Saturday, December 22, 2007

The attitude of a champion

I found the most amazing quote today when reading a story about Tiger Woods. This is him explaining to a group of people how he views life:

I view my life in a way ... I'll explain it to you, OK? The greatest thing about tomorrow is, I will be better than I am today. And that's how I look at my life. I will be better as a golfer, I will be better as a person, I will be better as a father, I will be a better husband, I will be better as a friend. That's the beauty of tomorrow. There is no such thing as a setback. The lessons I learn today I will apply tomorrow, and I will be better.

What a fantastic attitude! It explains a lot about why he's a champion. Always work to be better in everything you do. Every day is a gift; time is the only thing each of us have, and when each day is gone, we'll never get it back. So what seems to be a reasonable exchange for that day? Sitting on your couch and not doing anything? Probably not. Ask yourself this question: What can you do to give in exchange for this day?

At the end of the day worth living, you will have tried things, risked making mistakes, and actually made some mistakes. As Tiger says, that's just the cost of trying to be better. What makes these mistakes worth it is that you learn from them, that they make you better. It is only by trying things, and inevitably making mistakes and learning from them, that you can get better.

So get out there. Look for some possible course of action. Figure out how you might differentiate yourself — and do it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is a great post. I think many leaders possess this attitude towards life.