In order to excel, you must be completely dedicated to your chosen sport. You must also be prepared to work hard and be willing to accept constructive criticism. Without one-hundred percent dedication, you won't be able to do this.

Commitment unlocks the ability to listen

There's something almost quaint about hearing "one hundred percent dedication" stated so plainly today, when we're all juggling multiple interests, side hustles, and the pressure to stay flexible. But Mays is onto something that hasn't aged poorly at all—just gotten harder to actually do. The peculiar challenge now isn't finding someone willing to work hard (everyone claims they are), it's finding someone willing to get genuinely good at one specific thing instead of staying perpetually interesting at many things.

What catches most people off guard is the constructive criticism part. We say we want feedback, but we often mean we want validation disguised as feedback. Mays is describing something rarer: the ability to hear someone point out exactly where you're failing and not just accept it but actually change because of it. That kind of listening requires a stability of mind that full dedication provides—you're not constantly wondering if you should be doing something else, so you can actually hear what's being said.

The real insight here isn't about sports at all. It's about the relationship between commitment and growth. You can't improve at something you're half-committed to because improvement requires the kind of repetition and honest self-assessment that only happens when you've decided this matters. That's not about sports. That applies to learning anything—a skill, a relationship, a craft. The dedication comes first, and the excellence follows.