Winning is everything!

(Photo: U.S. Marine Corps)

“We tell our kids it doesn’t matter if we win or lose, but let’s be honest, winning feels pretty great there’s nothing like that golden moment in the sun. I think every parent probably wants that for their child and maybe a little bit for ourselves too.” -Jay (Ed O’Neill) on ABC’s Modern Family

We have all heard the phrase, “Winning, isn’t everything,” but have you ever started something with the intention of coming in second, third or even last? NO! You are in it to win it or you wouldn’t be in it at all.

So why do we love winning so much?

“When you win, nothing hurts.” -Joe Namath

The answer is simple, winning feels good! You have a sense of accomplishment, everything you practiced, trained for, and worked hard to build was executed to the best of your ability and you came out the victor. If you have ever won at anything you know the sensation it brings you and know without winning the desire to achieve, the incentive to practice, the motivation to work harder and the aspiration do one more thing to make the difference is absent.

Now, are you always going to win? No, but you sure as hell are going to try! If you don’t win will you shrivel up and disappear? No! So maybe winning isn’t everything, but you certainly have to be willing to give it your all and try.

“All right Mister, let me tell you what winning means… you’re willing to go longer, work harder, give more than anyone else.” -Vince Lombardi

It is this yearning to win which keeps us driving forward when others have given up. It is this aspiration to win which allows us to work longer than the rest. It is this necessity to win that compels us to practice when others have quit. It is the desire to win that permits us to put in extra hours after everyone else has gone home. It is the yearning to win which induces our determination.

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So what does it take to win?

1. Leadership

2. Strategy

3. Focus

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1. Leadership

• Effective leaders have a rapport of trust by working WITH their team.
• Leaders instill a positive attitude setting an example for their team.
• Leaders set the tone for everyone else.

2. Strategy

• Have a thorough knowledge of your industry.
• Use solution based thought processes clearly defining goals and maneuvers.
• Offer innovative insights and solutions.
• Let your customers be your voice and promote you to others.
• Adjust your plans with the turns of market but be creative.

3. Focus

• Have clear set of goals in mind and what your final vision is.
• Radiate a positive attitude; believe in yourself and in what you are doing.
• Display unyielding determination by concentrating on the solution.
• Hold true to your word.
• Exude energy both physically and passionately.

“Every obstacle presents an opportunity… If you’re looking for it. You only fail when you quit.” – Jeffrey Gitomer

I think this is best summed up by Teddy Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
-Theodore Roosevelt
“Citizenship in a Republic,”
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

Remote Note:

As a remote leader you have a distinct advantage over the office staff during the holiday season. Working from home allows you to use the spare moments you have to accomplish a few extra tasks you would have otherwise had to go to the office to complete. Don’t let the holiday season slow you down. As you thrust forward you will be passing by the others who have let this “slow time of year” reduce their momentum. Put in those few moments of extra time and you will come out the winner.

How are you going to go out there today and win?

What are some or your winning strategies?