These are some thoughts on winning. Everyone wants to be successful in life, but the truth is that most people never really achieve what they set out to accomplish. Most of us fall short of obtaining the dreams and goals we have for our life. After years of observing a lackluster success rate among some of the people to whom I minister I began to examine why some people never seem to succeed. What is it that keeps people from being winners in life? Are there some steps that can be taken to enhance our chances of winning in the “game” of life?
If I am asked to coach someone to be a winner, these are some of the steps I will start.
Step One: Get in the right race.
We have to set good goals and head in the right direction if we want to win in life. Some will never win the race of life because they have entered the wrong competition. We should ask ourselves “where do I want to go in life and what do I want to accomplish?” Until we know how we want our life to end we will never know the steps to take to succeed.
Step Two: Discipline for the race.
Winning happens over time; not in an instant. The greatest athletes work hours outside the game in order to perhaps win even a single game. Victory doesn’t often happen without hard, painful work to get there. It takes diligence and consistency to be a winner.
Step Three: Develop character first.
People who truly win in life spend a great amount of time on the development of themselves and others around them. Most of the successful business people I know set aside time each week for personal development. They are frequently in the gym, reading a good book, or attending a church on Sunday. They recognize that they must be emotionally healthy if they want to have success in life.
Step Four: Accept Failure
Most winners are built through brokenness. The greatest leaders have failed many times. Before inventing the light bulb, Thomas Edison failed a thousand times. Babe Ruth had 714 home runs and 1,330 strikeouts. Abraham Lincoln was said to have failed so many times, in business, in his love life, in politics but finally became one of the greatest President of the United States. Allow failure to be your friend.
Step Five: Ignore unnecessary distractions.
Winners don’t give up when obstacles get in the way of achieving their goals. They find a way to work around them. Life is full of disappointments and set backs, but the winner learns to keep pushing forward. The winner also doesn’t waste a lot of time and energy on the wrong things
Step Six: Stay in the race.
If a person wants to win he has to stay in the race. One cannot be a quitter and still win. Many times the winner is the guy with the most heart. Often we see the underdog team come from behind to win simply because they have more heart.
In life there are those who win and, frankly, those who don’t. Choose today to win!
