Transformative Success

Nothing is more important than our mindset when striving for success. If we don’t have the right attitude, we will ultimately crumble. We have emphasized winning so much today that we have lost sight of success in today’s society.

Of course, many would suggest that winning is the start of success, but I would argue that winning is sometimes at the root of being unsuccessful. Winning dictates that one person or entity must be number one, relegating the remaining competitors to losers, but how often has a win been hollow and empty. Having a focus on winning at all costs is often driven by impatience. Impatience is usually short-term, whereas success is long-term and requires patience.

“Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” -John Wooden

If I can trust the words of John Wooden, then our focus should always be on becoming the best that we are capable of becoming, which takes effort, training, and failure to learn from.

“Focus on effort, not winning. Winning is a byproduct of effort.” -John Wooden

To strategize for success, we have to weigh every choice we make. Will the choices we make every day make us healthier and more well-rounded people that will ultimately be capable of sustaining the success we desire to achieve?

Are our choices financially, ethically, physically, and emotionally helping us achieve long-term success? Can we keep our endgame in mind as we go through life and find ourselves with easy and hard choices?

Being a consummate strategic thinker can be very difficult. We are all emotional, and we have biases that can lead us to feel trapped by temptations that will not help us move forward. Fortunately, it is possible to distance ourselves from these types of unproductive emotions and biases.

When we let go of the things that are hurting us and focus our attention on the things benefiting us and others, we will ultimately find that we can become more of a strategic thinker than we may have thought.

Deciding to be a strategic thinker means we can’t be afraid of making hard choices. We have to stick to our values and principles once we have chosen and see our plan through like a leader. If our program goes the way we planned, then we can celebrate. If it doesn’t work out, we should consider it a learning experience and move on. Regardless of whether our plan goes the way we anticipate or not, we should not regret any of our choices as long as we have been faithful to our values.

Before we make any choices, we need to examine their consequences in every possible light. Think of it as a strategic game of chess. If you are making a move, you have to imagine what may happen three steps ahead at the very least. This simple step will help us plan for any challenges we might face along the way so that we are not discouraged when we encounter any obstacle.

Don’t be afraid to consider the worst-case scenario for any decision we make, for ourselves, those around us, and society in general. We should do so regularly. Having a concise, clear, and authentic decision-making process lets us know we are doing everything to strategize for success.

Once we begin to understand the power that we have over our lives with every bit of choice we make, we will ultimately begin to understand just how incredible our position is. We have the opportunity to change our lives every single day. We have to take the first step and start strategizing for success.