The devils in the detail …

So Chris Froome has become the first Brit ever to win Le Tour de France … twice.

It’s an extraordinary achievement – both mentally and physically – in what is arguably one the world’s toughest sporting events.

He won by beating Colombia’s Nairo Quintana to the yellow jersey by 72 seconds

That means that after 84hrs 46mins 14secs of racing, the margin of his victory was 0.024%. That’s two ten thousands. Minute. Tiny. Teeny weeny.

But it’s those tiny differences that make the difference. We see it in sport all the time. The difference between first and second a mere fraction.

That’s why there is a rapidly growing industry to support athletes and teams make these tiny differences count.

So many are so close…and yet so far away.

The devil really is in the detail.

Exercisers set a goal of 3 sets of chest press – and only complete 2.5

Those on the 5:2 plan don’t stick to the fast days they set

Athletes wanting to ‘get better’, don’t actually pay attention to knowing what it takes to ‘get better’

In the whole scheme of things, these are tiny details – yet these are the details that make a difference, and whilst Team Sky appear to have them covered, the truth is you (and me!) don’t.

A recent telephone conversation with a guy ‘really committed’ to doing our NLP Sport Practitioner … would do ‘anything it took‘ to be able to work in sport, ‘as he’d always wanted to’. But he wanted to wait until we ran a course nearer to him – central London wasn’t that easy …..

So where was he based? Colombia (no, cos we’ve had people from Colombia attend before)

Canada – ditto

Germany, Norway, Sweden ….. again, ditto.

So, where on earth could it be …. ???

North London! NORTH LONDON!

Wow – I bet Team Sky will be banging his door down to offer him a role ….

See, it’s not that he’s a bad person, or that he doesn’t have some great qualities … but he doesn’t have the mind set needed to get the things in life he says he wants.

We have to do the big things in life as a matter of course, and a willingness to do what it takes becomes more important as we start to hone down our choices about what we want….

After all, if you’ve made a big decision in life to be the best – it’s paying attention to the tiny details that will make you a champion.

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