The Trevor Moawad Quote All Coaches Should Share with Athletes
Last week I was deeply saddened by the news of the passing of one of the people I admired most in the field of sports performance and mental conditioning, Trevor Moawad. Moawad was arguably the #1 evangelist spreading the gospel of mental skills training and its importance in sports over the last five years.
For me personally, there has been no greater influence on my work as a mental skills coach since I was introduced to Moawad’s philosophies in 2018. It’s at this point where I began my career change and I give Moawad a lot of credit for inspiring me in this direction.
With that said, if coaches can remember only one quote from Trevor’s timeless message to embrace neutral thinking and aggregating marginal gains, it would be the title of his soon to be classic book:
It Takes What It Takes
A simple message for the universal lifelong pursuit of excellence. It takes what it takes sums up what Moawad calls the illusion of choice. That is:
Do we have the luxury of choice if excellence is what we aspire to?
No, you don’t have a choice. You have options, but there is only one choice if excellence is the goal. It takes what it takes.
This is what Moawad taught me, and I will be forever thankful for this lesson. If you are a coach, parent, or mentor who influences athletes, I highly recommend you read Moawad’s book and use it as a framework to teach the athletes in your life this lesson as well.