Not a wish. Not a maybe. A written, committed, eyes-on-it goal.
He made the team. And on Sunday, he played a trial game against one of the biggest rugby schools in NSW.
Bragging rights moment – he plays front row, the defence game was on, and they won 29-12.
I’m watching from the sideline, thinking about a conversation Carter had with Mark Zimmermann a couple of years ago. Mark wasn’t running a skills clinic. No drills. No tactics. No line-out theory.
He sat the boys down and said the game-changer isn’t any of that. The game-changer is mindset.
Because you don’t control the final score. You don’t control the ref and their calls. You don’t control how the other team plays, how your body feels on the day, or who’s watching from the sideline.
Mark suggested you control two things. Your effort. Your attitude.
That’s it.
Carter has now spent two years training with that one belief sitting in his back pocket. Every early morning. Every cold session. Every game where the call didn’t go his way. Every selection where he wasn’t the obvious choice.
Effort. Attitude. Effort. Attitude.
There is no doubt that the goal gave him a direction, but it didn’t get him there. What got him there was the relentless, unsexy, no one is watching commitment to the only two things he could actually control. Effort and attitude.
Now Mark is stretching him again. Bigger goal. Higher standard. Different conversation.
Because that’s what coaches who are worth their fee actually do. They don’t celebrate the win and let you coast. They reset the bar.
This wisdom isn’t just for the rugby field. It’s a principle for life and business – especially right now.
We’re navigating challenges that didn’t exist three years ago. The market is noisier, more sceptical, and shifting faster than most strategy decks can keep up with. The only constants we can rely on are the effort we put in and the attitude we bring.
So how are you actually showing up?
Are you scared into inaction, or are you seeing opportunity? When uncertainty lands, do you freeze and wait for things to get better, or do you go looking? Your response either paralyses you or propels you forward.
Is your cup half full or half empty? Perspective shapes reality. A positive attitude doesn’t ignore the challenges – it refuses to be defined by them.
Are you taking ownership or waiting to be rescued? Are you accountable for your outcomes, or are you outsourcing the responsibility to the market, the algorithm, or someone else’s permission?
Are you doubling down on what works, or chasing shiny stuff? When things feel hard, the temptation is to add. The win is usually in subtracting and executing harder on what’s already working.
Are you bringing energy or draining it? Your energy lands on the page, in the room, in every conversation. People feel it before they hear what you say.
Ultimately, it’s a choice.
Yes, the landscape is tougher. Yes, the bar is higher. And yes, you can always control how much effort you put in and the attitude you adopt.
Three questions for your week.
Are you putting effort behind the thing you said matters or chasing the next shiny distraction? Most under-performance isn’t a strategy problem. It’s a focus problem dressed up as a strategy problem.
Are you bringing the energy you need to attract the work you want? Your energy is the first thing the market reads.
Have you got someone stretching you or are you the smartest person in your own room? If your goals haven’t moved in twelve months, that’s a coaching gap, not a capability gap.
Effort and attitude are not soft. They are the most commercial things you own.
The market doesn’t reward who you could be. It rewards who you are showing up as, consistently, when nothing is forcing you to.
So what are you actually controlling this week?
Janine x