Study their lives. Copy their play.
Grouped by the habits they exemplify. Click a category to jump, or filter by name.
Discipline
Kobe Bryant
Mamba mindset: deliberate practice, relentless standards.
Michael Jordan
Compulsive reps; standards set in practice, not game day.
David Goggins
Callus the mind — choose the hard path on purpose.
Tom Brady
Sixth-round pick to GOAT through preparation and diet.
Temperance (Self-Control)
Marcus Aurelius
Power held lightly; emotions mastered.
Lou Gehrig
Grace under ALS; steady in public and private.
Confucius
Measure, manners, middle path.
Chris Kyle
Skill bridled by rules and restraint.
Sleep & Recovery
Winston Churchill
Catnaps and pacing to endure long wars of will.
Muhammad Ali
Rebuilt timing and conditioning after exile.
Ernest Hemingway
Routine and rest as tools against the dark.
Terry Fox
Ran a nation’s length on a prosthetic — daily grit.
Growth Mindset
Frederick Douglass
Taught himself to read; taught a nation to see.
Viktor Frankl
Found purpose where others found only pain.
Nikola Tesla
Iterate, fail, re-try — curiosity armored with patience.
Benjamin Franklin
Self-audit of virtues; libraries, labs, and letters.
Routine
Theodore Roosevelt
Early rides, late reads — relentless cadence.
Seneca
Daily writings and audits to keep the course.
Lewis & Clark
Logs, measures, and miles — every day forward.
Roald Amundsen
Prepared details beat heroics in the cold.
Mental Health
John McCain
Routine and honor under torture.
Epictetus
Slave to teacher; control the controllable.
Nelson Mandela
Read, reflect, reconcile — years to rebuild.
Václav Havel
Wrote truth under watch; led with humor.
Emotional Maturity
Abraham Lincoln
Felt deeply, acted calmly.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Strategic nonviolence and long-horizon hope.
Marcus Aurelius
Losses borne without losing self.
Desmond Tutu
Truth and reconciliation, without bitterness.
Nutrition & Hydration
Jesse Owens
Body tuned to answer history’s call.
Jim Thorpe
Two-sport greatness on raw stamina and grit.
Jackie Robinson
Conditioned body and cool head under fire.
Lou Gehrig
Training and diet sustained dignity.
Relationships
George Washington
Held the army together by trust.
Chesty Puller
Led from the front; loved by his men.
Booker T. Washington
Alliances for schools, skills, and jobs.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Diplomacy as discipline; egos managed.
Resource Stewardship
Andrew Carnegie
Compounded skill, capital, and philanthropy.
Samuel Morse
Painter to inventor after loss.
Ernest Shackleton
Scarcity managed with optimism and order.
George Marshall
Planned the recovery of nations, not just battles.
Gratitude & Humility
Cincinnatus
Returned to the plow after victory.
Audie Murphy
Highest-decorated, quiet in the aftermath.
Jacques Cousteau
Curiosity with conservation.
T.E. Lawrence
Chose obscurity over legend’s trap.
Boundaries & Communication
Socrates
Questioned to clarity; accepted the cost.
William Wallace
Drew a line for a nation.
Leonidas
Held the pass; held the standard.
Alvin York
Conscience from pacifist to protector.
Legacy
Muhammad Ali
Changed sport and society.
Pat Tillman
Walked away from fame for duty.
James Stockdale
Philosophy in action under captivity.
Louis Zamperini
Olympian, POW, survivor — resilience defined.