Bill Belichick & Ray Dalio on Toughness: Part 1

When we were talking before, we were talking about, um, the different elements and systemizing it. Um, for example, you describe the different types of toughness. Um, the person gets hit this way has got a certain type of toughness. This you probably gave me, I don't know, five or seven different categories of toughness.

Well, yeah, sure. There's the, you know, the inline play where you're lined up, you know, very close to each other and the ball snapped. And it's really combat—it's hand-to-hand combat. And there's a certain toughness to that. Um, there's definitely a toughness to a receiver catching the ball knowing he's going to get hit but concentrating to make the catch and take the hit for the team, for the success of the play.

He's not hitting anybody, but he's getting hit. Similar to a quarterback standing in there right at the very last second to deliver the ball knowing that as soon as that ball leaves his hand, somebody's going to, you know, take a shot at him. It's not like a pitcher, you know, you're standing on the mound, well, whale back and throw it as hard as you can. There's nothing in front of you. It's a whole lot different when you let the ball go and you know somebody's going to rock you, so that's a different, you know, kind of toughness.

There's a, you know, a receiver, then you have a blocking toughness, right? So he's going to catch the ball and take a hit, but then he has to have the toughness to go in there and, you know, look a guy in the eye right across the field from him and block them or take on that block defensively. Um, you know, running backs, like the toughness that those guys have to carry the ball and have three or four guys standing there waiting for them, uh, you know, that are all looking to hit them. That's their job.