Today’s Chapter is based on the book “The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football” by Bill Belichick.
Bill Belichick is an American football coach widely regarded as one of the greatest in NFL history. He holds the record for the most Super Bowl wins by a head coach with six championships, all won with the New England Patriots. Belichick's coaching career spans several decades, marked by his strategic expertise and leadership that led the Patriots to become a dominant NFL dynasty from 2001 to 2019.
Here’s what I learned:
Build Good Habits
“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.”
— James Clear
Bill Belichick’s illustrious career as an NFL coach is a testament to the transformative power of a well-defined process. Throughout his memoir, Belichick emphasizes that success is not a fleeting moment of brilliance but the result of meticulous preparation and unwavering commitment to great habits. This philosophy underscores the idea that victories, especially the monumental ones like winning the Super Bowl are built on the foundation of small, deliberate actions taken consistently over time.
In fact, one of the core tenets of Belichick’s approach is the focus on mastering a process and building good habits rather than obsessing over outcomes. As such, winning should not be considered a goal, but simply as a process. He explains that “To reach your ultimate goal, you cannot try to master a result. You must master a process. A good process results in good habits. Consistent good habits result in dependability. The goal is to have a good, consistent process—and good results will follow. Then, winning becomes a practice. And finally, a habit. In other words, when we prepare to win, we prepare to win all the time.”
“You cannot think of big tests and triumphs as 'final' in any respect. If you think about winning as something that starts and stops, something that can be turned on or off, or as something that can be 'ramped up' when convenient, then you will never be ready to implement a true sustainable winning program. There are no end points in winning, period."
— Bill Belichick
Furthermore, Belichick explains that great habits and process are built through preparation. He mentions that “As a football coach, for every triumphant moment in the swirling confetti, there are ten thousand moments of quiet preparation. Big moments are won by winning all the small moments that come before them. And they’re not all fun. Learn to embrace this kind of tedious detail work and you will be successful in your job, which will eventually lead to other opportunities and more responsibility.” This is a reminder that the willingness to embrace the mundane is what separates the great from the good. For Belichick, those countless hours of film study, practice drills, and strategy sessions were not just tasks—they were investments in future success.
Finally, Belichick stresses the need to eliminate any distractions and to avoid wasting time and energy on things that are not essential in achieving success. This is a reminder that we need to be 100% focused in order to succeed. As he advises, “Building a good process starts with identifying and understanding what is most important to success. Make sure to prioritize the major points for a successful process, and don’t waste time and energy on stuff that doesn’t really move the needle. A successful process depends on ignoring the noise.” It is primordial, according to Belichick, to create an environment where every action we take are aligned with the ultimate goal of winning.
"Fundamentally, your process for getting to the big moment is the process that is most likely to win the day. Don’t get distracted by all the other stuff."
— Bill Belichick
This reminds me of one of Nick Saban’s central beliefs that success is rooted in the process rather than in the outcome. Saban mentions that focusing on the daily actions and steps necessary to achieve goals leads to greater success. As he explains, "In my three decades of coaching, I’ve learned that the process is much more important than the result.”
As a matter of fact, for Saban, success is not about chasing trophies or titles; it’s about committing to and perfecting the daily grind that leads to greatness. He truly believed that results are a natural by-product of the process, not the ultimate goal. To reflect this idea, Saban mentions that the LSU’s 2003 National Champions did not become champions on that day, but started after a devastating loss to Arkansas. As he explained, "Never again would we squander a lead; never again would we be outplayed in the fourth quarter; never again would we be outworked any day of the year. It was then that the championship team was born."
“The win over Oklahoma was simply part of a process that had started four hundred days before, after the loss to Arkansas. It included off-season conditioning, summer workouts, long days in preseason practice, a grueling season, and a long bowl game preparation. Every second of that process led us to the championship.”
— Nick Saban
Saban expected a level of commitment to excellence from his players. He constantly reminded his team to avoid being satisfied by success and to focus on the present. Saban once said, "Every time you think of winning the national championship—stop. Instead, think of what you have to do to dominate your opponent for sixty minutes." Similarly, Saban warned his team to maintain focus on the process regardless of who they were playing against; he mentions, "We try to never look at the schedule or think about it in terms of non-conference, conference, and postseason games. After all, the opponent should never determine your level of competitive spirit."
This is also a reminder to avoid being complacent even in the fact of success. Complacency is the enemy of progress, and a champion's mindset demands a constant striving for perfection. Embrace every challenge, learn from every setback, and never be satisfied with simply being good enough.
“We didn’t talk as a team or as a staff about championships. We simply focused on the process of becoming champions. And that meant approaching every day with the focus and attitude we had sustained for the previous year.”
— Nick Saban
Love What You Do
“I love every day. I mean, I tap dance in here and work with nothing but people I like. There is no job in the world that is more fun than running Berkshire, and I count myself lucky to be where I am.”
— Warren Buffett
Bill Belichick, in order to build great football teams, had a great approach in evaluating players. While talent is essential, he prioritized intangible qualities such as work ethic, intelligence and adaptability. However, above all, Belichick believed that the key quality to become successful in the NFL is a genuine passion for the game. As such, the first question he asks himself when evaluating a player is: “Does the player in question actually love football?”
"There’s a question that comes up a lot in the player scouting and evaluation process. I doubt that the league would be too excited about it being made public, but I’m going to do it anyway. It’s simple but significant: Does the player in question actually love football? Taking talent out of the equation, this simple question is probably the most important part of evaluating a player to see if he is a good fit on our teams."
— Bill Belichick
The main reason why this quality is so important is the fact that these players are self-motivated to consistently practice and improve. They do not need constant external motivation; their internal drive fuels their commitment to practice and to become the best. This is crucial as a football coach cannot individually motivate dozens of people on a daily basis.
As Belichick explains, "'Love of the game' players don’t need your help to get up for a game. They probably don’t need your help to get up for practice. Frankly, as a head coach, I cannot possibly go around and individually motivate seventy players, fifteen coaches, and twenty members of support staff every day. I need to bring in people who want to come in and work because they want to be great, and to contribute to a great team“
In contrast, talented players without love for the game are problematic to winning according to Belichick. At the NFL level, he mentions that “Talent at this level is a given. But talent can coast. Talent alone doesn’t sleep on the office couch so there’s no wasted time in the morning before watching more film. Talent doesn’t volunteer to catch balls from a fifth-string QB who wants a few more reps in September to try out some new footwork. Talent complains about hotel accommodations. Talent thinks they know better. People who love the game just want to win the game. And they will, no matter what it takes. They know their essential value is being part of an overall unit and being someone who can put work into any system."
"Ultimately there is nothing that maximizes talent more than love for the game. An individual’s contribution to a win starts with caring more than the other guy."
— Bill Belichick
A great example of a player who loved the game was Julian Edelman. He did not start his career as a star, but he outworked his teammates and opponents on and off the field and achieved success. As a a matter of fact, when he was drafted, Edelman was a quarterback that never played as a receiver before, but after a few years in the NFL, he became a terrific receiver and a terrific receiver and a key piece to the New England Patriots’ success during the Bill Belichick era, through the principle of “No Days Off”.
Belichick once said on Edelman: “Talk about embracing change and being comfortable being uncomfortable, Julian was Exhibit A. If we had gone strictly by the stats and paperwork, he might never have been a Patriot. But our evaluation process revealed a determination to learn, a commitment to personal self-betterment, an intense competitiveness (often against himself), a toughness to persevere through countless injuries and setbacks, and, obviously, an exemplary athletic ability. Those things brought Julian to our team, and down into that alley.
This reminds me of the concept of specific knowledge from Naval Ravikant, who mentioned that that the real path to wealth is not just acquiring generic knowledge or skills, but rather honing in on the unique talents and passions that you can turn into valuable, scalable offerings.
As Naval puts it,"If you're looking toward the long-term goal of getting wealthy, you should ask yourself, 'Is this authentic to me? Is it myself that I am projecting?' And then, 'Am I productizing it? Am I scaling it? Am I scaling with labor or with capital or with code or with media?' So it's a very handy, simple mnemonic." The key is finding what is genuinely meaningful and valuable to you, and then figuring out how to transform that into a scalable business or wealth-generating asset.
Naval Ravikant cautions against simply trying to imitate or copy what others are doing successfully. This is because everyone’s specific knowledge is unique to him or her:
"The specific knowledge is sort of this weird combination of unique traits from your DNA, your unique upbringing, and your response to it. It's almost baked into your personality and your identity. Then you can hone it. No one can compete with you on being you."
— Naval Ravikant
This perspective encourages individuals to embrace their uniqueness and leverage their personal experiences and innate talents. Instead of trying to fit into predefined roles or following conventional career paths, Ravikant suggests that true success comes from identifying and developing one's unique abilities.
As a matter of fact, Ravikant believes that the pursuit of specific knowledge is closely tied to genuine curiosity and passion. He explains that following one's authentic interests is more likely to lead to the development of valuable specific knowledge than chasing after the latest trends or hot job markets.
"Specific knowledge is found much more by pursuing your innate talents, your genuine curiosity, and your passion. It's not by going to school for whatever is the hottest job; it's not by going into whatever field investors say is the hottest."
— Naval Ravikant
Disclipine is Destiny
“Doing boring things without getting bored is a competitive advantage.“
— Shane Parrish
Bill Belichick was a believer that discipline was what distinguished winners from losers and became a key aspect of his coaching philosophy. He truly believed that “discipline on the football field correlated to winning.”
As a matter of fact, he explains that “Discipline alone can’t win championships, but it can turn elite talent into elite performance. It can be the difference between being in the starting lineup and sitting on the bench. Discipline shows up. Discipline is ready to go. Disciplined players don’t pull their hamstrings because they are dehydrated from drinking at the bar or club. Disciplined workers don’t fall asleep in meetings because they stayed up all night playing Capture the Flag on their Sony War Hero in their hotel room. Discipline comes in numerous forms. Great players will check every box: discipline to train, to practice, to study, and to prepare. Discipline is doing the right thing every time, and not just when someone is watching. Do you put the shopping cart back in the stall? Do you do it even if you’re the last one in the parking lot?”
Similarly, Belichick understood that discipline was also a prerequisite for him to succeed as a coach. He asserts that his job as a head coach was to give the players the best chance to win through preparation. He mentions that “I have to provide them with a game plan and prepare them for their opponent. In the NFL, where the playing field is level, our game plans and preparation matter a lot, but ultimately the players have to go on the field and make the plays to win the game. Good players cannot overcome bad coaching. If I do not do my job, they cannot do theirs.”
By holding himself to such a high standard of discipline, Belichick’s accountability set the tone for the entire organization.
“Ultimately, my NFL career was centered on one thing, and only one thing: What can I do to help our team win? First, anything that involved helping the team win was important, and other than family and academics, most everything that didn’t relate to winning took a back seat. Second, hard work and conditioning were paramount—outworking your competition was absolutely a pillar of both programs. Third, discipline on the football field correlated to winning. In other words: don’t beat yourself. Finally, everybody was replaceable. Anybody could be injured, so everyone had to be ready to do their job.”
— Bill Belichick
This reminds me of what we have learned from Ted Williams in his book “The Science of Hitting”. One of the most fundamental lessons Ted Williams imparts in his book is the importance of discipline and selectiveness. As a hitter, Williams was known for his exceptional ability to wait for the right pitch, the one in his "happy zone" where he could maximize his chances of success. He believed that even the greatest hitters couldn’t be successful if they swung at bad pitches.
As a matter of fact, Williams notes that “a good hitter can hit a pitch that is over the plate three times better than a great hitter with a questionable ball in a tough spot. Pitchers still make enough mistakes to give you some in your happy zone. But the greatest hitter living can’t hit bad balls good."
“The first rule in the book... is to get a good ball to hit.”
— Ted Williams
Similarly, this concept of waiting for the right pitch is directly applicable to investing. In the world of finance, there are countless opportunities to invest, but not all of them are worth swinging at. Investors often make the mistake of chasing every market trend or jumping on every stock that seems to be rising. However, like Williams, successful investors know the value of being selective. They don’t invest in every opportunity that comes their way; rather, they wait for the right opportunity—one that fits within their own circle of competence.
Legendary investors like Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have long advocated for this approach. Munger, in 1994, delivered a talk to the USC Business School called “A Lesson on Elementary Wordly Wisdom” where he explained how Buffett succeeded in investing by being extremely selective in his bets.
“When Warren lectures at business schools, he says, “I could improve your ultimate financial welfare by giving you a ticket with only 20 slots in it so that you had 20 punches—representing all the investments that you got to make in a lifetime. And once you’d punched through the card, you couldn’t make any more investments at all.”
He says, “Under those rules, you’d really think carefully about what you did and you’d be forced to load up on what you’d really thought about. So you’d do so much better.”
Again, this is a concept that seems perfectly obvious to me. And to Warren it seems perfectly obvious. But this is one of the very few business classes in the U.S. where anybody will be saying so. It just isn’t the conventional wisdom.
To me, it’s obvious that the winner has to bet very selectively. It’s been obvious to me since very early in life. I don’t know why it’s not obvious to very many other people.”
— Charlie Munger
Beyond the Book
Read "Habits vs. Goals: A Look at the Benefits of a Systematic Approach to Life" by Farnam Street
Read "The Science Of Habit Formation And Change" by Farnam Street
Watch " Discipline is Destiny: Ryan Holiday" on YouTube
If you enjoy reading my newsletter, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. You’ll be able to keep this newsletter going! Here’s what you get when you upgrade:
Voting on polls: you’ll get to vote on who I should write about next.
Requesting biographies: you can request a biography for me to read and write about next.
Supporting my next book purchase: all payments received will be used to purchase a new biography.