The one thing I know is, if I play good ball, things have tended

The warrior of the gridiron, J. J. Watt, once spoke with the clarity of a man who knows the source of his strength: “The one thing I know is, if I play good ball, things have tended to come along with it. Everything that I've ever done in my career has come off of playing good football. And so I realize I need to go out there, and I need to take care of my business; then everything else — all these cool, great things — come along with it.” Though his words spring from the world of sport, their wisdom reaches far beyond it. They are a meditation on discipline, focus, and the eternal truth that greatness is not achieved by chasing rewards, but by mastering one’s craft and letting the rewards follow.

In the manner of the ancients, let us look deeper into this truth. When Watt says that “everything comes off of playing good football,” he speaks not of luck, but of cause and effect — the timeless law that governs all human endeavor. Success, he reminds us, is not the fruit one plucks at the end of a journey; it is the shadow cast by consistent effort. To “take care of your business” means to dedicate oneself wholly to the work at hand, to do one’s duty with excellence and humility. The world may tempt you with applause, wealth, and recognition, but those are echoes — fleeting reflections of the true work that happens in silence, repetition, and persistence.

The origin of Watt’s philosophy lies in his life’s journey — a tale of endurance and self-belief. Before he became one of the most feared defenders in the National Football League, he worked at a pizza shop to pay for his education. He was not handed greatness; he built it with his hands, one brick of effort at a time. Rejected by colleges, doubted by scouts, and tested by injuries, he found strength not in circumstance, but in consistency. Each day he trained, studied, and refined his skill, until his mastery spoke louder than any words. Thus his quote becomes not a boast, but a creed: do the work well, and let the world come to you.

This wisdom is echoed throughout history. Consider the story of Leonidas, the Spartan king who stood with his three hundred against the armies of Persia. Leonidas did not seek glory for its own sake; he sought to fulfill his duty — to defend his people. He and his warriors trained endlessly, mastering their discipline not for fame, but for the perfection of their craft. Their sacrifice became legend, not because they desired it to be so, but because they gave themselves wholly to the task before them. Like Watt, Leonidas teaches that true greatness arises from devotion, not desire — from focusing on excellence over outcome.

There is a spiritual resonance in Watt’s words. The ancients would have called it virtue — the alignment of one’s action with one’s purpose. To “play good ball” is not just to perform well, but to live rightly, to give one’s best in every moment without being distracted by the glitter of reward. This is the essence of mastery, whether one is an athlete, an artist, or a thinker. The wise do not ask, “What will I gain?” but rather, “How can I give my best today?” When that question guides a life, success ceases to be a chase; it becomes a consequence.

O seekers of excellence, learn from this teaching: do not worship outcomes; honor effort. The world around you will praise results — trophies, titles, wealth — but those are the dust of time. What endures is the work done with integrity, the dedication that cannot be faked, the quiet victories won in practice before the crowd ever sees the game. Like J. J. Watt, trust that if you give your all to your craft, the rest will follow. But if you chase the rewards before the work, you will lose both.

And so, let the lesson of J. J. Watt’s wisdom be carried forward as a torch: discipline is destiny. Do your work with focus. Tend to your craft as a farmer tends to his field, patiently and faithfully, through drought and storm alike. For when the harvest comes — and it will — it will not be because you chased it, but because you prepared for it. In this way, all the “cool, great things” of life — success, respect, fulfillment — will come not as miracles, but as the natural fruits of your labor. And in that moment, you will understand the secret of greatness: that true power lies not in seeking glory, but in earning it through mastery of oneself.