Jason Gay is a sportswriter for the Wall Street Journal.  After the Super Bowl, he wrote, “Brady plays within his limits – he doesn’t try to exert his will on the game; he will take the incomplete pass and simply move on to the next play – and maybe that’s really his secret, not the protein shakes or deep-tissue massages.”   

Simply move on to the next play – what a statement.  It reminds me of my conversation with PROCO360 guest Avrum Emakis of CLMBR.  He said, 

“What I think is great about the TRUTH is that it always wins… It’s not about selling – it’s about sharing knowledge with people and letting them make a decision.” 

American football player Tom Brady for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL) takes part in a football training camp in Shanghai, China, 20 June 2017.

I told him his views are sort of like “Zen selling.”  Tom Brady is quoted as saying, “I’m pretty calm all the time,” so maybe Brady’s approach to playing quarterback is “Zen football.”  Most entrepreneurs are going a mile a minute, scrambling like some great quarterbacks do.  In a to-be-released PROCO360 episode with John Street, CEO of Pax8, John says that one way he’s matured in his leadership is that he’s thinking more and listening more.  Sure, it’s fun to watch Patrick Mahomes scramble around and he’s awesome – people love him.  Many entrepreneurs think scrambling is what’s expected and needed to succeed – and for sure, startups often need to scramble – that’s just the reality.  This comparison reminds me that staying thoughtful and focused, at least when on can, is a more mature way to win.