Thursday, February 10, 2011

What it Takes to Be a Winner


By Hannah du Plessis

“If you continue to do what you’ve always done, you will continue to get what you’ve always got!” – Yogi Berra

It is easy to be a loser. All you have to do after you failed at something is to continue doing the same thing and being the same way. It really is that simple. Most people are scared of the challenges that being successful will bring, or they just lack the willpower to do what it takes to be successful. The realization that they are going to fail again creates anxiety and emotional unrest which most people don’t like and they return quickly to the familiar world of excuses and justifications.

Unless the cycle of thought patterns is broken in those who fail, they will experience a lower quality of life that lacks the good things in life that comes with success. The truth is: nobody is born a success, and nobody is born a failure. Losers learn from the mainstream: Negative thoughts and negative actions. Winners learn from other winners, change their thoughts accordingly, and do their best to copy their actions.

Losers say: “Don’t dream! Dreaming is impractical. Only fools dream. We are in reality! One should stay in the real world!” Winners, on the other hand, dream and dream big. The great King Solomon said over 3000 years ago …. “Unless people dream they perish.”  Did he mean dream when you sleep? No! He meant one should have a firm goal or objective to achieve.  

If we dream and do not believe that we will accomplish our dreams, the dream becomes just an idle wish, and will never be attained. On the other hand if we remember and do what Napoleon Hill said, we will never fail. He said: "Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit."

The following is an example of someone who didn’t quit. See how many times he “failed.”
PORTRAIT OF AN ACHIEVER – Abraham Lincoln
  • 1831 - FAILED IN BUSINESS, BANKRUPTCY
  • 1832 - DEFEATED FOR LEGISLATURE
  • 1834 - FAILED IN BUSINESS, BANKRUPTCY
  • 1835 - FIANCE DIES
  • 1836 - NERVOUS BREAKDOWN
  • 1838 - DEFEATED FOR U.S. CONGRESS
  • 1846 - DEFEATED AGAIN FOR U.S. CONGRESS
  • 1848 - DEFEATED ONCE AGAIN FOR U.S. CONGRESS
  • 1855 - DEFEATED FOR U.S. SENATE
  • 1856 - DEFEATED FOR U.S. VICE PRESIDENCY
  • 1858 - DEFEATED AGAIN FOR U.S. SENATE
  • 1860 - ELECTED 16TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
From the above it is clear that you can’t fail unless you quit.
The great Gandhi taught: “If one advances toward a specified objective or goal, and does not lose ‘belief” in its attainment; even though they may start their journey without the necessary tools or knowledge of how to get there; if they keep their faith and focus they shall most assuredly obtain the required tools and knowledge along the way.”

Let’s look at the differences between winners and losers:

A winner says: “Let’s find out”                      
A loser says: “nobody knows”
                                                                         
When a winner makes a mistake, he says: “I was wrong.”    
When a loser makes a mistake he says: “It wasn’t my fault.”

A winner goes through a problem and deals with it. 
A loser goes around a problem, and never gets past it.

A winner makes commitments.                       
A loser makes promises

A winner says: “I am good, but not as good as I ought to be.”
A loser says: “I am not as bad as a lot of other people.”

A winner tries to learn from those who are superior to him/her.
A loser tries to tear down those who are superior to him/her.

A winner says: “There ought to be a better way to do it.”
A loser says: “That’s the way it has always been done.”

A winner says: “I will find the right people who can help me.”
A loser says: “I will do it myself.”

A winner looks for an answer in every problem.
A loser looks for a problem in every answer.

A winner says: “I will do it now!”
A loser says: “I will do it later.”

A winner says: “I will quit trying and simply do.”
A loser says: “I will keep trying.”

A winner says: “I will create my own good luck.”
A loser says: “I might get lucky.”

A winner makes things happen.
A loser lets things happen.

Now you can see that winners make different choices than losers. They think different thoughts, believe different things, adopt different attitudes, and therefore produce different results in their lives. Now you have the choice to look at the above attitudes, and decide which you want to be; a winner, or a loser. The choice is yours.

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