Imagine the Olympic final in the 100 meters dash. The eight men slowly settle in the starting blocks. Each of them has put thousands of hours of intensive training to get to the final. They have had to say “NO” to countless temptations over the last few years. They have had moments of doubt along the way. Some of them have experienced injuries and had to go through massive pain to recover.
They are motionless now – focused on the next ten seconds, which can be the most important ten seconds of their lives. Although there will be only one “official winner” – the Olympic champion, all of them have made it to the most exclusive club of the fastest men on the planet. They are all Winners. At some point in their lives, they set their expectations so high, and they have done all the work to get here. They made the decision: I’ll win!
Most people will never even think of setting such ambitious goals. Very few of us need such a level of competition and only a small fraction of people on the planet would endure the amount of commitment, self-discipline, and focus that is necessary to make it to the Olympic final.
What is worrying, though, is that the majority of us never actually set ANY goals! Why is that?
• In the first place, I don’t know of any educational system that would teach students how to set goals. Do you know of any?
• Secondly, even if we do try to set goals, we soon give up and go back to our “comfort zone” – the reality we know. It may not be perfect, but we have learned how to manage it and make it to the next day.
I like to think that Winners design their lives – they know very well what it is that they want, take consistent action to move forward, learn from their experiences, and fine-tune their approach until they get what they want.
On the other hand, Survivors get by and struggle to keep their heads above the water surface.
Winners focus on the future, strongly believe that they will succeed, and are ready to do whatever it takes to win the final – in their race! Survivors focus on the past and present – often taking much time to analyze and rationalize. Sometimes their real dreams and aspirations do pop up, but they quickly hush them by finding excuses: “The time is not right,” “I am not qualified enough,” “The competition is too fierce.”
Are Winners Born or Made?
I genuinely believe that anyone can be a Winner – Yes – you, too! It doesn’t matter how much, or how little you have already achieved; it is a matter of making the decision. Even if you have been in the survival mode for the last few decades, you can decide that your time has come.
Don’t settle for less than you’re worth!
Come off the bench and play your game!
Stop dreaming and start acting!
The Past Does Not Equal The Future
I love that sentence by Tony Robbins! It helped me on so many occasions – when I fouled up, when I lost some big contracts, and when I thought my love life was over.
You too can decide that the future will be different – it is never too late, no matter how young or how old you are!
You can always turn over a new leaf.
You can decide that you will be the Winner – from now on!
