What “all-in” really means
Everybody knows that to succeed in sports, you need to be all-in. Many take that to simply mean training a lot. But there’s a whole lot more to it than that. To me, all-in means having the right mindset to succeed. If you have the right mindset, everything else will fall into place. Here are 12 things you should be aware of, in no particular order of importance.

1. An all-in mindset means saying no to a whole lot of things. Steve Jobs is famous for saying that true focus means saying no to good options. If you’ve decided to focus on something, you will say no to anything else that crops up along the way, even if they are very good opportunities. Why? Because you want to stay true to the mission you had set out to achieve. Remember, it’s easy to say no to bad options. You don’t want to do them in the first place. It’s much, much harder to say no to appealing options. But you have to be able to do it.

2. So, how do you say no to good opportunities that are very tempting and appealing? In a word: Discipline. Famed college football coach Nick Saban was fond of saying that discipline is doing what you’re supposed to do, when you’re supposed to do it, the way it’s supposed to get done. That means saying no to whatever would distract you from that. You cannot succeed in sports (or anything for that matter) without discipline.

3. Saying no to many things entails sacrifice. You have to accept that your social life will be impacted. While others are partying and having a good time, you have to go to practice. If you are competing at the highest level, you have to give up a lot of things. Not just hanging out with friends but even skipping family dinners, birthday parties and weddings.

4. You have to get comfortable with discomfort. Nobody grows within their own comfort zone. You have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone in order to progress and improve. This will be difficult because we are all creatures of habit. We like to stick with what we are familiar with. Anything unfamiliar is uncomfortable. But you have to get used to that, and get comfortable with discomfort.

5. You have to be a good training partner. Judo is an individual sport but you need a training partner to train. If you are selfish and only think about your own needs, pretty soon you will find there’s no one there for you when you need someone to train with. In contrast, if you are the type who will go out of their way to make sure your teammate has someone to train with, they are likely to reciprocate. This is the Golden Rule.

6. You have to love the process. Many people have the mistaken belief that you can hate the training but love the results. It doesn’t work that way. If you don’t enjoy what you do (or even hate it), you won’t last very long in it. You will drop out. But if you love the process, you will show up every day and train hard. Focus on the process and eventually, the results will come.  

7. When doing drills, aim to do them perfectly each time. You will not be able to do them perfectly in randori or competition. But in training, when your training partner is offering no resistance, you must do them absolutely correctly each time. If you do your drills sloppily or half-heartedly, that’s how you will perform those techniques in competition.

8. Don’t be frustrated, be fascinated. If your training partner is able to throw you about at will, it’s easy to get frustrated. But instead, become fascinated with how they are able to do what they do. You can’t do it (yet) but why can they? Become fascinated with that.

9. Whether you believe you can or you cannot do something, you are right. Henry Ford is supposed to have said that. And it brilliantly captures the essence of having the right mindset. If you think you can do something you might find out that you actually aren’t able to do it. It’s possible that it turns out that way. But if you think you cannot do something, you most definitely will not be able to do it.

10. Don’t say “I can’t do it”. Say, “I can’t do it yet”.  Everything is difficult at first. Every new technique you learn feels awkward. But you will eventually get it, if you stick with it. Always have the mindset: “I can eventually do whatever I set my heart to do.”

11. Never be late for training. Whenever you are late, you are telling others that their time is not important. It’s a sign you are not serious. And it’s rude behavior. Remember this concept: If you are not 15 minutes early, you are late.

12. Leave your ego at the door. When you are training, you cannot afford to be egotistical. This is especially true when it comes to randori. You have to take risks and try things. This will mean getting countered and thrown. If you are not willing to do that, you will never learn new techniques.