David Beckham’s Success Habits: 5 Practical Tips to Excel in Anything

Reaction to Netflix Limited Documentary-series “Beckham.” How he attained that greatness, the David Beckham way, even if you’re not good-looking.

Why have I decided to write about Mr. Beckham today?

I just returned from our half-day New York City trip, and most of the time I was there, David Beckham was in my head.

It’s not because of what you think. It’s actually because of some recent posts on Instagram about NYC. Some people took a video of David with his daughter, Harper, sitting on the beam, a new attraction at the Empire State Building. David also posted about father-daughter time on his IG account. And just the next day, yesterday, he posted another NYC photo, but this time with one of his boys, Cruz!

All that reminded me of the Netflix documentary I saw a couple of weeks ago, “Beckham.” It was a limited series of four episodes, each about an hour long, showing old video clips of David’s games, the World Cup, and him being interviewed at his home.

To answer the first question, I decided to write about him. This post is about what I learned about Mr. Beckham and why he became one of the world’s best football players out there.

Focusing on One Thing

David focused on one thing throughout his life: from 7 to eight years old, he loved football. He still does because he has loved the sport almost his entire life.

It all started with his father loving football so much, him training his son David as a kid, always telling him that whatever he was doing was still not good enough. He tells David to try again, over and over. Sometimes, little David would cry, which broke his mom’s heart, but he continued to push him.

My takeaway here is this…

If you want to be good at one thing, do it over and over and over. Being okay is not enough. And here’s a thing: if you think you’re already good enough? You better believe that you’re not unless you’re okay with not reaching that level of greatness because you stopped your progression.

Motivated by his parent’s example.

When he noticed his parents working hard until midnight, his mom as a hairdresser and his dad as a gas engineer, he realized the value of hard work.

He knew that the only way to be a professional footballer was to work hard. So, from the moment he wakes up until he sleeps, if he’s not in school, he will be out in the garden playing football!

Imagine that dedication at a young age. No wonder he became so good in this sport.

My takeaway here?

Whether you want to get motivated or not, it’s your choice. Young David decided to get motivated to reach a professional level just because he saw how hard-working his parents were. So, if you want success, pick whatever reason is out there, and choose to get motivated.

Always showing up, no matter what.

While watching the docu-series, I can’t help but wonder how he can still play and still go to practice, no matter what he’s going through.

At one point, he still practiced even though he couldn’t practice with his team. And when he was benched on every game, he hated it, but he still showed up! When everybody outside the field hates him, and the whole country hates him, he still shows up at every game. Every time. That’s how he loved football so much.

Despite all the chaos. He played.

My take-away here:

If we really want to succeed in our chosen career, no amount of chaos, depression, or anything else could excuse us from not doing what we’re supposed to be doing. No matter what, show up!

He is organized.

I never imagined someone as famous as Beckham to be so organized and neat in all aspects of his life. Whether that’s a locker room, his bedroom, or the kitchen, he keeps everything tidy.

I thought locker rooms were supposed to be untidy, and it’s okay for them to be that way. But for David, it’s not okay. It’s because being organized is just the way he is!

In the film, the interviewer asks him why the kitchen was so clean even though he said he just cooked in it the night before. David said he likes to clean it. He would stay up late at night to clean the kitchen. He wanted to keep it spic and span!

He’s even fond of preparing his wardrobe for the whole week, keeping a separate place for the clothes he plans to wear from what’s in his closet – such a cool guy.

My takeaway here:

No amount of greatness can excuse you from being untidy. Go clean up!

And another thing.

If we think that being organized, tidy, and clean is a part of who we are, it will show.

Cleaning up and getting organized helps eliminate all the clutter in our brains, leaving room for clarity.

Having a family that he loves.

It’s obvious how David is regarding his family, as shown in the film. That is why Victoria Beckham considered him, even though she knows nothing about football. She said upon seeing him talking to his parents after the game, she gave him her number.

Even now, if you observe the Beckham family, you’ll notice that David is close to his kids. He would post about them. Talk about them in interviews. He once said in an interview how he’s heartbroken because the boys stopped playing football, even though they’ve got the talent. He went on to say that his daughter is now playing but didn’t know what to do when a guy bumped into her daughter in the field intentionally. He didn’t know whether he’d be that football player everyone knew and be okay with it, or he’d be a dad and not be OK with it.

That’s not surprising because I remember one interview with Victoria where she described David as really strict with his boys but soft with his daughter.

The first episode starts with David walking on the green fields on his property to get that sticky, sweet honey that Victoria loves from their apiary. The last episode shows him grilling, surrounded by his kids; one got on the boat in their pond and didn’t know how to get out. He told the interviewer how he wanted his kids to live normally. It was his choice with Victoria, and despite all the fame, they made it happen.

My takeaway:

The process of attaining success is way better or even more accessible when you keep yourself surrounded by people who love you and support you.

So, there you go.

The only thing left to do now is to stop scrolling and start doing. Enjoy doing exactly what you need to excel in your chosen field. Go ahead! I’m rooting for you.

Your neighbor,

Wam

Resource:

Netflix “Beckham” https://www.netflix.com/title/81223488

The Sun https://www.the-sun.com/sport/9247640/david-beckham-netflix-dad-ted-childhood-sir-alex-ferguson/