Are You Playing to Win or Are You Playing Not to Lose?

Yes, I’m speaking to you. Are YOU playing to win?rn rnORrn rnAre you playing not to lose?rn rnI met with Michael Gerber (the author of the E-Myth) last week. We were discussing different business possibilities when he said to me:rn rn”David, in North America alone 500,000 businesses are started every month and 85% of them are out of business before the end of their first year.”rn rnThis statistic makes my heart sink. In my experience, most people open businesses because they really do desire a different result in their lives and they understand they will not ever have the freedom they desire without owning their own business. The death of a business is the death of a heartfelt dream.rn rnSo why are so many businesses failing?rn rnThese ex-business owners would, I’m sure, refer to an endless combination of “reasons” and “impossible circumstances”, but here’s what I know to be true:rn rnFor every reason a person comes up with to explain “why” a business failed, we can find a parallel story of a successful business owner who experienced very similar challenges, but overcame them to win.rn rnBusinesses fail because their owners quit. Period. I will never accept any other explanation.rn rnAs entrepreneurs, we are either playing to win, or we are playing not to lose …rn rnIf you’re playing not to lose (whether it be in your business, your marriage, or any other undertaking), what you are actually telling yourself is that you’re NOT willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. You are holding onto a psychological “way out”. You are forever leaving yourself a backdoor to escape.rn rnNo significant achievement can support an escape route, and the reason is this:rn rnThe mind works in such a way that it will always take the path of least resistance. Whenever we have a problem, we must recognize that the solution exists simultaneously. However, in order to recognize and execute the solution, we are required to grow. The solving of any problem can’t come out of the same thinking that created it. Something new must be born in order to manifest the new thought. Change is not a comfortable thing to do, so when it becomes too uncomfortable we begin to look for the escape route … we accept that the unfortunate “circumstance” is too great, and we allow ourselves to fail.rn rnYou see, if we entertain any possibility of failure, if we leave the escape door open, we will not attract the thoughts required to solve the problem.rn rnConversely, playing to win simply means making the decision to “become” and to “do” absolutely whatever it takes to accomplish your objective. You will accept no other outcome but success.rn rnThis decision will cause you to grow in amazing ways and become all you need to be to live your dream.rn rnIt’s time to witness “Playing to Win” in Action!

No related posts.

OLDER:

NEWER:

Leave a Comment

Most Recent Posts

Read Back Issues of WHIR Magazine

  • Thumbnail image for The Social Media Issue

    May 2012 - The Social Media Issue

    Read the Digital Edition – It seems rather serendipitous that, as we began preparing to launch this social media focused issue of WHIR magazine, the WHIR organization, and other iNET Interactive editorial properties began working in earnest to measure and track engagement as a metric on our websites and on the content we publish. Simply …Read More

    Read The Digital Edition
  • Thumbnail image for 2012 Hottest Hosts Directory

    February 2012 - 2012 Hottest Hosts Directory

    Read the Digital Edition – This edition of our Hottest Hosts buyer’s guide and directory issue is the fifth instance of the annual publication, a milestone that kind of snuck up on me, personally, but which I think provides an intriguing validation of the format, and of the principle behind it. The hosted services industry …Read More

    Read The Digital Edition
  • Thumbnail image for The Killer Business Model

    October 2011 - The Killer Business Model

    Read the Digital Edition – In pursuit of some inspiration for your killer business model, we sought out some of the really cool things being done in the hosting space by providers trying to stand out from the crowd. They’re not all huge companies yet, but they’ve all got some really interesting ideas, and more importantly, they’re looking at innovating in a way that could inspire some really original thinking from you.

    Read The Digital Edition