J.R. Smith went straight from high school to the NBA where he became a 2-time NBA champion. Leaving the NBA after 16 seasons, he enrolled at North Carolina AT&T and walked on the golf team. Below is a link to an interview with Smith. Listen to how:
- he became passionate about golf later in his professional basketball career.
- his growth mindset kicked in, not when the first shot he ever took was a perfect drive, but rather, 90 minutes later when he tried additional shots and couldn’t even hit the ball. That’s when he embraced the challenge and said, “I’ve got to get this. I can do this.” The challenge became like an addiction.
- Chris Paul, another NBA star, believed in Smith and encouraged him to follow his passion and play golf at the college level after his NBA career.
- he describes one of the characteristics of a person using their Growth Mindset; the vulnerability and willingness to be bad at something before one becomes good.
- he was realistic about his expectations and level of play. He set the bar low and just focused on qualifying for tournaments and not thinking he was going to win tournaments or be player of the year. When we are in our Growth Mindset, like J.R. Smith, we are very accurate in assessing our talents and abilities. When we use our Fixed Mindset, we almost always assess our talents and abilities incorrectly.
- he overcame the most insecure part of his life and developed a craving to learn.
There is a lot of Growth Mindset information to unpack in this 20-minute video. I know it’s long, however, if you can find the time, I believe you will find the interview informative, entertaining and inspirational:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R-dDW-Csmo