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It Takes A Winner To Become A Champion

Written by: Billy Cox

Article Overview: We’ve all heard “Champions are not born; they are made.” This is true for YOU were not born a champion; you were born to win.Research now shows that the talent; or lack of natural talent we were born with is irrelevant to great success. Moreover, scientific experts’ findings, across many fields, conclude that talent goes beyond intelligence or personal traits. The truth of the matter is that the same skills that make Tiger Woods great are what can make you a champion.

It Takes A Winner To Become A Champion

We’ve all heard “Champions are not born; they are made.” This is true for YOU were not born a champion; you were born to win. You were born with the God given potential to be, do or have anything you want in your life. Zig Ziglar, author, salesperson, and motivational speaker, says, “In order to be the winner you were born to be, you must plan to win and prepare to win. Then and only then, can you legitimately expect to win.”

Research now shows that the talent; or lack of natural talent we were born with is irrelevant to great success. Moreover, scientific experts’ findings, across many fields, conclude that talent goes beyond intelligence or personal traits. The truth of the matter is that the same skills that make Tiger Woods great are what can make you a champion.

Scores of studies have concluded that nobody is great without practice, experience and hard work. The reality is Preparation is the foundation for any level of Achievement. Many great athletes are legendary for their brutal discipline to practice routines. Michael Jordan, one of 50 greatest players in National Basketball Association history, practiced intensively long after the team practices were over. In 1985, 15 teams passed up in drafting All-Time Great National Football League Receiver, Jerry Rice because they considered him too slow. Jerry practiced so hard that other players would get sick just trying to keep up with him.

The planning and preparing to win strategy works the same for sales, sports, or any aspect of business. However, if you want to win at business, how do you practice it? Elements of business such as presenting, negotiating, evaluating, product knowledge, or modeling others’ success is directly practicable.

The challenge is… you can practice your performance, but practice alone doesn’t guarantee success. There are many people who work hard for years without achieving winning results. So what’s missing? What’s missing is deliberately practicing and focusing your efforts on improving key areas that will improve performance. Example: Shooting basketball free throws alone won’t work; however, shooting free throws with a specific goal of making 8 out of 10 by practicing the shots, observing the results and adjusting your shot, then doing it over and over again will improve this part of your game.

The more focused practice, the better the performance. Tiger Woods began honing his golf skills when he was 18 months old. He became the youngest player ever to win a U.S. Amateur Championship at age 18 and he has never stopped trying to improve his game. He still devotes many hours a day to conditioning and focused practicing.

To put your natural talents to work, you need to go at any task with a specific goal. Instead of trying to just ‘getter done,’ aim to ‘be better at it.’ If you have specific goals, you will go at your task with a different approach. A different approach will produce different results. This will cause you to seek out more information and adopt a longer term point of view. Then you won’t feel like you are just doing a job because your aim is to get better.

The next step is what most people overlook... It’s called feedback. Most people don’t seek feedback; they wait around and hope that it doesn’t happen. Without feedback, you don’t know how good you are. If you don’t know how good you are, how can you become better?

The final step is to prepare yourself mentally. This means rehearsing your performance in your mind. Your mind doesn’t know the difference between something you visualize and something you actually do in reality. Zig Ziglar reviews and practices his speeches for several hours before each seminar, even though he may have given that particular speech a hundred times. Much of this practice is mentally visualizing his performance and his audiences’ response. This gives him an edge that helps him consistently deliver a championship performance.

When I began my sales career I was young, inexperienced, and flat broke. I quickly realized that if I wanted to compete with the top producers and earn the big bucks I had to improve my selling skills. So, I set specific targets and I focused on improving my sales techniques. Failure was not an option. I practiced my presentation and close over and over and over again. I painfully listened to myself on audios and watched myself on videos, I studied the techniques of the very best in the field of sales. I visualized the results I desired. Then I applied those skills in real life and in front of real prospects. I subsequently analyzed my results and then I made slight adjustments. I repeated this process until I achieved the highest sales honors in my field. I employ this same approach today in all areas of my personal and professional life. My ultimate goal is to continually improve my game.

No, winning is not easy.… If winning were easy, it wouldn’t be such a rare occurrence. This leads us to the biggest question about winning. Why are some people much more motivated than others? If we can make ourselves into a champion, then why don’t more people achieve winning results? Most people don’t win because the idea of hard work, commitment, discipline and focused practice is not easy. Why? Because it’s the smallest of improvements, those you can’t even see, that separate superstars from average performers.

Most people constantly look for a magic bullet that will lead to their success. When people fail they refuse to look at their own actions as a possibility of their failure. They want to blame outside circumstances instead of looking inward. They don’t want to admit that they could have succeeded if they would have just worked harder and smarter.

So, as we enter this New Year with high hopes, great expectancy and a burning desire to succeed, take time to identify specific areas of your life and business you want to improve, set definitive targets, and take massive action. Then get feedback on what works and what doesn’t. Make slight adjustments to your game and repeat the process.

I’ll leave you with this thought. Successful people practice while others play, but those who practice today get to play the game they love at the highest level tomorrow, while those who play today will sit on the sidelines tomorrow only wishing they could be the champion they were intended to become.

The good news …Winning isn’t just reserved for the few; it’s available to everyone. Why? Because you were born to win! As Zig would say, to be the champion you want to be, you’ve gotta plan to win and you’ve gotta prepare to win. Then and only then, can you legitimately expect to win.

Sending you a little competitive edge!

Billy Cox

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Article Tags: association history, champion, discipline, elements, god, guarantee success, intelligence, jerry rice, michael jordan, national basketball association, national football league, personal traits, practice experience, product knowledge, salesperson, team practices, tiger, tiger woods, truth of the matter, zig ziglar



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