Lance’s 4 Success Factors

Brad Kearns book How Lance Does It explains what it takes to be a champion

Kearns book on cycling legend Lance Armstrong has something different to offer. At the very least, it offers positive reinforcement and ultimately, is a very motivating and fresh perspective.

Brad Kearns trained and raced with Lance when Armstrong was a promising triathlete, even before ihis transformation as Ubercyclist.

Kearns posits the following success factors:

Positive Attitude: By turning every negative (even something like cancer) into a positive, you create a positive result in a positive mainframe.
Clarity of Purpose: The difference between Lance and his competitors in the Tour de France was simple single-mindedness. Lance’s goal was concrete, and simple: Win the Tour. Coming second to Lance was the equivalent of losing. That represents a high standard, but the value of this commitment lies in its hard no-nonsense simplicity.

Specialized Intelligence: Competitive advantage often lies in this area, but perhaps this is the most difficult area to develop and more important, maintain an edge. Triathletes and cyclists invest a lot of energy and resources into using the lightest and most aerodynamic technology to get on top. By the same token, whoever you are and whatever your business investmenting time and thought into strategy and software can pay off huge dividends in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. Important to remember, before starting anything is to first ask: Why? And then decide How?

Pure Confidence: Belief is a great motivator, and belief tends to be bolstered by preparation. Preparation means many things: work, training, readiness, investigation, homework and groundwork. It’s all of these things of course.

Lance’s life is motivating because whether we are out of shape or depressed, we can always compare ourselves to Lance who had it all, seemed about to lose it all (to cancer) and then really came back, Living Strong, with his new lease on life. We also learn that it is the basics that count: love of sport, or love of work (but a basic love of life) that must underscore an sinpired and meaningful life.