Winners Are Obsessed With One Thing And It Isn’t Winning
Why The “Least Likely To Succeed” Always Wins
Paul Scott Jr
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Jul 2, 2018 · 6 min read
History is littered with inventors who had “great” ideas but kept them quiet and then poorly executed them. And history is lit up with do-ers who took ideas that were floating around in the ether and actually made something happen. In fact, just about every successful venture is based on an unoriginal idea, beautifully executed. — Seth Godin
Some of the most pessimistic people were once optimists that were obsessed with winning. All they could think about was tasting the “gold”.
They did just enough work to get the outcome they wanted, but they never “landed on the shore”. Someone less talented than them made it to where they wanted to be because of the people they knew.
Although this may be true, this isn’t the complete reason for their success.
People who win, know that they’re going to win from the start — or at least they’re mostly optimistic about achieving success than they are about failing.
No one likes to feel the sting of failure. The shame that comes with it is almost unbearable. Most people give up and throw in the towel altogether, because they just can’t disassociate the pain of failure from the root cause of why things didn’t go the way they planned.
The world is full of talented and highly intelligent people that have failed and went on to live lives — that they know — are well below their potential.
But what about the ones that are less talented and go on to take the ultimate prize?
Or how about the ones that were at the right place at the right time because of the people they knew?
What did they really do differently that made them more successful than those who were more talented than they were, and more intelligent than they were?
They were obsessed.
Not with winning, but with execution.
They made the small mundane tasks, that no one else wants to bother with, the center of their focus.
The lives of human beings, as we come to observe them in public, are a very small portion of the iceberg that remains submerged under the surface. These “less likely to succeed” individuals knew they weren’t untouchable and that they actually were susceptible to failure —and that’s why they prepared behind the scenes and made execution of the small things their focus.
They knew that the real reward was in the execution itself, and thats where they redirected their eye sights after knowing that they wanted to win, and why they wanted to win.
They are the prime example of what happens when preparation meets with opportunity.
My goal at one time was to box for the All Navy Boxing team. I had a 8 hour work schedule at the time, so I was able to train at a local boxing gym 6 days a week.
I was apart of a gym that had 3 National Amateur Boxing champions and 2 professional boxers. One of the professional boxers fought on the undercard of the Canelo Alvarez and Caesar Chavez title fight on Pay Per View. He was the fight right before the main event.
That boy had talent!
Everyday I had to mentally prepare to spar him as I did the day before — and I was terrified every single time that I stepped in the ring with him.
Sparring Manuel “Tino” Avila forced me to work on the basics outside of the gym. He didn’t take it easy on me, not even a little bit.
I was at home shadow boxing. I would go to my base gym and run 5 to 6 miles on the treadmill to make sure my conditioning was good, so I could spar 3 rounds a piece between him and two other highly skilled amateur boxers in the gym. By the end of each gym session, I sparred 9 rounds, 3 minute rounds a piece.
My coach was probably the meanest man I have ever met, but he believed in me and he would have never agreed to train me, unless he felt that I was “really a fighter” and that I was talented enough to hang with the “big boys”.
I had dreams of going to the 2016 Olympics, but injuries and transferring to Japan sidelined me, for the last half of 2015 and the whole of 2016.
I’ve learned my most valuable lessons in life from the mentally and physically demanding sport of boxing.
I learned to pay special attention to things like my stance. If I didn’t have the proper stance, I couldn't generate enough power from the ground to turn into my punches.
I had to master my left jab, so that I could snap out a punch fast enough and with enough force to keep my opponent at bay, and to set him for my right hand.
I had to master throwing my right hand, so that I could make my opponent respect my power and command generalship in the ring.
I made these basic fundamentals my obsession.
In the beginning, everyone that wants to compete in any martial art just wants to hop in the “ring” and fight right away. In boxing, that’s how you get seriously hurt or knocked out by a fighter that has actually taken the time to work on the small things and perfect their craft.
Before I gave up boxing to transfer to my current base in Japan, I won most of my fights — the others I was robbed, but that’s a different story and still a sore spot.
In every fight, I did extremely well, because I had woven the basics into my muscle and brain memory so often through constant execution, that I didn’t have to think about what I was going to do next. It was a synchronized dance when ever I fought — and it was all because I made executing the basics of boxing my main obsession
I have taken everything I’ve learned from boxing, into every area of my life.
As much as I would like to skip ahead to the “big picture” with my personal goals, I have to pace myself and focus on execution.
I have to become so obsessed with following through to completion on every task I begin, that the rewards and the outcome that I want sneak up on me.
If my focus is on anything except the task in front of me, I risk meeting with failure. I gain to lose more by completing a task, solely for the rewards, as opposed to completing the task because I hold myself to a higher standard — and because I love what I do.
When we fall in love with execution, whether its in small things or when its “show time” — winning happens naturally.
We have a saying in boxing that goes like this:
Train hard. Win easy.
When you make execution your focus, as you’re perfecting your craft, you become real fluid and smooth. You don’t have to think about it. Those small victories in private become those legendary victories that people never forget.
In the Navy, we also have a saying that goes like this:
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
When you take your time with learning or practicing your craft, you become real smooth, as if you’re not even trying. As you stay consistent, something that you use to move at a snail pace with, you begin to do it lightening fast and effectively— because you made execution your main obsession.
Whether your goal is to go viral, end up on a big stage some where or earn a living decent enough to live comfortably, what you do doesn’t count when everyone is watching.
No.
Not when people are reading your posts.
Not when the curtains rise and the spot light is suddenly upon you.
And most certainly not when your boss is looking for someone to give a raise to.
It matters now!
It matters right now, when no one is watching.
It matters every single day when there’s nothing else left on your plate to do.
It matters when you think you’re good enough already and you’ve mastered the basics.
It matters the most when you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel — and you’ll thank yourself for doing it when you can’t see the silver lining in the cloud — because one day someone is going to give you your shot.
One day, your current condition won’t be as bad as what it is and that pain you feel right now will eventually go away.
The underdog always has the advantage, because they have more than enough time on their hands to master their obsession with execution.
Success occurs, when opportunity meets with preparation. — Zig Ziglar
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WRITTEN BY
Paul Scott Jr
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Human. Father. Navy veteran. Author.
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