As I approach the final years of my life, I feel like it is my duty to share all of my worldly advice so the youth of the world don't make the same mistakes I have made. I have so much to share and such little time to share it. How is that for be full of myself? Maybe my first piece of advice should be "HUMBLENESS"!
This initial post is intended to gauge the reaction and possibly begin a series of posts designed to share advice from the perspective of a father attempting to steer his children in the right direction and prepare them for life. I plan to continue this series if this initial post is well received.
Achieving Greatness Should be the Expectation
No matter what you choose to do with your life approach it with greatness as the expectation. If you don't have a desire to achieve greatness for a given task, you should not take on the task. Achieving greatness should be the goal! I am not saying that you will always achieve greatness, but if you don't go into it with greatness as the expectation, you will never achieve it!
Winning Matters! But Learn How to Win with Grace
I know that in today's world Winning is not perceived as important as it once was perceived. But don't let that fool you, Winning still matters. Bringing a winning mentality to the table not only benefits you, but it also raises the bar for your peers to achieve more than they could without you in the picture. In life, you will be challenged with many competitive scenarios that are not sports related. During your life, you will most likely compete for a job, a promotion, a partner, etc. You need to learn how to win. Winning is truly important, but Winning with Grace is just as important.
As I outlined above, your life will be filled with many competitive scenarios. You are most likely not going to win all of them. If you do win all of them, then you have not challenged yourself. In many of these scenarios, when you win, somebody will lose. Respecting your opponent while savoring your victory is a sign of true maturity. When you win, act like you have been there before. Don't gloat, brag, trashtalk your opponent. Take the victory, show your opponents respect and gratitude and move on. Also understand that there may have been many people in your life that enabled your to achieve the win. Whether it be a coach, mentor, parent, friend, spouse, or even one of the competitors, be sure to acknowledge their contribution.
Learn How to Lose with Grace!
As I stated above, if you find yourself win every competitive scenario that you participate in, then you are not challenging yourself. If you truly want to achieve greatness, there will indeed be times when you find yourself on the losing end of a given competitive scenario. Your loss may be the result of a number of circumstances. It may be that you were not ready for the level of competition, you had a bad day, your opponent(s) out maneuvered you, etc. Regardless of the reason, use your loss as a learning opportunity. Don't complain about the fairness of the competition, an unleveled playing field, or any other excuse whether real or perceived.
Show respect and congratulate the winner. Acknowledge their performance and wish them luck in the future. You need to understand that even after your loss, life goes on. And you need to move on, learn from your loss so you will be in a better position for future competitions.
Thoughts?