What Is Your Definition Of A Winner?

From time to time, I send little bursts of inspiration your way. These include short video clips from Simple Truths.

I asked you to think about three questions last month and Roger Parker did just that. In fact, I was so impressed with his answers, I’m including them here.

But first, here’s a little back-story. I met Roger via a tele-seminar with my mentor and friend Peter Bowerman. Peter is a true inspiration and if you don’t already know who he is, you can check him out here. He is one of my personally recommended resources in the Brain Buzz section of my blog (and I only recommend people who I’ve worked with or highly respect). Plus, he is releasing a new book this year and you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see some familiar names featured.

Okay, now you know how Roger and I originally connected and now, here’s how he responded. (this will be posted on my blog in the next few weeks and you can log on and post your own thoughts).

Question: What is Your Definition of a Winner?

Answer: A winner is someone who tries as hard as they can, without sacrificing their values, their integrity, or time with their family.

Winners are not workaholics; they know how to balance business success with relationship success.

Winners recognize the truth of the saying: “It’s not so much what you do or say, but how you make others feel.”

Question: How Do You Face Defeat?

Answer: Perhaps the best way to face defeat, as an entrepreneur or self-employed writer, is to visit a friend or co-worker who spends their days in a cubicle. No matter how hard things get, visiting an office in a suburban office park is usually enough to give me the strength to continue on my own.

Question: How Do You Approach Your Challenges?

Answer: With music, day trips with a camera, and time with my wife and family, pets, etc.

One perspective that I always remember was originally stated by Tom Lehrer in the 1960’s: “By the time Mozart was my age, he had been dead 16 years!”

From that perspective, we are all lucky, and it’s useful to remember that others are not so fortunate.

A friend of mine is a professional photographer facing the same business pressures that all professional photographers face in today’s economy. One of the things that has really changed him was spending a morning a week teaching photography to brain-injured people. That has had a profound effect on his attitudes towards his own frustrations.

A really good book on the topic is Martin Seligman’s Learned Optimism which I highly recommend.

Thanks to Roger for his thoughtful and helpful responses. You can learn more about him here.