Sports & Gaming

Earning Respect From Your Peers

Lesson time 07:04 min

Accomplished players hold a unique position and have a responsibility to step up as leaders, but they should always make it a priority to earn the respect of their teammates.

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Topics include: Embracing the Leadership Role · Balance “Humble” and “Hungry”

Wayne Gretzky

Teaches the Athlete’s Mindset

NHL star Wayne Gretzky shares his journey and his approach to a winning mindset, from tapping into your true passion to committing to success every day.

Preview

[VIOLIN MUSIC PLAYS] - To get to a point where you earn the respect of your peers, not only the players you play with but the players you play against, is so important. And my dad worked for Bell Telephone for 35 years, and I don't think he ever missed a day's work. 8:00 to 5:00 every single day. And his theory always was that I have to go to work. I'm going to earn the respect of the people I'm working with at Bell Telephone. And sort of he drilled that in my head from a young age that nobody gives you respect. You have to go out there. And it takes time to earn respect, you don't earn it overnight. And so I always sort of live by that rule of thumb. I believe that's a whole way of life, not just in the sporting world, but it's in the family life. It's in your business. It's in your work. You earn respect whether it's your peers, your teammates, friends, family. There's no giving respect. You have to earn it. And when I went to LA, I had the same attitude. I had to be-- try to get to be the first guy on in practice. Practice hard every day. Make sure that every game that I played as hard as I could so that everyone would get that sense. And so, you earn that respect as an athlete. And the only difference was now instead of playing against guys in LA, I was playing with them. But playing with them, you still have to earn their respect as a teammate and as a player. And so that was my sole focus, especially early on in my first couple months when I played it for the LA Kings. As a professional athlete, there's either one of two ways you go. You get scared and nervous of the pressure of being a leader in your locker room, or you accept the responsibility and look at it as a challenge and something that is a lot of fun. And so for me and my life, I've always accepted that responsibility that I was going to be under the microscope and that I was going to be watched. It was really no different between Sault Ste. Marie Edmonton or Los Angeles Kings. That's a responsibility that I accepted from the time I was six years old. So I never looked at it any differently. Every game to me was the same in the sense that I was going to do the best I could that night. But I seemed to get more relaxed the bigger the game and the more excited I got to play in that particular game. When I was 10 years old and there was 1,200 people jammed into an arena that people were there to watch me do something unique. I understood at the age of 12 when 15,000 people were in an arena to watch me play peewee hockey. It didn't bother me. I accepted that responsibility. And I think as I got older because of what I went through at nine, 10, 12, 14, I didn't look at it as pressure. I didn't look at it as being under a microscope. I looked at it as, this is what I dreamed about my whole life. Playing game seven in the Stanley Cup Finals. Being on hockey night in Canada Coast to Coast. Having an opportunity to lift the Stanley Cup. So I always looke...

About the Instructor

Over his 21-year career, Wayne Gretzky not only rewrote the NHL record book, he also set himself apart as one of the most accomplished professional athletes of all time. Now “The Great One” shares the moments and mindset that made him successful so you can aim for greatness in your own life. Learn the power of an athlete’s mindset and tap into passion, motivation, and dedication. Get ready to take your biggest shot yet.

Featured MasterClass Instructor

Wayne Gretzky

NHL star Wayne Gretzky shares his journey and his approach to a winning mindset, from tapping into your true passion to committing to success every day.

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