Champions Create a Personal Culture of Winning:
People who are champions are those who have learned how to create their own personal culture that is conducive to winning. To do so requires that you develop the right components for success and more importantly, learn how to sustain them. Here in Houston we had an abnormal freeze this winter that gave us a significant amount of snow that actually stayed on the ground for about a week. Yet, no-one was looking to open up a winter sports supply store. Why? Simply because freak atmospheric occurrences don’t result in a permanent change of climate. Climates are what they are because of certain sustained atmospheres.
Being a champion is quite the same way. You may have a moment or two of success, but in order to live a life of constant winning, you must learn to sustain those moments. That involves developing and sustaining three primary attributes:
1) Winning Beliefs or Values: (Not arrogance but internal confidence) Beliefs are the assumptions you make about yourself, the world around you, and your relationship to it. “Life is happening to me” may imply a victim mentality that makes you a reactive person to what you perceive as constant trouble and unfairness. “Life is happening for me” may imply that you are an opportunist and seek primarily to gain immediate advantages rather than long-term building upon principles. “Life is happening because of me” seems to be a more common attitude among winners. This attitude speaks of one who is willing to take responsibility, whether good or bad, for what’s going on around them. Winners are people that understand clearly the cause and effect dynamic in life. They know that if they put in the work and do the necessary things, they will get the life they intend to.
2) Winning Language: I’m aware that most people think that if you want to change your life you need to change your mind—while true, this is only part of the equation. Because if you want to change your mind you must change your language—particularly your self talk. The vocabularies of people that consistently win are filled with inspiring words—words that incite faith and hope—words that create life—words that fill the air with expectation—and words that inspire and build. See, words create worlds. Some would say that they speak as a result of their thoughts. But yesterdays thoughts were shaped by your words the day before that… and so forth and so on. In other words, your vocabulary is what creates the thoughts in your mind. Speak like a winner and before you know it, you’ll be thinking like one. Then, it’s only a matter of time.
3) Winning Patterns: Your life is the result of your patterns. If you don’t like the outcomes you have then you need to change your patterns. You can have inspirational moments and times of determined resolve, but if afterwards you keep doing the same things the same way, you’ll get the same outcomes. Learn the patterns of the super successful as they pertain to exercise, sleep, diet, work ethic, thought patterns, and systems of discipline—before you know what happened, you’ll realize that you’ve changed the culture of your personal life to one that is about hope and possibilities. Welcome to the world of winning.