Cristiano Ronaldo, born Feb 5, 1985, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a forward for Juventus and captains the Portugal national team.
The Portuguese star netted three times against Atletico to seal a comeback for Juventus in the Champions League round of 16, once again he proved that he is the best in the world. Here are some lessons that I believe were crucial to Ronaldo becoming the best in the world:
1. Believe in your talent
Everyone has some form of talent. Ronaldo started training from a very young age and has always been passionate about the beautiful game. However, there were many occasions where people doubted Ronaldo's talent. Even he himself occasionally had doubts. One such incident was at the start of the 2007–2008 season.
Ronaldo was red-carded for a headbutt on Portsmouth player Richard Hughes during Manchester United's second match of the season, for which he was punished with a three-match ban. He became extremely down as there were severe criticisms of his talent. However, Ronaldo would not back down because he had deep self-belief not to doubt his talent.
2. Practice, practice, practice
There are so many stories of how diligently Ronaldo pushes himself during practices.
His ex-Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz said,
There are some great players that have so much belief that when things are not going well on the training field they just stop. They think, 'I am good, today is not right, but tomorrow it will be fine.' They never think there could be a problem. Not Cristiano. He works and works until everything goes right and only then is he satisfied.
Ronaldo is so passionate about the practice that he trains for many days to perfect a single area in his game.
3. Do not let setbacks affect you
When Ronaldo was in school, he was quite popular with other students. Yet at the age of 14, he was expelled after he threw a chair at his teacher. Ronaldo later said of the incident, “He disrespected me.” Although the incident would usually spell disaster for any young child, Ronaldo's mother encouraged his son to forget about school and focus entirely on football. At the age of 15, Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart condition that would spell disaster for any sport careers. Subsequently, he went for an operation and began training as soon as he was out from the hospital.
4. Stay one step ahead of your competitors
Over the years, Ronaldo has adopted his game so that he can score goals from anywhere in the opposition's half. Ronaldo trains rigorously so that he is always one step ahead of his opponents.
He initially was the king of step-overs. Then, when the opposition started to figure out his moves, he improved his game in different areas.
5. Respect your mentor
Sir Alex Ferguson and Ronaldo have had an interesting relationship. Ferguson helped develop Ronaldo and Ronaldo took his sage advice frequently. Although their relationship reportedly went sour, Ronaldo called Ferguson his father and his most influential person when he quit and went to Real Madrid.
6. Never stop learning
The way this boy Ronaldo has worked since he was 17, his perfectionism, his obsession, he wants to be the one. For him, it is not enough to be good. He has to be the best.
Thus, always have a passion to learn and be the best.
Final thoughts
There is much more that can be written about Ronaldo. From this article, becoming the best in the world requires deep inner motivation and hunger. You must want to be the best in the world. After that, you need to keep pushing yourself to grow and learn to achieve the vision you set out for yourself.
Great leadership is similar. It is about having a great dream and then pushing yourself, overcoming setbacks and always staying ahead of the game to ensure you achieve your dream. Go on, be a Ronaldo and conquer the world.