I was playing a game of soccer the other day.
It was a very close game with both teams going hard. The tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.
And though it was just a friendly game with nothing on the line, I was playing like my life depended on it. I wanted to win.
More than anything.
At that moment, there was nothing else in the world that mattered. Winning the game was everything.
In it to win it
There where some people watching from the sidelines and I could hear some of them ridiculing the effort. They couldn’t comprehend why anyone would go at it so hard without incentive.
Unsurprisingly, each and every one of them was out of shape. They wouldn’t know ambition if it slapped them upside down their heads.
These days you almost get the feeling you have to apologize for pouring all your effort, all your energy into something.
“Excuse me for trying like hell Sir. I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable over there sipping your latte and reminiscing about the good ol’ days when you could still see your weiner while taking a piss.”
We’ve grown so weak. Our participation trophy mentality has brought out the lowest in us. In our society of weasels, winning has almost gotten a bad rap. Competing for the sake of competition is frowned upon. And winning is regarded as merely a formality.
“It’s just a game man, relax…”
Don’t come to me with that weak shit. Whatever it is we’re talking about, I’m in it to win it. But more than that, I want to set an example.
If you’re on my team, I want you to win. I want you to be a winner. And I want you to know the difference.
You see, in this heated game I was telling you about, I was playing with kids. Kids from a decrepit neighborhood in the forgotten parts of South America. Kids without the luxuries (and brainwashing) of the modern world. Good kids.
And though I’m the most competitive person you’ll ever meet, I didn’t just want to win for myself. I wanted to win for them.
I wanted the kids on my team to feel like they were playing with a superhero. I wanted them to feel like, for once, they were on the winning team.
Always Play to Win
” The only reason a warrior is alive is to fight, and the only reason a warrior fights is to win.” – Musashi
Winning is crucial to our psychological development and maturity. It is a valuable teacher and an unparalleled motivator.
Winning teaches you an essential truth: If you give everything, you can overcome anything.
Winning is not guaranteed, but losing is if you don’t give 100% of your effort.
There’s no such thing as something for nothing in this world. The losers, the whiners and the do-nothings will tell you about luck, talent, genetics or some other bullshit. They will tell you to relax and take it easy.
Fuck ’em.
In life, you’re either a winner or a loser. There’s no in between. Choose to be a winner.
Give everything you have and you will get everything you want in return. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But eventually, you will come out on top. And that my friend, is a guarantee.
Now go out there and have yourself a lovely day.
Thank you for reading
Victor
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