Most people are controlled by external, rather than internal forces. We allow our environment, our circumstances, our failures, the economy, what other people do or say to us, the hurts and abuses of our childhood, the government, etc, to control the direction of our lives. We allow these things to dictate how we think, how we speak, and how we behave. As a result we never maximize our potential, live our dreams, step out by faith and take a risk, and become the person God has created us to be.
Now I am not, by any means, downplaying the reality of these things, but as humans we tend to use these external forces as excuses for our lack of effort. We allow the negative circumstances of life, the problems we face, the rejection we encounter, the struggles we have, to discourage and dissuade us from being all we can be. At one point or another we all struggle with the disease of “excusitis.”
Someone once said, “It’s not what happens to me that’s important, it’s what happens in me that’s important!” In other words, how do I allow the negative experiences of life to affect me on the inside? Do I allow them to discourage or challenge me? Do I allow them to make me want to quit or keep trying? Do I allow them to I allow them to become obstacles or stepping stones to winning in life?
True champions view setbacks as a temporary annoyance on the road to success. Even the most successful people on earth experience setbacks. Think about the great home run hitter Babe Ruth. Did you know he struck out almost 3 times more than he hit a home run? But we don’t think of him as the strikeout king, we think of him as the homerun king, a distinction he held for more than 50 years. He never allowed the fact that he struck out so much, keep him from swinging as hard as he could, every time he came to the plate!
What about you? Do you give up when the going gets tough? When obstacles or setbacks occur in your life to you quit?
The most successful sales people understand they will get many no’s before they get a yes in the sales process. My wife, Holly, is a great marketer. She not only has a powerfully wonderful outgoing personality, and never meets a stranger, but when she hears the word no, it doesn’t faze her. I asked her one day what her key was. I will never forget her answer. She said, “When someone tells me no, what they really mean is, not yet!” As a result when she made her living as a marketer she was very successful. She got accounts no one else was able to get, simply because she wouldn’t take no for an answer! In my estimation, she had learned to release the champion within.
As a young boy, Michael Jordan, dreamed of playing in the NBA. He believed he could be great. When he tried out for the basketball team in his freshman year he didn’t make the team. (How would you like to be the coach that cut Michael Jordan?) But, he didn’t let that discourage him. Rather than being down on himself and giving up, he redoubled his efforts. He spent the next year working hard on his game and developing his skills. He used the setback as a stepping stone to his future. You know the result. He became the greatest basketball player to ever play the game. Today, the greatest in the game right now are always compared to Michael Jordan.
Whether you realize it or not, you have what it takes to be a champion in life. Your personality type, your talents, your dreams, your desires, your knowledge, the skills you’ve developed, your strengths, and what you are passionate about, are all indicators of who you really are and what you can really do. You have on the inside of you the potential for greatness. You already have everything you need, on the inside of you, to win in life. To be a champion.
Unfortunately, most people never fully realize their full potential in life. Sadly, most people wake up to who they could have been, what they could have done, or how they could have made a positive difference in someone’s life or in the world, just before they die. I have known far too many people who on their death beds didn’t talk about what they had accomplished in life, but rather talked of the regrets they had of what they could have done but didn’t. But, this doesn’t have to be you and me.
So how do we release the champion within?
First of all we have to be aware of the champion traits within.
Second we have to awaken the champion within. In the New Testament, Paul the Apostle encouraged his young protégé, Timothy, to stir up the gift that was in him.
Third we have to believe we can be a champion in life.
Fourth we must activate the traits of the champion within.
Fifth we must never stop growing.
Sixth we must never stop living as the champion we are.You have what it takes to win in life. There is a champion on the inside of you just waiting to be released. Over the next few blogs I will share ideas and concepts with you that you can adapt to your own personal life. In doing so you will begin to release the champion within!
