March Madness just ended for college basketball, and the women’s was a few days ago. I’ll admit I don’t watch the games throughout the whole month like some people do. I  watch more of the finals. Even though I don’t watch women’s basketball very much, I find those finals really compelling to watch. Because I like watching champions. And this year,  the winning women’s team was actually undefeated the whole season. They were playing against Caitlin Clark’s team, someone who had just broken a ton of women’s basketball records for Iowa.

You may watch those champion players and wonder, what do they do differently that gets them there to those finals?

Champions aren’t made at games.

Becoming a champion doesn’t just happen one day.

It’s the compounding days since you began training in a sport, and of maintaining a champion mindset.

It’s how you respond when things are going really well. 

It’s how you respond when you get knocked down at practice or at any game.

It’s how you learn and grow in your game.

It’s how you live like a champion every day, even before you’ve ever won anything.

It’s more of a holistic approach to life, and your game, than just one thing.

And the ones who end up winning the most just have more compounding days of living with that champion’s mindset.

A little over a week ago, Madden was watching the White Sox play on television. During that game, Luis Robert Jr. hit two home runs, and had a game that was a career high. After the game, Madden felt inspired to head to the batting cage to work on his own game.

Part way through batting practice, only a couple hours after the White Sox game, guess who showed up at the same baseball academy? Luis Robert Jr. You should have seen Madden’s eyeballs as he kept staring in disbelief. He had just had a game of his career and yet he kept showing up to work on himself and his game.

That’s what champions do. They’re never really satisfied and don’t allow themselves to get comfortable. It’s that growth mindset as much as anything. 

If you look at champions – it doesn’t matter what the sport is, from baseball to basketball or bowling – every champion shows up the same way. That’s the common thread that weaves all sports together. Each sport’s journey may appear slightly different on the surface, but when you are a champion and meet another champion from another sport, you have the overall journey and mindset in common. You intuitively already know the work and mindset that got them there. And that’s inspiring. 

Compounding days of a champion mindset also allow us to understand our own individual champion journey – and what makes us perform and feel our best. All of us have a different balance, but champions really focus on find it. From practicing regularly and taking care of our health to understanding the game and seeking out other resources. 

There also isn’t an “off season” from the champion mindset. Even when you are not playing games.

Madden has been reading mental game books before bed the past weeks because he is really motivated about the baseball season that is starting up again this week. Even though he hasn’t played a game since the last season ending in October, he’s always thinking about the game and working on something. He has been practicing like a champion. There hasn’t been a month he didn’t work on his game and he has been consistently going to the batting range. 

So, if being a champion is your goal, are you living all your days in a way that the compounding effect of all that everyday champion energy and focus is more likely to make you a champion on game days?

Yesterday I traveled to Detroit where I was the emcee for the Final Four NCAA Women’s Bowling banquet. I was inspired by that champion energy. That’s not something you one day wake up with. Those champions in that Final Four banquet last night poured their souls into their craft. They struggled, but still got up. They succeeded, but wanted more. And there is no doubt that they will carry that champions mindset into whatever they choose to do in their life.