A LETTER TO MY YOUNGER SELF — Insights of Taco Bell CEO, Mark King

Dear 18-Year-Old Mark,

Right now, your great heroes are home-based. Green Bay is your town, Vince Lombardi is your guy and the Packers are your team.

But your sports idols aren’t just athletes on a poster in your childhood bedroom. They’re mentors that will shape your passions, your career, and the way that you live your life.

Pursue every sport, and learn to work harder than anyone else on the field, court and course. Adopt a work ethic that will make you more competitive, sharper and savvier than the guy next to you.

Learn from the Xs and Os, but also learn from how athletes innovate and shape the environment around them. You’ll take these principles and apply them to business. First for golf clubs and then — you might be surprised to hear this — for tacos.

Vince Lombardi will inspire you to believe in the potential of people. You’ll learn to challenge people while cultivating an ambitious culture. Your career will introduce you to individuals and teams that go above and beyond, and you’ll be prepared to coach them and build both professional and personal communities you’ll be proud of.

Muhammad Ali will show you the power of standing up for what’s right. Whether you’re selling athletic gear or chalupas, business is bigger than the bottom line. Ali will demonstrate what it really means to stand up for what you believe in and you’ll be prepared to lead companies through times of change with a strong moral compass.

Wayne Gretzky will teach you to think big. Gretzky’s legendary determination, unprecedented accomplishments and strong work ethic will push you to grind just as hard in your career as he did in his. You’ll use this spirit to propel brands and teams to global stages where you’ll achieve more than you could have dreamed up back in Wisconsin.

By looking to these giants, fighters and Hall of Famers, you’ll realize that the athletes you admire aren’t just about the wins on paper or the final score. Not every step on the journey to success shows up in the box score. It’s the extra effort that wins championships, not just games. Extra effort clinches records immortalized in history books and makes for true MVPs.

These are the examples that will be your keys to success and lay the foundation for your own accomplishments, for your teams’ accomplishments. These are the pillars that will shape how you make decisions, mentor others and will serve as the launching point for your business acumen and establish your runway for creativity in the workplace. These are the lessons that will fuel your desire for constant innovation and your drive to push the boundaries of traditional institutions.

After all, game recognizes game.