13 Life-Changing Strategies For Winning In Business And Life
From Legendary Pro Skateboarder And Entrepreneur Tony Hawk
It ’ s easy to look at successful people such as the legendary Tony Hawk and think it ’ s inevitable . But while it may seem like success came easy , it didn ’ t magically appear . Hawk , the pro skateboarder , entrepreneur , tech innovator , bestselling author , and founder of The Skateboard Project , was 9 years old when his brother gave him his first skateboard . Hawk wasn ’ t a natural at skateboarding . He was small , describing himself as “ the runt ” for his age , and didn ’ t easily pick up the sport . The first time he got on a skateboard , he ran into a fence because he didn ’ t know how to turn . He was criticized by his elders and in magazines for his style . Because he was so small and couldn ’ t use his weight to get up in the air like the other skateboarders , he had to find a new way of doing tricks .
In 1982 , at 14 years old , he turned pro . By 16 , he was widely considered the best skateboarder in the world and was an athlete known by millions of people from all around the world . But that didn ’ t stop the haters or his struggles . Pros were quoted in magazines saying he didn ’ t deserve to be on top . In later years , when his dad got involved in the industry , Hawk was accused of being favored because of that relationship . When Hawk got a sponsorship with McDonald ’ s , he was criticized for being a sellout .
As skateboarding died out and went underground , the money stopped flowing , and Hawk had to figure out a way to stay in the industry he loved so much . In 1992 , he started his own skate company , Birdhouse Projects ( now Birdhouse Skateboards ), but it was slow to get off the ground . After X Games brought new attention to skateboarding , Hawk made history landing a trick at the 1999 X Games no one had ever done . Shortly thereafter , he launched Tony Hawk ’ s Pro Skater , which is now his billion-dollar video game franchise and one of the biggest franchises in history . The Hawk Empire includes Birdhouse Skateboards , Hawk Clothing , and the Tony Hawk Signature Series products as well as his production company , 900 films . Recently , he was featured in an HBO documentary titled “ Tony Hawk : Until the Wheels Fall Off ” by the award-winning director Sam Jones .
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Despite the criticism and the haters , not being a natural , and years of financial struggle while trying to build his business , he ended up on top , achieving incredible success .
In January 2023 , during a private event , TMT founder Robin Robins sat down with Tony Hawk for a discussion in front of a live audience of TMT ’ s top tier clients . Here are takeaways from that discussion on how Hawk did it and what you can do to reach high levels of success in your business , too .
1 .
Set High Expectations For Yourself .
It didn ’ t matter what others thought ; Hawk loved skateboarding so much that he truly believed he could be good at it . Once he was good , he didn ’ t stop there . He continued practicing so he could be great at it . “ What got me to be good was the expectation that I had for myself ,” Hawk said . “ I thought , ‘ I want to be able to do these things I see and I ’ m going to do that however I can . I ’ m going to do whatever it takes to get there .’ Through injury and a lot of perseverance , I was able to do that . Once I got to be able to do those things , I didn ’ t stop . That was the key . I started to get good at it , and it wasn ’ t enough . I had to keep improving my skills . I had to see what was next and eventually started creating new techniques that hadn ’ t been done before . That ’ s when I started to cross over from , ‘ Oh , he ’ s pretty good ,’ to ‘ Whoa , he ’ s creating something new here .’”
2 .
Surround Yourself With People Better Than You . As Hawk got a lot better , he was invited to be a part of the Bones Brigade , a premier skateboarding team . Hawk credits this group for helping him not just improve but really elevate his skills . “ I was lucky that Stacy Peralta , who was widely regarded as a legendary skater , but also the best curator of a skate team at the time , recognized me ,” Hawk said . “ His team was considered the best and the most diverse . When he recognized me , that gave me a boost of confidence I hadn ’ t had before because I was still struggling for acceptance . People called me a circus trick skater . It was like , ‘ Oh , he ’ s just a circus freak . He does these weird little board spins like