Are You Prepared to Win

Are you committed to WIN & SUCCEED?

Are you truly giving 100%?

Would your friends, family and coworkers say that your are?

It’s a competitive social media world out there, and it’s getting more competitive. The speed of business is ratcheting up. No longer can you coast for long without your competitors passing you by.

All of us go through different stages in life. People are living longer, and working well past retirement age.

Are you still hungry to make your mark? Leave that Legacy! Or has the fire left your belly?

In the fast-moving high-tech social media world of the decade, the winners will be those who ride change and make it work for them, not against them. Those who learn the sophisticated skills of fast-reaction time, the increasing market value of quality and service, the vital importance of superior knowledge, the willingness to keep growing, learning, networking and engaging will go the spoils.

To meet this challenge, the skills of self-management will be as crucial as job-function expertise to success and growth for individuals as well as for organizations in the coming age of innovation. My father taught me growing up to always be prepared. Those lessons served me well as I entered athletics in high school and college.

EXPECTATIONS

In your quest for excellence, there are two powerful sets of great expectations affecting your life.

There are the expectations that others close to you have for you.
Then there are the expectations that you have for yourself.

While we all try to rise to the expectations others have for us, there is no question that our limitations and success will be based, most often, on our own expectations for ourselves. What the mind dwells upon, the body acts upon.

Winners vs. Losers

Winners expect:

Another good day
A promotion
A raise
Success in Business
Find a parking place
A productive meeting
A harmonious family life — and they usually get them.

Winners know that their actions will be controlled by their current obsessions.

Losers generally expect:

More of the same frustration
More problems
The loss of a job
A dull evening
Bad service
Failure in Business & Life

Most importantly, losers expect to feel bad and get sick — and they do.

Mental obsessions DO have physical manifestations.

You do become that which you fear. You get what you suspect. You are that which you expect to be. This power of the self-fulfilling prophecy is one of the most amazing phenomena of human nature.

What do you expect for yourself?

You should expect the best!

OPTIMISM

Optimism is a way of life.

Medical researchers have discovered that the body produces natural morphine-like substances that operate on certain receptor sites in the brain and spinal cord. These natural internal opiates are called endorphins. Secreted and used by the brain, endorphins reduce the experience and screen out unpleasant stimuli.

In fact, the presence of endorphins actually causes the feeling of well being. In one related study, actors were wired to electrodes and connected to blood catheters. They were then asked to perform various scenes. When they portrayed characters who were angry or depressed, endorphin levels dropped. But when the scene called for emoting joy, confidence, and love, endorphin levels shot up dramatically. Science has shown that positive thoughts produce endorphins.

Endorphin’s, in turn, encourage feelings of optimism and well-being. So it works both ways. You sing because you’re happy, and you’re happy because you’re singing.

60 to 70 percent of the population who visit physicians are sick as a result of an emotional feeling of stress because of the pressure they feel from life.

That’s why it’s critically important to remember that the key to winning positive self-expectancy is to understand that in the long run, every individual receives just about what he or she expects.

And if you have faith that if you do things the right way, you’ll be rewarded accordingly — you’ll be a winner!

POSITIVE VS. NEGATIVE

Some techniques for generating a greater attitude of positive self expectancy include the following:

Look at problems as opportunities — search for the favorable aspects of every situation. Sometimes easier said then done.
Learn to stay relaxed and friendly, no matter how much pressure and tension you’re under. In the beginning, it’s likely that you’ll have to fake it. But the truth is that both calmness and courage are learned habits, and there’s no better way to learn a good habit than by actually getting in and doing it and living it.
In dealing with other people, instead of griping, try praising. In place of cynicism, try optimism. Instead of being unhelpfully critical, try being constructively helpful. I can hear some of you saying NOW…You’ve gone to far. You know these are learned habits, too.
Everyone is dependent on others for at least part of their own positive self-expectancy.
Get excited and enthusiastic about your own dream. This excitement is like a forest fire. You can smell it, taste it, and see it a mile away.

Everybody loves a winner. But nobody crowds around a loser’s locker room. Don’t run around with the doomsayers who look up and shout that the sky is always falling.

Optimism and Realism go together

They are the problem-solving twins.
Pessimism and cynicism are the two worst companions.
Surround yourself with the “no problem, can-do’ type with big dreams like your own.
It’s the excitement of the big dream that carries you through the setback that you encounter.

The single most outwardly identifiable quality of a winner is positive self-expectancy — optimism. It’s the key to good health. It’s the key to happiness, and it puts the favorable inclination toward the achievement of every goal you set. Positive self-expectancy is the winner’s edge.

MENTAL TOUGHNESS

“Most people have the will to win; few have the will to prepare to win.” – Bobby Knight

Research and common sense tell us that top competitive athletes succeed because of their physical talents and their dedication to training. However, they also succeed because of their dexterity in dealing with the psychological pressures of a sport.

In short, mental toughness and resilience are tremendously important for any athlete aiming to be the best in a sport. To be the best in business and life…Mental Toughness and Resiliency are key as well.

There are at least six markers of mental toughness.

Flexibility

If something isn’t going well or doesn’t turn out as expected, they remain flexible in their approach and look for new ways to solve the problem. We live in a world where Social Media changes constantly. Yet we must be clear about our goals and objectives, and remain flexible at the same time.

2. Responsiveness

Remain engaged, alive and connected with a situation when under pressure. Constantly identify the opportunities, challenges, and threats in the environment. Understand that you need to think differently about how your environment and business operate.

The problems we encounter now are messier and more complicated than ever before. They often can’t be solved in the ways others were.

Have a sense of urgency about responding to the changing face of business.

3. Ethics and Courage

Do the right thing for you, the business or organization and the team. Suppress the temptation to cut corners or to undermine others so they come out on top. Have the courage to make the hard but right decisions for you, your business or organization.

4. Resiliency

Rebound from disappointments, mistakes and missed opportunities and get right back in the game. Have a hardiness for enduring the downs of a situation. Remain optimistic in the face of adversity and quickly change when necessary. Resolve to make things better and figure out ways to do more with fewer resources.

5. Sportsmanship

Leaders exhibit sportsmanship. They don’t let the opponent know when he or she has gotten them down. “Chin up,”

Clearly we all experience disappointment, attacks from others, an occasional blow to the gut.

How we react after losing or being attacked by others or the situation sets the tone for friends, family coworkers, and the rest of an organization.

6. Strength

Be able to exert and resist great force when under pressure and to keep going against insurmountable odds. Find the strength to dig deep and garner the resolve to keep going, even when in a seemingly losing game. Focus on giving it your best and fighting hard until the end, with persistent intensity throughout life and business.

“Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.” ‐ Ralph Marston

So….Are you PREPARED TO WIN?

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About Blair

Blair Evan Ball is a Social Media Coach and founder of Prepare1, a company that works with businesses, individuals and non-profits. He is a former executive with a Fortune 50 company, and his national division did $1Billion+ in sales annually.

Blair has written three e-books: Facebook for Business Made Easy, Facebook Pages for Business Made Easy, and WordPress Blog Setup Made Easy.

Blair also educates, trains entrepreneurs and business professionals how to amplify their brand, increase revenues, and raise more funds.

The Race is ON! | PREPARE | Get into the Game and WIN!