Humility is important. But self confidence is importanter.

What you and I can learn from bicycle kicks in football.

Hi guys,

Hope you're well. I'm doing okay, Alhamdulillah.

I write this lying in bed on a cold-ish Sunday morning, after what has been a hectic couple of weeks. I'm very much looking forward to being able to take life a bit more slowly in the coming weeks in sha Allah.

Also, Ramadan Mubarak! Oloun a gba ni ibaadah. 🌙

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There are few sights in football as beautiful as watching someone execute a bicycle kick. For example, this perfectly timed one from Wayne Rooney in the Manchester derby back in 2011. Or this beauty from Alejandro Garnacho in November 2023.

Image by Shaun Botterill / Getty Images

You know what gets me about the bicycle kick?

It's not an outcome of natural skill. It's not an outcome of stamina. It's not an outcome of mental agility or being able to ‘read the game’. It’s not an outcome of pre-match training or coaching strategy. And it’s not an outcome of luck or good fortune.

While one or more of these might contribute to its successful execution, only two things will make a football player attempt a bicycle kick in the middle of a game:

(1) A huge amount of self-confidence, and

(2) A crazy amount of private, personal, practice

Number 1 - self confidence

Sometime last year, I worked on a professional engagement that didn't go so well despite my best efforts. In all honesty, I was slightly shaken by the experience. Sure, we're all human and we all have off days, but it was a tough pill to swallow nonetheless. And so for a few weeks afterwards, my self-confidence took a hit.

** Side note: People who know me well know that I am usually far from being over-confident about things I don't believe are fully in my control. Back in uni, I was not the type to say “Omo I too kill that paper!” after an exam in which I probably got most things correct. I was much more likely to say “Yes o it went well my G. But I'm not sure about number 4(b) and I also skipped number 6(a)ii.”

After being announced as the winner of the Lagos Mathematics Olympiad sometime in secondary school, nobody was more surprised than I was! Like really? I won? But I didn't even finish the exam? Interestingly, I am much more confident when there is a defined and objective assessment criteria, or for things in which I believe I have full control of the process. But that's a separate discussion. 😅

And it showed. While interviewing for my next project, I somehow said or did something that made the person aware that I wasn't very confident about my abilities to deliver on the role. And so, unsurprisingly, I didn't get it. It took a few weeks of deliberate private practice (more on this soon), and great feedback from colleagues on my next project before I felt like I had my mojo back.

Why I am sharing this?

If you ever intend to achieve anything notable, you need a healthy dose of self-confidence.

• It takes immense self-belief to ask investors for $7 trillion (Sam Altman, Open AI)

• It takes immense self-belief to leave a job as one of the youngest Executive Directors in Nigerian banking because you think you can build your own bank better (Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Access Bank)

• And it takes immense self-belief to attempt a bicycle kick with less than 10 minutes to go in a tied match against your club's fiercest rivals (Wayne Rooney)

And so here is a reminder to myself and you to quit moping around and start believing in yourself. Whatever you need to get the self-confidence, do it! 😀

Number 2 - private, personal practice

I strongly believe that 99% of all success (whether academic, professional, spiritual, or whatever else) is achieved from the work you do when nobody else is looking.

When someone posts something like “Proud to share I have received a scholarship to complete my MBA program at Harvard!” on LinkedIn, what I really hear is that the person has:

• spent 270+ hours on intense GMAT preparations (3 hours per day for 3 months)

• spent 20+ hours on Harvard's YouTube channel and website to understand the course and application requirements

• spent 30+ hours refining their CV and statement of purpose (3 hours each x 10 iterations)

• spent 20+ hours trying to identify, support, and chase their referrers to ensure they receive world-class recommendation letters

• spent 20+ hours preparing for TOEFL (or convincing their school to write a letter requesting a waiver as their undergraduate degree was taught in English)

• spent 20+ hours (equivalent to 3 days) begging administrative staff at their school's transcripts office to pay unnecessary fees and send their results

• spent 10+ hours researching and reaching out to Harvard Alumni on LinkedIn and another 10+ hours on coffee chats to prepare for the interviews

• spent 30+ hours (1 hour each x 30 days) reading stories on Harvard Business Review, Poets & Quants, Financial Times, and The Economist to have as much information as possible

• spent 30+ hours (1 hour x 30 calls) trying to figure out a way to get a scholarship or bank loan or some way of raising the $150,000 tuition fees

Behind that single celebratory post was 460 hours of private, personal practice! And guess what, since the person wasn't 100% sure that they would be accepted to Harvard, they probably had to repeat the process for 3 or 4 other schools!

They did not get the Harvard MBA scholarship because they were talented. They got the scholarship because they put in the work.

And the same is true for so many other things.

A Hafidh does not become a Hafidh on the day of the walimah, but in the hundreds of times they stayed back to memorize the Qur’an after Fajr prayers when everyone else went back to sleep.

A Professor does not become a Professor on the day of their inaugural lecture, but in the 177 hours they spent researching each paper before publication and then repeating that process for several dozen papers prior to their professorial application even being considered.

And a striker does not score a decisive bicycle kick in the 80th minute of a tough game, but actually several months before, in the quiet of the training ground, where there are no fans or football journalists to acknowledge their talent.

As you begin a new week, I hope you remember that attending conferences, writing articles (self-sub 😅), and social media posturing are only a subset of the work. What really matters is how much time you invest in private, personal practice.

** Jara content:

قَالُوٓا۟ أَءِنَّكَ لَأَنتَ يُوسُفُ ۖ قَالَ أَنَا۠ يُوسُفُ وَهَـٰذَآ أَخِى ۖ قَدْ مَنَّ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْنَآ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ مَن يَتَّقِ وَيَصْبِرْ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ

They replied in shock, “Are you really Joseph?” He said, “I am Joseph, and here is my brother Benjamin! Allah has truly been gracious to us. Surely whoever is mindful of Allah and patient, then certainly Allah never discounts the reward of the good-doers.”

- Chapter 12 verse 90

Have a great week. ✨