“With what we’re trying to do, and where we’re trying to go, we dominate today. We dominate today!”

Be real with yourself. If you have a lofty goal to become the greatest _________ , domination is required. Do not proclaim to just be good and in turn put forth simply solid effort; instead proclaim your greatness and impending domination. Though outward proclamation is a strategy, it is primarily about proclaiming it internally. Believe wholeheartedly that domination will occur. Start with mastering your inner world domination and recognize the urgency to put forth maximum concentration/effort to achieve the desired result. Do not relinquish your grip on high expectations to get to a dominant level.

Kobe Bryant (0:49) – “I drive a hard bargain. The people that I’ve always had issues or problems with are the people that don’t demand excellence from themselves. I won’t tolerate that … it’s my responsibility to make sure everybody is holding themselves accountable. I’m holding you accountable. If we just played a back to back and we have practice the next day, your @ss better be there taped, ready to go. Right, because I’m there and I’m ready and I just got finished lifting weights for two hours. Right, so I hold guys to a higher standard. And I don’t sugar coat stuff – never have, never will.”

Most people end up relinquishing their grip. But fatigue, laziness, and satisfaction of being good enough must be fought against relentlessly and consistently; these factors make people give in to lower expectations and in turn mediocrity. As Kobe alludes to in the clip, dominance disappears and victory vanishes when the self-accountability part is lacking. Take responsibility for your or your team’s dominance, and the maintenance of high expectations. And use everything in the present moment – the adversity, praise, support, opposition, work, etc. – to fuel your dominance. If dominance is what you seek, proclaim it and then live it.

Brian Billick on using adversity to bring forth dominance (1:12) – “Not that [Ray Lewis] needs any more focus, but when you start throwing [adversity/insults] at him, the way that brings that steely eyed focus and resolution to do what Ray Lewis can do, I’m sure the opponents didn’t realize just how much they were playing into Ray’s hands.” …. Ray Lewis (1:52) – “It was pure dominance. We’re trying to be the greatest of all-time, bottom line. And if that’s what they put before us, let’s go get it.”