I remember when I was little, physically and young, I was known for having heart. Even if I wasn’t the best, I always played the hardest and heart-est. Because my best friend was older than me, I was always the little guy and the last to be picked, therefore I was the underdog and had something to prove.
Sometime in or after college, I lost my hustla spirit. Perhaps it was a sense of entitlement or that there was nobody to “compete” against. I was no longer attached to winning. What else was there to win? Winning was harder to define. I play pick up basketball now and I see myself seep into a sluggish mindset when I my team is losing. Is it just that I’m out of shape or is there something more?
I want to win again. I want to have that winner’s mentality like Muhammad Ali. Against who? I don’t know. Maybe myself. Perhaps I should compete (or spar) against my highest self until I become him. Watching Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, and A-Rod get hemmed up for use of performance enhancers has really tripped me out. The world’s best home run hitter, women’s runner, and baseball player…crazy! How bad do I want to win? Not that bad.
As an entrepreneur I believe in finding Blue Oceans where there aren’t any competitors and I believe in partnering with anyone who could be deemed a competitor. So without competitors, I realized that I have to do a better job of:
- Defining what games I want to win and which ones I don’t really care about
ie Do I really care about intramural basketball? - Defining winning for myself and my personal scoreboard
ie What are my success metrics? # of lives transformed? $s earned? etc - Defining my vision for what is possible if I do win to be my motivation
ie An NBA ring won’t move me, but what does?
This is just an observation about myself. Perhaps you feel the same.
What do you think? Comment below…
