Brett Ledbetter

Person > Player

Brett Ledbetter asked a high-performing player to write down their biggest struggles. See if you can relate:

My biggest struggle is dealing with expectations. I set my standards so high personally that it’s not okay to fail – but it should be. I haven’t been able to accept that yet. I’ve had a lot of success through my soccer…especially this past year. So how do I match or exceed that so I don’t let people down?

So many people from family, friends, coaches, teammates, and media all expect something from me. They want success. And when I’m not succeeding they don’t want any part of it. If I don’t maintain my play, my characteristics, my purity, if I make a mistake everyone is watching. Judging.

It feels like they’re waiting for me to fail so they can say, “I told you so…” or “She’s not the ‘Golden girl’ that everyone thought she was.” For me, it’s everything. I feel watched, pressured, and judged for every little thing I do or say.

I can’t say that I’m not grateful for that because this is what brought me success. It’s what made me, I guess, “popular” in the soccer world. But with that comes so much pressure. I’m scared to fail. I can’t fail. I can’t fail for my family. I can’t fail for my coaches (past or present). I can’t fail for my teammates. I can’t fail for all of the people who told me that I couldn’t do it. I can’t fail for myself.

– Blakely

How do you relate to that? See how Brett and Blakely (the player) created a new way to chase excellence and process success and failure.

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