Asian soccer star - is there a shortcut?

Is there a shortcut to achieving the dream of becoming an Asian soccer star?

This is a question i'm asked by many young Asian players and their parents. They don't just ask about becoming a soccer star but an Asian soccer star, and that's where the problems start… with the mindset.

Asian kids and their parents don't have the winning mindset for sports that they have in other areas of life, especially in the areas of education and entrepreneurship.

Developing a winning mindset for soccer is the first step of the journey and we'll cover exactly how to do that in future posts.

But firstly, lets define exactly what a shortcut is. The online dictionary defines a shortcut as 'a more direct route than the customary one. A shorter or quicker way'. Put another and more simpler way, the shortest and  fastest route between where you and where you want to be is a straight line - and that is a shortcut.

It's pretty simple, really.

If you want to go from London in England to Edinburgh in Scotland, you take the simplest and most direct route. You don't go via Dublin in Ireland.

Similarly, if you want to get a particular result, you don't add any extra steps. You take the simplest and most direct route.

The problem is that we add extra steps and unnecessary obstacles when we're trying to get what we want, and most of the time we end up not getting the results we want.

We're bombarded with so many distractions on a daily basis that the shortcut is no longer obvious. Also, with so much information coming from so many sources we end up in a state of paralyses from information overload.

Before you can find a shortcut to reach your goals you need to know your destination. You need to know where you're going before you know the route that is more direct.

It's important to note that you will never arrive at your destination unless you start and continue towards it no matter what challenges or obstacles you meet on your journey. Most of the time, without realising, we put obstacles in our own way.

Taking a shortcut doesn't mean you work any less harder to reach your destination, it simply means you work smarter.

Your attitude has everything to do with taking the direct route to reaching your destination. It all starts with what you think and believe you can achieve, and that depends on who you are.

Who are you?

To get to grips with what you think and believe, you have to understand that you are a product of your environment.

In other words; what and how you think; your belief; your attitude; your focus; your commitment; your determination; your persistence; your work ethic; whether you procrastinate… are all areas that have developed because of the people, places and experiences that surround you.

If you're constantly told that you can't achieve something, you won't, because your mind believes you can't. On the other hand, if you get the support, recognition, belief and encouragement on a daily basis and back it with regular visualisation and self-belief nothing can stop you.

When you believe you can do something, you can.

Is there a short-cut to becoming an Asian soccer star? I believe there is.

You can do it if you believe you can!