5 Valuable lessons to learn from Lionel Messi

5 Valuable Life Lessons to Learn From Lionel Messi

Football is not a subject I am an expert at, by a long stretch. However, I do really enjoy watching the World Cup and I particularly love how it brings people together and creates a sense of community. I love being able to walk into a pub and start conversation with a random stranger, simply because we are both watching the game - it makes it easy to break the ice. 

Tonight, me and my mum went to our local pub to watch the World Cup Final, which turned out to be an incredibly fun and intense game to watch. I was pleased to see Argentina win, in particular because of their star player, Lionel Messi. 

I genuinely don't know much about this man, other than the fact that he has been a professional footballer for almost 2 decades. After the match, I thought I'd do some Googling on his career and history, and how he has become arguably one of the greatest football players of all time. I found some really interesting articles and other bits of content, so I thought I'd share the ones that stood out, which we can all apply to our own lives.

1. Success takes time

The reason the majority of people do not achieve what they desire is not because they are not capable, but rather, because they give up way too soon. Getting to the point of being successful, regardless of what you do, takes time, effort and consistency. Overnight results do not exist. However, success is on the other side of continued effort, and by continuing on that journey, the rewards will eventually come. 

Messi started playing football in a professional capacity in 2003 - therefore it has taken him pretty much 20 years to get to the point where he has won the World Cup - consistency and time are key.

2. Improvement is Always Possible

As humans, we always have the capacity to improve and better ourselves. This should be balanced with enjoying where we are now, and celebrating how far we've come. Humans are designed to want to continually grow and progress. This is why when we don't have a purpose, we don't feel good, our mental health can suffer, and we feel little joy. 

One of Messi's quotes states: 'The day you think there are no improvements to be made is a sad one for any player.' Therefore, commit to making small but consistent progress on a daily basis, which will compound over time to bring you success. 

3. Don't forget what is important to you

This one may seem contradictory to the previous two statements. However, when chasing our dreams, it is really crucial to keep an eye on what we truly want out of life and what is important to us. This way, we keep a good balance between pursuing our purpose and goals, and living in the present with gratitude for all that we have. 

4. Learn to accept failure

I read a book recently which quoted: 'YES lives in the land of NO'. This quote really resonated with me - how many times do we feel defeated or give up because we get rejected, we get a no, we lose a game, we stop a project, we 'fail' at something. Failure is the natural progression towards success. If you watch a small child learning to walk, you will see that the way they achieve this is by failing hundreds of times. They fall over time and time again, until they gradually master the art of standing on their own two feet and taking steps forward. In society, we are wrongly taught to avoid failure - therefore many people don't even attempt to do new things or things outside their comfort zone. Actually, failing IS the way to move forward. By failing we learn what to do differently next time, what we don't like, what we do like, what can be improved, and so on. Don't be afraid of failure - learn to embrace it. By failing lots, you will eventually succeed. 

5. Learn to enjoy the 'boring' things that must be done

The overly positive self-development world sometimes tries to send a message that if you love what you do 'you will never work a day in your life'. I don't agree with this. I think its crucially important to find a career or purpose that you love, that inspires you, that gives you meaning, and that you want to work on for a long time. These are key qualities. Ideally you will be passionate about the thing that you choose to do. However, with just about anything we do, there are day-to-day things that need to be done that are not necessarily super fun and/or enjoyable. For instance, a famous singer will have to spend hours and hours rehearsing their songs again and again, along with dance routines and other performance tasks, in order to get ready for a single concert. This can be tedious work, requires a lot of repetition, and might mean they have to temporarily sacrifice time that could be spent doing something more fun or interesting.

Same with our Messi example. Messi has spent all of his life playing and practising football consistently almost on a daily basis. For the 1% that we see - him in all his glory playing big matches with big teams, there is that 99% of behind the scenes work where he is getting up early to train, practising repetitive drills, doing rehab after injuries, training in the rain, and basically putting in hours upon hours of consistent work in order to become as good as he is. Does he always enjoy it? no, however, by keeping his mind on the big WHY (his purpose, his reason, his ultimate goal) he is able to focus and keep the consistency of his training, for decades. 

So, regardless of what we do, there will be tasks and jobs that we may not enjoy as much - this is where being goal-orientated and having a big WHY will keep us going, when it gets tough, boring or tiring. 

Learn to be like Messi

Although football is not a particular passion of mine, I do like to learn from those people who stand out in their field - whether it is sport, business, arts, it doesn't matter - we can always learn something valuable from those who have risen to greatness, and see what we can apply to our own lives. 

Today we looked at some of the habits and values that have helped Messi become one of the best football players of all time. Who do you admire? what valuable lessons can you learn from their story, persistence, mistakes, and ultimate rise to success?

Wishing you a pleasant week ahead

Marcela Aguirre

Coach, Doctor, Creative Entrepreneur