On May 17, 2006, FC Barcelona won the UEFA Champions League trophy after defeating Arsenal 2-1 in the final game of the competition. Big things were expected from this crop of Barcelona players and their system of football. Sadly, that never materialized. After two years without any major trophies, in 2008 it was crystal clear to everyone that there was a need for a system overhaul.
That system overhaul came in the form of Pep Guardiola. With a focus on aggressively retaining possession of the ball, as well as diligently applying relentless pressure on opponents in the few times they had a sniff of ball possession, Guardiola and his team went on to win 14 out of 18 major trophies over the course of four seasons. That is a
Yet, when Guardiola took over the reins as Barcelona’s head coach, his goal was not to win all the trophies that were available. In his book Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning, Guillem Balague shares what Guardiola said in his first meeting with the Barcelona squad in 2008:
“Gentlemen, good morning. You can imagine what a huge motivation it is for me to be here, to coach this team. It is the ultimate honor. Above all, I love the club. I would never make a decision that would harm or go against the club. Everything I am going to do is based on my love for FC Barcelona. We need and want order and discipline…I only ask this of you. I won’t tell you off if you misplace a pass, or miss a header that costs us a goal, as long as I know you are giving 100 percent. I could forgive you any mistake, but I won’t forgive you if you don’t give your heart and soul to Barcelona. I’m not asking results of you, just performance. I won’t accept people speculating about performance if it’s half-hearted or people aren’t giving their all. This is Barça, gentlemen, this is what is asked of us and this is what I will ask of you. You have to give your all…When we have the ball, we can’t lose it. When that happens, run and get it back. That is it, basically.“
Note how Guardiola did not mention anything about winning trophies, or even winning games. Yet, by the time he was done with his managerial career at Barcelona, he had managed to achieve phenomenal success with his team.
So, how did Guardiola attain idol status during his time at Barcelona? He simply focused on systems at the expense of goals.
The System on the Backend
Motivational speakers typically mislead thousands by urging them to follow their passions and do what they love. In addition, motivational speakers are also guilty of hammering on the need to chase goals. This is why people keep on setting new year resolutions and failing them within days. While smart goals are desirable for providing clarity and direction, depending solely on them for change is like resting your entire weight on a dry and brittle twig – not only would you fall down, you’d also get your hand pierced!
One thing that Guardiola understood was that systems were more powerful in bringing about the attainment of goals. He was not obsessed with winning trophies. Rather, he was engrossed with the kind of players that were recruited into the team, as well as the system of precise triangular single-touch passes that his players used in walking the ball into the opposition’s net. Because of the system of
Here’s is an interesting angle to consider: If, after you had developed a clear goal, you went ahead to ignore it, totally focusing your energies on building and perfecting your system, would you still attain your goals?
The answer is a resounding yes!!!
Here’s what James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, had to say in this matter
“The goal in any sport is to finish with the best score, but it would be ridiculous to spend the whole game staring at the scoreboard. The only way to actually win is to get better each day. In the words of three-time Super Bowl winner Bill Walsh, “The score takes care of itself.” The same is true for other areas of life. If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.”
Ironically, peddlers of false advice are often righteous practitioners of sound principles on the backend. For many motivational speakers and gurus, their goal is to become the best in their niches. However, unlike their ignorant audiences, these speakers know that merely setting goals would not bring them closer to their attainments. As a result, they devote themselves to perfecting their systems of stage mastery, oration and, persuasion. Naturally, they get the results – which sadly also leads to the dissemination of poisonous information.
The Primordial System of the Father
The Creation Story as recorded in Genesis 1 is a microcosm of everything that makes the seen world tick. When we take a closer examination, what we simply find is a story of God establishing systems that will continue to run till the end of time. Indeed, as it was revealed to William of Occam (circa 1287–1347), “It is vain to do with more what can be done with less” Everything that God did in those six days of creation was deliberate and it counted towards a specific purpose. God expended effort in establishing an efficient system that was capable of self-propagating indefinitely. No creative word was wasted.
Consider the creative system that God established to ensure the continuation of plant life on earth:
Genesis 1:11-12 says, ‘And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.’
Note how God embedded the capacity for plants to procreate indefinitely. He created plants with the ability to produce seeds, while also creating seeds the ability to produce plants. We all acknowledge that God is the Almighty, All-Powerful Creator, and there is nothing stopping Him from applying creative effort every instance that there was a need for a new plant or herb in the field.
The same thing repeats itself in Genesis 1:28 after God had created mankind.
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
God did not create another Adam and Eve one million times. Rather, He created a system that enabled Adam and Eve to reproduce offsprings in their own likeness. God created the system of sexual reproduction as an ironclad guarantee that there would always be life on the planet.
God loves order and process, and He is very systematic. This is why Genesis 2:2 could happen. “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.”
God did not rest because He was exhausted from the efforts that went into creating the heavens and earth. It wasn’t as if God was going to pass out if He had created one more thing. Rather, God rested because of the systems He had already established. There was literary nothing that God needed to create that wasn’t already created. It’s the same thing that happens when an artist has finished a great masterpiece that he had been working on. When the artist is done with the painting, there is no more work left to be done on it. So he rests from that painting job. That’s exactly the same thing that God did with His Creation process.
Leverage Systems to Rest
Man was made in God’s image and likeness. This means that we have a portion of the very essence of God’s Nature embedded in humanity. This implies that there are certain manifestations of God’s character in our persons and behaviors. We have the ability to appreciate goals because God appreciates goals. Furthermore, if God had the ability to set up systems to efficiently and effectively attain His creation goals, we also have the ability to do so.
That is why I think that the author of Hebrews writes a stern warning in Hebrews 4:1:
“Let us
The ultimate goal is to enter into a state of rest, where you cease from your works. However, God has established fail-proof systems for every aspect of your existence on both sides of eternity. There is a system for salvation. There are also godly systems for attaining prosperity, healing and peace like clockwork. Yet, because many people are oblivious to the working of systems, they miss out on the state of rest that God has established for them.
The writer of Hebrews continues in verse 3 of the same chapter:
“For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my
When you believe in God’s methods and systems, your learning curve becomes shortened and you enter into His “Genesis 2:2” kind of rest quickly. There is no need to expend time and effort in reinventing the wheel. God has already established systems from the foundation of the earth and you can find His unmistakable signature in Nature – only if you are able to observe and see them.
The culmination of this idea can be found in Hebrews 4:11:
“Let us
After everything is said and done, there is only one kind of labor you should expend all your efforts in doing. That work is one done in establishing systems for yourself. And when you walk in total faith in God and key yourself in the methods and systems that He has already set up, your life becomes like a six-course meal prepared specifically for you.
Ultimately, as James Clear has quipped time and time again, “You don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.” Today, start praying, thinking of, searching for and implementing tested systems that would dramatically improve the quality of your life.
