The Truth About Winning

I’ve had the privilege of being around people that consistently win at what they do. I’m not talking about some nonsense Charlie Sheen-style “winning” here, but rather the real deal type that defies all odds. Whether it was playing with some of the best athletes in the world, working alongside the most brilliant minds in advertising or growing up watching my family run their business — I have always been fascinated with why some people win more consistently than others.

There are a lot of things that contribute to winning — raw talent, timing, passion, and usually a great deal of luck. But if you peel the onion back and look a layer deeper, I have found that there is one thing that every winner has in common and most people never truly appreciate it. It doesn’t matter if the goal is to win a championship, a new piece of business or finally lose those last 5lbs, the secret to winning can be summed up in one word — SACRIFICE. We’ve all heard this word a million times, but I’m not sure we really appreciate what it means:

sac·ri·fice (verb): An act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy.

It’s not a popular, new age buzzword and it’s pretty much a word that conjures up all types of negative connotation because it means that we can’t “have it all” like we have been conditioned to believe is possible. Scratch the surface of any winner though and you will see a list of things sacrificed in order to achieve their ultimate goal.

Here are a few examples of people in my life that consistently win and some of the things they sacrifice in order to do it…

My Grandfather and Father worked their asses off running their own restaurant and knew that in order to win, they would need to forgo a lot of the things that everyone else around them had. They sacrificed weekends, nights, holidays (the only day our place closed was Xmas Day), sleep and many other things in order to make their dream a reality. They had a lot of good fortune that contributed to their success, but it’s what they sacrificed that allowed them to win for decades while most restaurants go out of business in less than three years. I can still remember sitting with my grandfather after a long day at work, listening to him offer up wisdom about what it takes to win. He always used to say, “If you want to get to the mountain top, you have to be willing to sacrifice.” I heard that phrase hundreds of times growing up, but it wasn’t until I was older that I started to understand how significant it was. He was an immigrant that came to this country with absolutely nothing, but he instinctively knew that you had to be willing to give something up in order to get something greater in return. Sounds simple, but it’s a lesson rarely preached or practiced in today’s world.

All of the world-class athletes I played sports with sacrificed a ridiculous amount to win. My roommate, Brodie Merrill, became one of the best defensemen to ever play the game of Lacrosse. He has won championships at every level and continues to perform at a peak level well into his 30s. Brodie was not the most talented player coming out of high school, but it was what he was willing to sacrifice that helped him become great. Whether it was staying after practice to get more work in, being insanely disciplined about how he trains and eats or not being able to do all the things average college kids did (e.g. Spring Break, partying, Summer vacation) — he was simply willing to sacrifice more than everyone else to win.

I have a close friend that was overweight and was finally able to shed the extra pounds. There was no magic pill she used to make it happen, only her ability to make lifestyle changes and sacrifice things she used to love. Going to the gym at night meant she had to sacrifice how much time she could spend hanging out and watching TV. Giving up soda and junk food were sacrifices that absolutely sucked, but she was hell-bent on not being another person that failed to achieve their weight-loss goal. For her, the goal was important enough to warrant the sacrifices. This is a critical point. There’s a great quote that Tony Robbins uses that goes, “if you want to take the island, burn the boats.” Make sure whatever you are looking to win at is something you really want, commit and then burn the damn boats. If you aren’t 100% committed, you will never be willing to make the necessary sacrifices needed to achieve it.

Before you set out to win at something, make sure you are honest with yourself about what you are willing to sacrifice in order to do it. There will be a lot of obstacles in your way as you set out to win, but never lose sight of the goal and go after it with everything you’ve got. When things get hard, remember what my coach, Dave Urick, used to tell us, “If it was easy, everyone would do it.”

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