Leadership Thought #398 – You Need To Run The Race To Win It
You can’t win a race if you don’t enter it.
One of the things I admire most about Olympic athletes is that they commit to being the best in the world at something. They don’t just talk about it; they put in the hard work necessary to make it happen. They choose to run the race because they know you cannot win it if you do not run. Most of us, however, prefer to stay on the sidelines and watch others excel and rationalize away our inability to do the same thing. Too many people dream big but act small.
To win a race, you must be in it. It’s cowardly to criticize the performance of others when we ourselves don’t dare to take similar risks. We don’t have to swim against Michael Phelps, but we do need to find something of equal value and pursue it. Everyone can be great at something. We are all blessed with unique skills and abilities that make us special. I don’t know what that is for you, but I know it exists. Half the battle is being willing to “throw your hat in the ring” in the first place. At a minimum, we can be the best at something or at least give it our all while trying. Life tends to reward bravery and punish cowardice.
I remember reading an interview with Ronnie Wood from the Rolling Stones where they asked him about his predecessor in the band, Mick Taylor. He admitted that Mick was technically a superior player to him and highly creative, but lacked the self-confidence to play large venues and accept superstar status. As Mick’s career was about to take off, he gave it all up because he couldn’t handle the pressure of increased expectations. Ronnie jumped at the opportunity, and the rest is history. People succeed in life not because they are inherently superior to you, but rather because they are prepared to take risks and endure the scrutiny of exposing themselves. They have faith in their abilities and exert the necessary effort to achieve something significant.
I know that not everyone likes sports or war metaphors, but they are used for a reason. To a large degree, life is about competition. Each of us will face our own metaphorical battles. How we respond when this happens ends up defining the person we become. We can either shrink from the challenge or seize the moment and be our true selves. To paraphrase Henry David Thoreau, “There is no reason to live a life of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in you…” Put yourself out there and see what happens. Start singing now!
Related articles
- Four Keys to Winning Gold in the Leadership Olympics (leaderchat.org)
- Lessons from the Olympics for us mortals (foot4ward.co.uk)
- Live in the Present (eternityineachmoment.wordpress.com)
- ‘Legends have come before me, but this is my time’ (guardian.co.uk)
- Leadership, Values and Integrity (claudetoland.com)
