HOW BIG DO YOU WANT TO WIN?

WINNING BIG

How bad do you want to win? Do you want to win BIG? Why most people don’t win? The short and simple answer is: people don’t win because they don’t know what winning is; therefore, they don’t keep score. Everyone has the potential to win at something. Winning is associated with powerful words like victory, conquest, success, significance, competence, triumph, gaining, etc. So, it is a big deal to win, win often, and win BIG. 

If you want to win BIG, then read what follows, reflect, and apply these 7 things and you will start winning and continue to win for as long as you want to win. You can rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 for each of the seven items, 1 meaning you are not currently applying the item, and 10 meaning you are applying the item at all times. Winning is fun. Winning is not everything, but it sure beats the hell out of losing.

1.  Define winning. Write down why you want to win. The why is the most important and the most difficult to nail down. Just do it. It is that important. Develop a plan on how you are going to win. Write down the activities and actions you need to take to win. Begin with the end in mind. This is the most important step, and not surprising is the step that non-winners often skip. Excel in step one and the others will be easier because you acted on the most important and most difficult of the seven items.

2.  Be hungry to win. Be a hungry learner. Be a voracious reader and listener. Associate with winners. Ask questions. Make your questions bigger than your answers. Never forget, it is OK not to know so you can grow your ability to learn. What is not OK is not to be learning every day in every possible way. Continuous learning is the hallmark of all winners. Be open minded to teachable moments and turning points in life.

3.  Have the attitude of a winner. Have a positive uplifting attitude at all times. Keep one eye where you are going to and the other on what you are going through. Make the best of all situations. Learn from small victories and setback alike. If you get knocked down, get up, shake the dust off and tackle the next challenge with the attitude of a winner. Have this attitude: “if it is up to be, it is up to me.”

4.  Have grit. Have the ability to overcome adversity. Be tenacious. Be resilient and self-reliant. Resist the urge to settle, to camp out when faced with adversity. Be a no excuse type person. Individuals with grit don’t get raddled or bogged down by obstacles. When your why is strong enough the facts don’t shake your foundation. Grit is the main reason winner win.

5.  Be a leader. Little can be accomplished by ourselves. Lead yourself first by setting the example for others to follow. Have character (integrity and courage), focus on the tasks that bring the results, and above all develop people by building strong relationships. Take full ownership for your endeavors. Take full responsibility and be accountable for all that happens, your fault or not. Your winning or losing in a big scale will greatly depend on your level of leadership.

6.  Use leverage. Leverage the right information, knowledge, and systems to achieve more, a lot more. Leverage is the use of a lever for your advantage. Leverage can duplicate, amplify, and magnify the right activities and processes leading to the bigger results. The use of a lever as a tool has been used for a very long time. Archimedes once said, give me a lever long enough and I can move the whole world.

7.  Make decisions and act. Execute. Be good at making decisions, then making your decisions right. Focus on results by minding your scoreboard. Take massive action and stay the course. Don’t give in to distractions, stay focused on what matters most. Make the necessary adjustments and keep going. It is a lot easier to make adjustment once you are moving.

Carlos Fontana

Financial and Leadership Coach

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