"Who's Zig Ziglar?" Martin asked.

"Only one of the greatest motivational speakers of all time. He's 82 years old and he's taking notes, still trying to improve and grow. To me that's a lifelong learner. Too many people don't become great because they are not willing to learn and get better. They don't like being uncomfortable. They like the status quo. They like their comfort zone. "What's wrong with being comfortable where you are?" Martin asked.

"Everything," Coach answered. "Everything if you want to be the best. You are either getting better or worse but never staying the same. If you are not getting better, then it means you are getting worse. That's why the best are always pushing themselves out of their comfort zone as they strive to get better. Those who want to just be average and good are happy to be comfortable. But for the best, comfort is not an option. Take my four daughters, for example. One is a teacher, one is a doctor, one is a stay-at-home mom, and the other owns her own business. I sent them to the finest schools in the country. I spent a fortune on education. Told them I was frontloading them and setting them up for success; in case they married some dimwit, they would be able to take care of themselves."

Martin laughed as Coach Ken continued, "I also gave each one of them the Playbook and shared the lessons with them. All four of them will tell you that they are always asking themselves the questions, How can I get better? How can I improve? They have a burning desire to learn and grow. They are enjoying their lives, always striving to be their best, and thankfully they didn't marry any dimwits. They married some really good guys."

Martin laughed and nodded his head as Coach's words rang true to his heart. He always considered himself a lifelong learner. He accepted advice from anyone who would give it and knew it always made him better. And now he was thankful that he was receiving some of the best advice in his life.

"So along these lines," Coach continued, "I need to ask you what you need to improve in your game."

Of course, Martin had a list already written in his head. "Well, let me see," he said with a big smile. "Blocking, pass receiving. Making quicker cuts once I get through the line of scrimmage. Not looking where I'm going to run before I get the ball, so the defense doesn't know where I'm going. Making better decisions on kickoffs and punt returns and about a hundred other things I'm working on."

"I like what I'm hearing," Coach said. "You know what you need to improve on to get better. That's big, Martin. Real big. You'd be surprised at how many people think they are all good and have no clue that they are playing at only 50 percent of their potential. There are hundreds of things that each one of us needs to do to get better, and the best are always looking for the one idea, technique, missing ingredient, new strategy that will make them even better.

"Even when people call them the best or say they are great, the best know they can do it even better and greater as they strive for perfection. The best see where there is room for improvement and their humility and passion drives them to improve. The average ones, however, don't see it or don't want to see it. They think that once they arrive at the door of greatness it will stay open forever, not realizing that if they don't improve the door will shut and in some cases will even fall on them. So in whatever you do, Martin, stay humble and hungry. Humble; That you know you don't have all the answers, and you see everyone as a teacher. Hungry with a passion to improve and set new goals and milestones. Don't ever think you have arrived, because once you think you have arrived, you will start sliding back from where you came."

"I won't," Martin committed. "I always want to do it better."

"That's great. You'd be just the guy, then, that Bill Walsh, one of the great football coaches of my time, would want on his team. Bill would often say that he feared success, not failure. He worried that once a player or team had success they would become complacent and stop striving to get better. He saw it too many times. A team would win a championship or a player would have a great season and then they would think that all they had to do was step on the field and they would automatically achieve the same results the following year, not realizing that it was the hard work, passion and the constant striving to improve that resulted in success. I heard the same thing from the best in education, business, health care, science, entertainment, and other fields. Each year the best recommit themselves to new goals and being better than they were the year before. "The fact is that past success does not determine future success. Future success is the result of how you work and prepare and practice and how you strive to improve every day. It's a commitment that the best of the best make every week, every day, every hour, and every moment. Force yourself to be uncomfortable, Martin. Let it move you toward growth and action. Live and work with passion. Always strive to get better—and you will."