Here’s what I have learned about What It Takes to Win:
- Winners know what they want.
Knowing what you want is the first step in achieving any level of success personally or professionally. As an executive coach, I have coached numerous people through the years and the common denominator of those who win and those who don’t is the level of clarity they have in what they want. Here’s why this is important: when you know what you want you can focus your efforts and attention to achieving a specific outcome. If you only have a general idea of what you want, you minimize the odds that you will achieve anything of any significance. It’s when you specifically know what you want that you are able to get specific results that lead to your success. What specifically do you want?
- Winners endure the suffering and sacrifice that winning requires.
One thing for sure about winning is that if you are not willing to pay the price through sacrifice and suffering you will not achieve any significant level of success. Winning comes with a price and sometimes that price tag is profound. Winners learn to push through the pain to achieve their dreams. Winners discipline themselves to make the sacrifices so that they can achieve their dreams. Your winning season is waiting for you to endure the demands of success so that you walk home a winner. How committed are you to winning?
- Winners fiercely lean into the fight.
I have yet to win a battle that didn’t require a fight: losing weight, starting a business, forgiving someone, charting a new course, or making simple changes. Winners do not shrink back, they fiercely lean into their fight even when facing seemingly insurmountable barriers and even more losses, they keep fighting. Sometimes you will find luck opening the doors for you but most of the time you will be faced with struggle and challenge. What differentiates winners from losers is their ability to put up their dukes, get in the ring, and battle it out. I know that the battle can be intimidating and our opponent can be menacing but winners are fighters. How fiercely are you leaning into your fight for success?
