it’s rare to see NHL players request trades from contending clubs whereas it happens fairly often in the NBA1. There is a lot of parity in the NHL, which means to make the playoffs, every game matters so players can’t have off nights. Once you get to the playoffs, goals are hard to come by, making every shift even more crucial.
Hockey players must play hard in a regular game but once the stakes get raised in a playoff or international hockey atmosphere, it takes things to a whole other level. Experienced hockey fans were not surprised the players were amped up for the matchup between Canada and the US. Even if this was effectively an exhibition tournament without any money or meaningful implications, there was something greater on the line: Pride.
It’s been over a decade since NHL players participated in the Winter Olympics, meaning a whole generation of players have never represented their country in a best on best tournament. This was the greatest team the US has ever assembled, and they were hungry to beat Canada to avenge previous Olympic losses. Meanwhile hockey is ingrained into the Canadian identity; losing is unacceptable. Players from both squads were grateful to be there and showed it with authentic raw emotion each shift. The fans fed off this energy, making the Bell Center and TD Garden loud and exciting atmospheres, and can’t miss entertainment for viewers at home.
As incredible as the game was, the political tensions clearly contributed to the event. President Trump referring to Canada as the 51st state has not been well received north of the border. While hockey players rarely involve themselves in geopolitical matters, you can tell the attendance of Prime Minister Trudeau and President Trump speaking to team USA before the final heightened the stakes. Logically everyone knew it was an exhibition game, but there was a sense the game represented something much more. The American players were trying to prove they had caught up to Canada as a hockey nation. The Canadian players were not only trying to validate their status as the best hockey playing country, but no matter the rhetoric, Canada would never be part of the United States of America. This game was a battle for the soul of a nation. It was bigger than hockey, therefore the players cared like their life depended on it, which is why spectators were as equally invested.
This is because only the obsessed are worthy of our admiration.
The Obsessed Eat The Apathetic
"If you really want to be great at something, you have to truly care about it. If you want to be great in a particular area, you have to obsess over it." — Kobe Bryant
Most people operate at 40% capacity. Navy SEALs call it The 40% Rule. When you think you’re spent, you actually have more in the tank. Realistically, 40% is probably low; if somebody is giving up that early I doubt this article or any motivational video will ever get them up to snuff. When I was a trainer, if I saw a client was about to hit a wall, I would start counting down an extra X seconds or Y reps, which would easily give them an extra 10-30% every time (seriously!).
Whether you agree with the SEALs ratio or not, people can push themselves much further than they think. They just need the proper motivation to go beyond their comfort zone. The problem is, most don’t. Instead of trying to reach the summit of greatness, they prefer to stay in the valley of mediocrity. The longer you stay in the valley of mediocrity, the harder it is to climb out of it. If you are serious about being ambitious, you need to be willing to pay the price: That cost is obsession.
If you want to see what obsession looks like, here are the final 3 minutes of Kobe Bryant’s career. In a meaningless game, Kobe scored 60 points and willed the Lakers to a victory, they had no business winning. He could barely stand by the end yet losing was not an option. You don’t need to understand basketball to understand the weight of the moment. Just look at the Staples center crowd. They love Kobe because he gave it his all, his whole career.
I hate to burst your bubble: You are not Will Hunting, or any other Matt Damon character (sorry!). Talent alone won’t get you near the top in a competitive field. Staying in your comfort zone will not create the needed separation from the pack. This is why you rarely see the most naturally gifted person rise to the top unless they have an elite work ethic or dedication. Know many part-time World Champions?
Most people reading this don’t want to be the best in the world, and that’s okay. It doesn’t mean you lack ambition. To reach the very top of ultra competitive endeavors, you’ll need to make certain sacrifices, that might not be worth it in the end. You don’t need to be the best, but you should aim for greatness. Contrary to the great Ricky Bobby, if you’re not first, you are NOT last.
You can easily be 3 sigma greater than the average person, just by being emotionally invested. You don’t need to be a workaholic or dedicate every waking moment to your mission, but you need to care. You need to be invested in the outcome. You need to be able to look yourself in the mirror and say you gave it your best shot. This means when you are on, you are completely focused on your task. Not just going through the motions but elevating your performance— going beyond what everyone else is doing. This might mean putting in longer hours, pushing yourself harder when needed. This should sound very obvious but you would be surprised by the number of people that simply don’t care.
Have you ever felt subdued or sabotaged by a colleague, customer or service provider unwilling to meet your effort halfway? If you are an ambitious, motivated person with agency, this probably happens all the time—or you’re not pushing hard enough. Hard working people who care, let’s call them the obsessed, make good things happen but a byproduct is it creates more work for the people around them. The obsessed push their organizations forward. Others either step up or try to drag them down. I previously explained how bureaucratic institutions are designed to stifle these kinds of people, eventually the obsessed all leave, leaving only people who are not invested. This is an example of the apathetic successfully stifling the obsessed.
These bureaucratic organizations and apathetic employees might have successfully upended the obsessed, but in doing so they are only hastening their own demise. Jeff Bezos famously categorized companies into two categories: Day 1 and Day 2. What separates the two is the mindset that permits some innovative companies to endure versus those doomed to decline. A Day 1 company operates with the urgency, agility, and customer obsession of a startup, constantly adapting to change, embracing new trends, and making high-velocity decisions. In contrast, a Day 2 company becomes stagnant, bureaucratic, and overly focused on internal processes, leading to irrelevance and eventual failure.
Day 1 companies will naturally be filled with obsessed employees through the organization. The high sense of urgency, volatility and limited bureaucracy make it difficult for lazy or uninvested employees to want to stick around. Once they see they can’t slow everybody else down, they will need to decide whether get on board or get off. If leadership is good at their job, they will know how to properly motivate people with the mission, important responsibilities, agency and compensation that makes people believe this hard work and obsession are worthwhile. When a company finds an obsessed employee, they should do everything possible not to stifle or lose them. If you’re one of these workers and your environment is filled with many other obsessed individuals, you should not take this for granted; not all companies are like this.
Do you want to be one of these obsessed employees at a Day 1 company? If so the bar is incredibly low. Most people are coasting, hoping to blend in. If you simply give a sh!t and consistently execute, you will dominate 90% of the competition.
If you want to stand out, you don’t need to be the smartest or most talented person in the room. You just need to care more. To push past discomfort when others stop. To be the one who gives a damn when everyone else is sleepwalking through life.
So, ask yourself: Are you coasting, or are you committed? Are you comfortable, or are you chasing something bigger? If you want to be exceptional, there’s only one choice—care more than anyone else is willing to. If you don’t wake up most mornings ready to run through a wall, you might need to look for something that does it for you.
The obsessed don’t just succeed. They define the game.
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I’m not counting instances where a team doesn’t have the salary cap space to keep a player or they simply disagree on a new contract. The only examples from hockey that immediately come to mind when a player asked for a trade from a contending team is Vladimir Tarasenko and Jacob Trouba that asked out for reasons unrelated to their salary. In the NBA Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis & Kawhi Leonard all requested trades from contending teams for various reasons. Some of these players asked out multiple times.
Love love love. It’s incumbent to put yourself around people who care — people who don’t will put an absolute drain on your soul.
The tyranny of the apathetic has sent many a good team and company into a death spiral. Apathy is like cancer: it needs to be identified, cut out, and then monitored to make sure it doesn't return.