I wonder if athletes who win Olympic Gold medals feel surprised about it.
“A Gold medal would be nice, I’ll try my best — but even if I get Bronze, it’s not a bad deal.” Can you win Gold with this mindset?
From what I’ve been told, most people who go on to accomplish anything in their lives, do so because they EXPECTED to. They envisioned it, prepared for it, and took the actions necessary to execute it.
Champions aren’t surprised when they win — they’re shocked when they don’t.
How do people develop this level of certainty with their goals?
Is there a process to it, an art, or a science to it?
That is the question I’ve been pondering on. Is it affirmations or visualization, is it planning, or is it simply taking action?
I feel like there must be a certain point when a person makes a decision that they are going to win the gold. They just unilaterally decide that the gold medal belongs to them. It’s theirs, not yours, not their competitor’s. And that they will do whatever it takes to claim it.
“That would be nice” = A death sentence
I’ve noticed that a lot of my “failures” so far (in business, and in life) have come from a “that would be nice” mindset.
And on the flip side, every accomplishment I’ve ever made came from a ruthless expectation of winning.
The question is: how do you cultivate this ruthless expectation with practical steps, such that it never wavers?
(Thanks to Dr. AnnMaria De Mars for igniting this idea in me.)
