The Secret to Winning...

There are a lot of things that have to happen to win at something.  Whether it is a race, a team sport, business, winning over self and negative self-talk; one thing matters more than all others.

This one thing is the toughest part about winning.  In fact, it is so tough, that most never learn it, and those that do, still struggle with it.  

What is it?  It is the ability to outlast.  Now that may sound simple and may sound like everything you've heard before about "never giving up, never quitting, and so on;" but outlasting takes more.  You can finish a race when you wanted to quit...then never race again.

Those who truly reach the top of the packet, not only have an attitude that they won't quit, but also that they will outlast until they are the last one standing.  They have the will and fortitude to keep going.

I was recently reading a book that reminded me of this.  The book is Redefine Impossible by James Lawrence.  Now, most people may not know his name, but instead may recognize him by his nickname, "The Iron Cowboy."  James is the man who created and completed the 50-50-50 challenge to raise awareness for child obesity.  50 Ironman Triathlons in 50 States in 50 days.  That is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and full 26.2 marathon every day for 50 days.

In reading the story, I can relate to a lot as an endurance athlete, but where James goes beyond anyone I have ever seen, is in his ability to outlast.  There were so many instances where he could have thrown in the towel on this thing.  Not because he was tired, but literally because he could not physically walk or his feat were bleeding through his shoes.  But no, he chose to find a way to finish, even it meant walking the marathon until 3 AM to only get in the car and drive to next state to get up in 3-4 hours to do it all over again.

If your life, you may not be doing a 50-50-50, but you are probably trying to succeed at something and may not be getting the results you want or any results at all.  And after a while, that little voice starts saying that "this isn't worth it" "You given this X amount of time and seen no results, cut your losses, etc."  If you truly believe in what you are doing and believe that it can make a difference, choose to outlast.  Even if it takes years, I promise you, it will be worth it.

This can work for anything.  Stick with a prospect in sales long enough to outlast the competition and you will get it.  Stick with a podcast long enough and it will grow an audience - even it doesn't have hardly anyone listening for the first 6-12 months (I speak from personal experience).  Don't succumb the pressure of a larger competitor trying to threaten your business and intimidate you when you know what you are doing is perfectly right.  Outlast them.  (I speak from experience here as well!)

Put the secret of an attitude of outlasting to work for you and like James, you will be amazed at what happens in your life.