How to Win at Life
The buzzer blew as she dove into the pool and started swimming like a fish across the water. The crowd cheered as she raced freestyle down the lane of the 50-meter track. But there was a problem. The other swimmers, older, bigger, and more experienced, pressed past her, until she lost the lead and fell behind, leaving the race with a bronze, the least of the celebrated trophies.
But in my eyes, I saw a champion.
Because that swimmer, my neighbor’s daughter, I had witnessed first-hand the tireless work ethic she employed to arrive at bronze. She would wake up at 4:00 am, and her father would drive her to the pool so she could practice before school. And in the evening at 6:00, she would clock in another 90 minutes in the pool.
She worked on her mind, she disciplined her body to take it towards her goal. She focused on the process, and practiced, and practiced, and practiced.
And sure, she did not win first place in that particular race, but to her credit, she was half the size of some of the kids and had only been training seriously for a little over a year. And what she lacked in size and training, she made up for in spirit. And that’s truly what makes a champion.
A real champion is not just concerned about getting the gold. That’s just the byproduct of someone focusing on the practice and process day in and day out for an extended period of time. Someone with the true spirit of a champion is someone who has done the best they possibly could, and when they do, the gold-winning results tend to take care of themselves.
John Wooden, called the coach of the 20th century, is a perfect example of this. Who said:
"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability."
For him, even if you won a gold but didn't do your best, you’d be a loser, because you left some of your potential on the table. It’s worth noting that before John Wooden was known as one of the best coaches ever known, with his 10 consecutive championships, he had 17 losing seasons before he started to win. But every year he lost, in his mind, he was still a success. Why? Because he did the absolute best he could within his current abilities. And every year, those abilities got better, until he and his UCLA Bruins were an unstoppable force.
That’s what makes a champion.
It's a tenacious commitment to doing our best, and to keep on going, despite the inevitable failures along the way.
It’s a commitment to process, not the results.
That’s what makes a champion, and that’s what I saw in the swimmer Prabha, and why, even though she came home with a third place medal, I still call her a champion.
In fact, we can all cultivate a champion’s spirit through our commitment to big goals that stretch us to bring out the greatness within, while being hyper-focused on the process and the daily disciplines that will take us to those goals, an inch at a time. And all the while doing our absolute best with whatever we’ve got.
That’s what makes a champion.
Far beyond sports, that champion spirit is needed more than ever in today’s chaotic world. It’s needed in education, medicine, law, business, parenting, and in every walk of life!
We need champions to pick up the torch, to do their best to carry it forward and to make this world a better place.
The world needs you.
Now, back to you.
What goals are you focusing your energy on these days?
What does your personal best look like regarding those goals?
Are you giving your personal best?
If not, what can you do today to create the conditions to bring out the best within you?
What daily disciplines and actions can you start practising that will bring out your best?
Here’s to the champion within you,