Are winners born or made?

Aaah… the old debate.

Are we born winners or do we become winners with hard work, discipline, dedication, determination…and all those other ‘D’ words?

We all want to be winners.

(Well, I personally have never met anyone who has a goal of being a loser.)

Winners in our career, winners in love, winners in business, winners in health, winners in happiness, winners in sports, winners in life.

We don’t all want to win at the same effort (thankfully)…and we don’t all share the same definition of winning…but we all want to win at whatever is important to us.

So, of course, winning is represented by different things to different people:

For one person, being able to complete a five kilometer (three mile) walk every day is ‘winning’, while for another person, it is simply an incidental activity that occurs in the course of their typical day.

Not having a beer for a month would be a huge win for some people, but for someone like me (who doesn’t drink), it wouldn’t be a problem; something that goes unnoticed.

Earning an annual salary of $100,000 would be an incredible achievement for person A, but a devastating loss of income for person B.

For me, speaking to an auditorium full of twenty thousand people would be a triumph, while for someone else it would be the most terrifying experience of their life.

‘Winning’ (on an individual level) depends on our standards, our expectations, our desires and our goals… but we’re not going to go too far down that philosophical path today (the ‘what is winning’ path). .or I will have a headache and I will give you one at the same time.

My point is that we all need to determine what winning is for us.

So this post isn’t so much a ‘lesson’ from Coach Craig as it is an ‘op-ed’ (my thoughts on the matter); a discussion… possibly a debate (feel free to comment).

I am regularly asked these questions:

“Can anyone be a winner, or is it largely genetic?”

“Is it incorporated?”

“Is it default?”

So what are the determinants of success?

What differentiates the winners from the multitudes who, by their own admission, seem to spend much of their lives on their backs in a sea of ​​mediocrity…not being where, what, or who they want to be?

I personally don’t believe that winners are born, I believe that they are made.

(I also think some people are given a clear head start… but that doesn’t qualify them as winners.)

There.

I said.

Post-over.

See you.

It’s okay, I’ll continue.

Of course, some people are born with certain advantages (whether physical, social, cultural, financial, or otherwise), but having great genetics or certain social or financial advantages is one thing… but being a winner is another.

It is not what they give us that counts; is what we do with it.

My observations have taught me that very often the people who are given a ‘jump start’ in life are the ones who spontaneously burn out.

Waste what they have been given.

Being handed everything on a silver platter often means that the ‘lucky ones’ don’t develop those highly desirable and valuable practical winning skills; those skills that allow us to win despite our situations, circumstances or challenges.

In fact, I wrote a post on this topic a while back called Is Being Gifted a Gift? . . Or is it a handicap? It generated a lively debate. Check it out if you haven’t read it.

So for now, we’ll follow the ‘winners are made’ line of thinking (until one of you convinces me otherwise) and explore how we can maximize our chances of becoming winners in the game of life.

Clearly, there are many variables in the winner’s journey that we have little to no control over (innate abilities, where we were born, genetics, what other people will do), so let’s focus our energy and skill on the things we can control and keep it realistic, practical and simple.

THE WINNING INGREDIENTS:

1. Self control.

Winners create different standards for themselves and do things that most won’t.

They expect more from themselves than from others.

While most go for the easy option, winners go for the “effective” option.

They consistently display a strength of character that most will not.

2. Adaptability.

Winners accept challenges and change.

They find ways to cope with dynamic, volatile, and ever-changing environments.

They always find a way.

While most people avoid discomfort, they embrace it…because they know what it leads to.

Winners make mistakes, learn from them, change accordingly, and move on.

Losers keep making the same mistakes; they don’t learn

3. Planning, preparation, organization, research.

These guys don’t win accidentally, they put in the legwork.

They don’t blindly and ignorantly stumble in the ‘general direction’ of where they want to be; they move towards their targets like a bomber closing in on a target because they are highly prepared for their mission (sorry for the bullshit war analogy, but you get my point).

They know exactly what needs to be done and how to do it.

While others are sitting on their asses complaining and waiting for success to knock at their door, the winners are making things difficult.

4. Outstanding attitude.

We all know that there is an undeniable relationship between attitude and result… well, winners live it. They choose to have a great attitude; they always find the good.

While the losers are ‘breaking the blues’ (an Aussie expression… feel free to use it), the winners keep their heads in the game (what’s up with me and the analogies nowadays?).

5. Mental and emotional strength.

These guys deal with all kinds of crap all the time.

and survive

When most people would curl up in the fetal position and suck their thumb, these guys are just warming up.

They do things despite their fears.

They are resistant.

Difficult.

6. Efficiency: Winners don’t waste time or energy on things they can’t change.

Losers yes.

We have a daily basis.

7. Vision, clarity and certainty.

It’s pretty hard to be a winner if you don’t have clearly defined goals.

Winners know exactly what they want and exactly what it takes to get it.

Losers spend much of their time scratching their heads and waiting for someone to tell them what to do with their lives.

8. Proactivity.

Winners get things done.

They don’t procrastinate.

They are doers.

Consequently.

While the losers ‘wait for the right moment’… and talk just to talk, the winners get on with their business.

It’s okay, so I couldn’t help it.

I had to throw a (small) lesson there.

I’m sorry.

So am I right or am I wrong?