Paul Rabil is a former professional lacrosse player and co-founder of the Premier Lacrosse League, the 2020 Sports Business Awards Breakthrough League of the Year. Rabil holds the all-time scoring record in professional lacrosse; has won championships and MVP awards as a college, professional, and international athlete; and is a two-time World Lacrosse Champion with Team USA. The New York Times called Rabil “the LeBron James of Lacrosse,” and he was named a Top 40 Most Entrepreneurial Athlete by Entrepreneur magazine. 

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  • Never Miss a Day – In the summer, going into Paul’s freshman year of high school, he was at a lacrosse camp at Loyola University… At the end of the morning session, an all-time coaching legend, Tony Seaman spoke to the group. He told them he could guarantee that they could earn a college scholarship. All they had to do? “Take 100 shots per day. Here’s the catch. You can never miss a day. No excuses.” What are your 100 shots a day?
  • Goal Setting – Most people don’t set goals because the act alone is both a major and personal step in the direction of commitment, and it invites hope, fear, and the possibility of regret. 
    • Focus on what you can control – John Wooden was 5’10. Below average for a basketball player. He was really good at “understanding the things at which he had no control and things over which I had some control.”
    • Let Go of Outcomes – Archery master Awa Kenzo told his students to pay no attention to the target. Success and failure come from the same place, so that’s where the archer should point all of their attention: not on the outcome, but the effort.
  • Therapy– Dr. Lindsey Hoskins once said that when we hurt someone we love, it’s because we fear disconnection from that someone. We hope that by lashing out, they’ll show us love, and as a result, we’ll feel safer in the relationship.”
  • The Difference Between Self-Promotion and Passion – “I’m not going to convince you to like what I do. I’m going to show you how much I love what I do.”
  • You won’t achieve ambitious goals if you don’t set ambitious goals.
  • The legendary Michael Ovitz shotgun pitch to Coca-Cola. He and his team outworked the competition, flew in a day early, practiced in the actual room the pitch would take place, bought new suits, and over-delivered during the pitch meeting. Their competitors took the meeting for granted, flew in the morning of, and didn’t perform. Michael and his team won the $300m contract and earned the business for years to come.
  • A true champion is intensely focused on the things they can control.
  • Being coachable is rare—it’s being curious, eager, self-aware, and ambitious.
  • Discover and harness your unique learning style. What might appear as an inability or perceived disadvantage could be your greatest asset in mastering your chosen field. For example, Paul grew up with a learning difference called Auditory Processing Disorder.
  • The only way to learn from failures is to feel it, study them, make adjustments, a new commitment, and put it behind you.
  • The Voice No One Else Hears – Performance psychologist Jim Loehr has worked with some of the top athletes in the world. He has them wear a microphone during a competition, and he asks them to honestly articulate what the voice in their head says and thinks. Whatever the circumstances, Loehr said he asks, “Is this how I would speak to someone I deeply care about? Or, if I were speaking to someone I deeply cared about, what would I say?”
    • “I’ve been here before.”
    • “I’ve taken 35,000 shots.”
    • Rebound… Bounce back.
  • Paul loves the “up and down” statistic in golf. It refers to a golfer recovering from a bad shot and still making a par on the hole. In life, it’s all about how you choose to respond.
  • Paul’s Brother, Mike – “One of my favorite chapters in this book is about planting “little acorns.” (p.174) Had it not been for the biggest acorn in the family, who left his job to build the PLL with me… well, I’d just be a retired athlete, continuing the pursuit of my next professional life. Thank you for everything, Mike.”
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Time Stamps

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