The rugby-based Sky TV series “School of Hard Knocks” takes the game to disadvantaged young men all over the UK. In each series, the same patterns and stories play out – born on the wrong side of the tracks, dropped out of school, fell in with the wrong crowd, made too many mistakes to turn back. Those stories might be familiar, and you might also recognise that this is the way that many autobiographies start.
Maybe this is what makes someone a success – when everyone else is saying, “I can’t do that because...”, the successful person has the courage to say, “I'll prove them wrong.”
Here are the things that I’ve learned from the game of rugby which I believe can make a real difference in your career.
Change
In a game of rugby, the whole direction of the game can change in an instant, and you have to be ready to take advantage of that. In life, people think they’re stuck with their problems, when in fact you can change anything you want as quickly as you want.
Sammy is one of the young men who turned his life around through his experience of rugby. He said: “It’s more than what you think it is – it’s not just rugby, it’s life. You can change whatever you want to do in your life and the amazing thing is how quickly you can change it, just like that, with a click of the finger. If you stay positive and stay strong, the future is bright.”
