“Some succeed based on skill. Others succeed based on will”

-Jalen Rose (Member of the University of Michigan “Fab 5,” the first NCAA all-freshmen starting lineup in Division I college basketball history and 12 season NBA veteran).
There’s a twinkle in my eye and spring in my step. Can you guess why? It’s that time of year again. That’s right, pro basketball is BACK! In fact, the NBA 2015-16 season kicks off TODAY.

As many of you know, I’m a HUGE NBA fanatic. No casual fan or mere enthusiast here. Actually, some might say I put the FAN in fan-atic. So it should be no surprised I’m totally PUMPED for the new seasons arrival.

Invaluable Business & Life Lessons Gained From the NBA Game

As great of a sport as basketball might be, it’s provided me with a lot more than just an entertaining diversion. I’ve actually learned a great many important lessons from my decades of NBA consumption. And one of the most valuable applies to a lot more than just pro basketball…
If you watch as much pro basketball as I do, you’ll start to notice something interesting about the players. They tend to fall into to categories.
God Given Talent
The first group simply oozes talent. Their play on the court is effortless. Their movements – streaking down the hardwood, leaping to impossible heights, directing passes with laser precision, scoring at will, soaring through the air and throwing down two-handed tomahawk jams – are all elegant and graceful.Everything about their game screams fluidity – poetry in motion. Theirs is a skill game.
Hard-Won Achievement
And then there’s the second group. Talent and ooze would never meet in the same sentence when describing these players. Neither would elegance nor grace. Yet, these players are no less effective. What they lack in skill, they more than make up for in determination and resolve. Boundless energy and unrelenting grit drives their play. Theirs is a will game.

The Parallels Between NBA Basketball & Small Business Marketing

When it comes to small business marketing, businesses also tend to fall into two categories…
Winning With Inspiration
A few small business owners simply have a knack for marketing. Inspiration strikes them early and often. And these lucky few master their market– selling with ease. Theirs is a God-given talent.
Succeeding By Determination
But for many small business owners, likely you included, marketing might as well be alchemy. It often feels like a mystical voodoo that you work at long and hard just to get a basic handle on. Your marketing success comes the hard way – you earn it.

A Solid Foundation

Sure, you’re graced with a few sparks of marketing inspiration. But for the most part it’s a matter of resolve and determination. A drive to succeed that doesn’t rely on flashes of creative vision, but is built upon a solid foundation…

• Sound well-developed strategy
• Meticulously planned approach
• Painstakingly implemented tactics
• Diligently evaluated results
• Crucial adjustments
• All in an unending cycle repeated again and again

What About You?

Here’s a question. Are you so convinced, perhaps by ill-fated past attempts, you don’t have the “skill” that you’ve abandoned the marketing game altogether? Even though it’s integral to your business’s long terms success?
Stop by my Google+ page and share your thoughts on the nature of your marketing game.