If you are one of Scott Prince’s almost 40k Insta followers you already know he is far busier these days than he was during his playing days.  So when our schedules finally aligned for a catch up I was thrilled he would have an hour spare to share some of his wisdom from his experiences playing at the elite level in the National Rugby League (NRL).

A coffee, a feed and well over 3 hours later we finally said our good-byes.  The man who has done everything there is to do in rugby league is still a “country kid from Mt Isa” and gives his most precious commodity, his time, freely, willingly and with genuine enthusiasm.

Hard work will always beat talent if talent is not prepared to work hard.

It is that down-to-earth quality that put him on the path that saw him reach the pinnacle in his sport, both at an individual level and a team level.  With pride he talks about his late father, Les, and how he was his role model as a kid playing for “the mighty Townies” in Mt Isa.  “As I was growing up, and even into my playing days, he would remind me that if I work hard I will improve and that I should always give an effort to be proud of,” he said.  And while he remembers his father’s words he adds it was his dad’s actions that also had an impact, saying, “Dad was such a hard worker, he always had a go and gained everyone’s respect because of that.”

Another piece of advice in his formative years came from coaching supremo, Wayne Bennett, when Princey was 14 years old and at a training session with several other aspiring junior league players.  “Wayne, said something that has stuck with me from the moment he said it, hard work will always beat talent if talent is not prepared to work hard.”

He modestly says that as a younger player he wasn’t the most talented but the work ethic his father instilled, and that quote from Wayne Bennett, made an impression on him and laid the platform for chasing his dreams.  It is also evident the apple didn’t fall far from the tree when it came to taking action.  As he says, “there were always kids more talented than me growing up, I was certainly in the shadow of a few and some of them took the easy road thinking their talent would be enough.  I just kept at it, worked hard on my game, worked on my strengths and worked on the areas I needed to improve.”  While the phrase ‘wasn’t the most talented’ is subjective, it wasn’t long before Princey was earmarked for future success at the elite level.  And when I say success … I mean the highest and the sustained kind!

A Club of One

As I stated, Princey has done it all in rugby league.  He has captained his team to a premiership, played for his state, his country and his people, won numerous individual awards and is a member of the exclusive NRL 300 game club.  He is also a member of an even more exclusive club.  He is one of only five players who has captained his team to premiership victory and also won the prestigious Clive Churchill medal.  All are half-backs, the others being: Alf, Joey, Tooves and JT.  That club becomes 2; when you add those who have played 300 games, just him and JT.  He stands alone though when you add he was the assistant coach of the victorious Brisbane Broncos Women’s team who took out the inaugural Holden Women’s Premiership in 2018.  Nobody else in the history of rugby league has those achievements next to their name.

When pushed to pick the most memorial moment throughout his career he takes some time, ums and ahs and nominates the 2005 West Tigers premiership.  He talks about the collective journey of the team, the sacrifices, sweating their backsides off in pre-season, dealing with doubts that follow a poor performance, the memories, the “life-long brothers” he made in the rugby league “trenches,”  the shared goals and, in this case, the shared glory.

It is during our conversation here where two things stand tall.  Firstly, his humility.  “You just want to give your all for your teammate.  I was playing with guys who would probably never get the opportunities I had to play for their state or their country, and I just wanted the best for them. I never wanted to let them down,” he said.  It reminded me of a saying, when nobody cares who gets the credit you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve and throughout our chat, Princey never wanted credit.  In a truly great grand-final, one remembered by most for Benji’s flick-pass to Pat Richards, Princey was actually the man of the match.  The MVP in the Big Dance – and except for me bringing it up, it would never have been mentioned.

The second is where anybody desiring to achieve their goals in any area of their life can learn a lesson, for in moments of doubt, or moments of discomfort (pre-season / injuries / form slumps) he would ask himself two questions; ‘how much do you want this?’ followed by, ‘how much do you really want this?’

Overcoming tragedy and set backs

 After making his debut as an 18 year old for the North Queensland Cowboys he went south to the Brisbane Broncos.  Where in three years he played just 28 games, having suffered two horrific broken legs and also had to deal with the sudden death of his role model – his father – in a traffic accident.  No doubt those two questions and many more were asked during this period.

“Oh it was such a tough time, you go from running around on the field to not being able to get out of bed.  I played only 3 games before breaking my leg the second time and I hadn’t really grieved for my dad.  I did hit some pitfalls with doubts and negative emotions, but you have to search within,” he said.  It is during that inward reflection where lessons learned from those he loved and an internal desire to achieve childhood dreams pushed him on.

He detailed how he would put the same attention and effort into his rehabilitation as he used to put towards his preparation and performances, both from a physical and mental point of view.  “It got lonely at times, but I set small goals and then did everything within my ability to achieve them.  It’s a process, slowly and slowly you start ticking your goals off and before you know it, you’re off the crutches, then you’re building your strength, then you’re building your fitness, then contact, then in the sheds ready to run out.’

Purposeful and powerful why

When asked how important it was to own your why during these periods, Princey was adamant that a purposeful and powerful why was essential. “For sure, actually the mental side is probably even more important at that level.”  He detailed how he did not want to have any regrets and did not want to be a coulda been.  “Growing up I used to hear stories of people who back in the day coulda been anything and I used to think “well why didn’t you?”  He continues, “I wanted to be the best I could be, knowing that I had done everything possible to be where I wanted to be.  I didn’t want to be the old fella sitting in the pub talking about the potential I had and didn’t use … that would have eaten me alive.”

During his rehabilitation he used mental imagery to keep him positive and to help push him onward when the inevitable negative voice spoke up.  “I just kept envisioning myself running out onto Lang Park wearing the maroon of Queensland; it was such a driving force.”  It is evident; his why, this driving force, started at a young age.   He laughingly recalls watching State of Origin at home and how at half-time he and his brother would grab a cushion and push the lounges aside, and on their old green carpet, they would go at each other until the ‘main game’ came back on.  Back then, Princey was already ‘royalty’ because in those childhood games, when you could be whoever you wanted to be, he was always The King, Wally Lewis (his brother would be New South Welshmen, Chris Johns).

He recalls these “fun times” but next day, even before the carpet burns had time to heal, he would be outside with a football in his hands, learning his craft.  “I knew if it was meant to be, it was up to me,” he says, and this, to me, demonstrates he had a growth mindset long before the term was introduced.  He would spend hours working on both his strengths and his stretches as a means of developing his talent.

This growth mindset remains today.  When I query what advice he would give somebody in a form slump or disappointed at not being selected in a team, he detailed, “It’s a combination of things.  Firstly, you always need to be able to execute the basic skills at the highest level, so don’t complicate it, make sure you do the little things very well.   Secondly ask for help, listen to the advice and then apply it.  This is not only how you get better, it may be the tweak your form needs to turn it around.  Lastly, and this ties them all together, control what you can control.”  He pauses here, and before I can ask another question he looks at me, shrugs and says, “but without being prepared to work hard … well you know.”

People hear it all the time, but they seem to ignore it

These had been two constant themes throughout our discussion, the pre-requisite that hard work is essential for continuous improvement and the need to be open to new ideas so that your hard work is complimented through expanding your comfort zone in other areas.  By the other areas he is referring to the mental side of your preparation and performance.  “People hear it all the time, but they seem to ignore it as a myth or don’t think they need it.  At the elite level everyone is fit, strong and skilful, but most also get nervous and have doubts and have lapses in their confidence.  It is here where your mental strength and flexibility can set you apart.”

Although I knew what he said was 100% accurate, it was still music to my ears to hear it from somebody with the on-field credibility of Scott Prince.  So remember the next time you are feeling a little in-secure in your ability, you are not the first to feel that way and you certainly will not be the last.  You are in fact very much the same as those who compete and succeed at the elite level.  Yes, you are very much the same as them.  As Princey says it is your mental strength and flexibility, your ability to control those negative thoughts and feelings when they come, and not let them control you.

Princey acknowledged everyone prepared differently and what worked for him may not work for you, but for him it still came down to … well you guessed it … “work ethic: doing anything and everything possible to get yourself right.”  He detailed that mental imagery / visualisation worked well.  He would see himself executing a task really well in his mind (hundreds of times) so that when that situation came up in the heat of battle he had in essence already executed it well.  “The physical work and mental work I did in preparation brought me confidence during the games.”  And this mental strength and flexibility led to what he refers to as “purple patches” in form.

For some this is known as ‘The Zone.’  He likened the difference to being in a purple patch and not – to driving a car with power steering or driving a car without power steering.  (To my younger readers, yes there was a time when cars DID NOT have power steering.)  “There’s times where you have prepared well but for whatever reason, it’s just not working; everything seems harder.  That’s the car without power steering.  You struggle to move it around and it is no fun.  Then there are the purples patches, when you’re driving around, window down, one hand on the wheel, elbow on the window sill and everything you touch just flows.  You don’t even seem to be trying or thinking.”  What a fantastic analogy, and one, regardless of the sport you play, if you closed your eyes and visualised you could see and feel the differences.

Cel-e-brate good times, come on

Towards the end of our chat, one of my final questions elicited this response, “That’s a great question; I’ve never been asked that before.”  While the question isn’t too complex it is the reason we were both there.  I wanted to explore his experience for my own learning, and so his advice could be practically used by my clients and also my readers.  He wanted to be there for the exact same reason.  As I said at the start, Princey is happy to give of himself, and not just his time, but also his lessons learned.

So my question was “what piece of advice would the mature Scott Prince of 2019 provide to a young ‘Princey’ of 1998?” and after thinking about it for a short time, he replied, “Celebrate the good times.  It is something I said to the Bronco’s ladies when they won the premiership, enjoy this time.”  At length he went on to explain how he had a tendency to move on too quickly and that he should have enjoyed what was happening – the journey – when it happened a little more because “it will pass.”

Now don’t get me wrong, he was not at all melancholy when he answered this.  To the contrary he was upbeat and I did not get an ounce of regret in his words.  “I am always grateful for what I was doing.  Whenever I ran onto the field I always leaned down, touched the ground and picked up some earth.  It was a form of appreciation and respect because I knew it could be my last game.”

For me, his response was perfect, for in 1998 when he was 18 years old he never had the experience of the 2019 man he had become.  Princey was being Princey, he was answering honestly and with the best interest of you at heart.  A player who has done it all in his sport giving advice to CELEBRATE THE GOOD!  In a World where negativity seems to be a best seller, Princey’s positive advice was fantastic to hear!

The question is … will you follow it?

To see just how busy and inspirational Princey is you can follow him on Insta @scottprince7