You're Not Going To Fluke Success

ST vs RCT 2012 12 Jonny Wilkinson

World Cup-winning former England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson retired from rugby at the end of the 2013-14 season.

I remember sitting on the edge of my seat watching the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final against Australia. England won thanks to a drop kick by Wilkinson just 26 seconds before the end of the match. He was a national hero.

All Black Dan Carter is probably the best fly-half in the world right now. He says he learned a lot from from Wilkinson. He says...

What Jonny Wilkinson has taught me most is that you're not going to fluke success

Wilkinson was one of the hardest working men in rugby. He trained longer and harder than anyone else. His famous kick was practiced day in day out year after year after year. Sure he had talent, sure he had ability. What set him apart was hard work.

This determination, application, could be seen from an early age. His old schoolmaster, Steve Bates said of him,

"Jonny had an awful lot of determination and dedication, he liked to do things properly. It was all pretty exceptional for a schoolboy in those days."

There's a lesson there for all of us. Nothing comes easy in life. Hard work is hard. It's called work for a reason. It requires mental strength to keep going when others give up.

Determination, grit, application - whatever you call it - that's not a fluke, that's entirely within our control.

Behind the big success stories, behind the big exits, behind the startups that become household names, behind all of this - there's an awful lot of hard work.

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