“Winners never quit and quitters never win.” Vince Lombard
Growing up has taught me so many things especially the power of effective questions. Had I not changed and upgraded my perspective on life, I would continue taking things at face value. There are so many people that are stuck because they just take things that are said at face value without really questioning them and understanding the proper context. I decided today just to share two of these things which are very popular motivational sayings or clichés.
We’ve all heard the old adage, “Winners never quit and quitters never win.” Is that really true and if so, in what context? Why is it that in jobs and businesses people often believe that if they just persist, somehow things will get better? And that they need to be loyal and never show signs of “giving up”? Now, maybe let me say this upfront. To me, winners do not quit or give up because the task is difficult, they quit because it won’t yield desired results. Winners quit – they quit quickly. Yes, I know we hear that quote about nothing matters but persistence, but if you’re a duck trying to climb a tree, all persistence will get you is web feet that are too sore to even swim well. Have the maturity and guts to quit the wrong things in your life. Don’t let the commonly accepted clichés misdirect you from the unique path you are on.
Do you remember what Albert Einstein said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.” There are many people who are so frustrated and believing they are stupid because of wrongly measuring their abilities. The world can be such a cruel and cold place when it comes to measuring people’s abilities. You need to pause and study yourself in order to learn about your true abilities. You hold the master key in this, you are the one that feels whatever you feel inside of you and you and you alone can honestly study your past and pick up the patterns of your strengths and passions. You have the responsibility to correct this situation.
The second cliché is, “You can do anything you set or put your mind to.” Once again, this sounds too motivational and unrealistic to me. A lack of self-awareness will definitely let you down here because you are likely to set you set yourself up for failure and frustration. This is more like unrequited love or one-sided love, it’s hell. All you do is spend your days thinking of someone who will never think of you. You’d do anything for that person, and they’ll do nothing for you. You can’t forget them, and that’s tearing you apart. This kind of love hurts, is like waiting for an airplane at a train station. You are truly a genius in what you are meant to do, yours is to find out that thing to do.
What really makes winners keep on winning? Well, to me it’s mainly the following:
- They truly understand the value and importance on limited resources. Time, money and energy – willpower. They know very well that they only have so much of them, you lose them, they are gone! They are always looking for the optimal/best way of investing them. They are not loyal to things that don’t work hence they quit.
- They cut their losses. They are good at abandoning a course that is clearly going to be unprofitable or unsuccessful before they suffer more losses or harm. You hear people saying, “Well, I’ve already invested a lot here and it will be pointless for me to give up.” This is one of the reasons some people become big losers.
- They understand Opportunity Cost. They know the cost of missing out on the best opportunity. This is once again understanding the value of their scarce resources. They are not impulsive, they don’t rush to take decisions, they evaluate opportunities accordingly.
Whenever winners realize they’ve made a mistake, they own up to it, accept it and move on without a fear of feeling embarrassed. So, they quit and move on. Just in closing, always be careful of some clichés out there, don’t just take things at face value, question them to understand the context and you will clearly understand what I mean. You have the power to live your dreams!
Veli Ndaba is a Professional and Motivational Speaker, Life-Coach and Neuro Linguistic Programming Practitioner, Author of three books (You Are Born to Win, Your Dream is Calling You and SWITCH ON!), Newspaper Columnist and Entrepreneur. To book him to speak at your next event or to help you and your team unleash your greatness, contact him on veli@velindaba.com , www.velindaba.com or +27 83 304 9773