Hey Guys,
I know that a lot of you are probably dreading Monday Morning so I thought that I would just leave this here as it motivates the crap out of me!!
Stay healthy,
Mike
Unorthodox
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Sunday, 21 June 2015
Monday, 26 January 2015
Work ethic
Hey Guys,
Todays post is all about work ethic.
Now I've wrote about this quite a bit in the past as I think it is one of the most defining factors that you can have in whether or not you're going to achieve your goals.
One thing that we have always seen from any body who achieves their goals and realises their dreams, is that they work incredibly hard.
None worked as hard as Dan Gable.
Dan Gamble is a wrestling God. He won the Olympics without have a SINGLE POINT scored on him.
A single point!!!
For anyone who knows wrestling they will tell you that like winning the NBA by 3 pointers alone (and not getting scored on).
As we are now at the pointy in January when people start to give up on their goals a bit, I thought I would post this video to help you all get through your Monday.
Go kill it!
Stay Healthy,
Mike
Friday, 23 January 2015
Great article to keep you motivated!
Hey Guys,
Here is a great article to keep you motivated. It's roughly at this time that people start to abandon their New Years resolutions and I don't what that to be you!
Enjoy the article HERE
Stay healthy,
Mike
Here is a great article to keep you motivated. It's roughly at this time that people start to abandon their New Years resolutions and I don't what that to be you!
Enjoy the article HERE
Stay healthy,
Mike
Monday, 19 January 2015
Being Prepared
Hey Guys,
Today I want to talk about the value of being prepared.
The other day I was reading a post on a forum about bartending. I have no idea why I ended up treading the thread but one post on being prepared for the job really stood out to me. I don't know the poster personally just as 'Angry Chicken'. If he reads this I just wanted to say I enjoyed it.
Here is the post,
Bartending in a college town is easy in terms of what drinks you have to know. Not many people are ordering anything sophisticated. 50% of it will be beer, 30% of it will be shots, and 20% of it will be mixed drinks. Beer is easy, just make sure you manage your kegs and bleed off the head BEFORE it gets busy. Mixed drinks in a college town will most likely be things like "jack and coke", "vodka and tonic", "red bull and vodka", "xyz spirit and abc mixer".
Those who want to get fucked up will order Long Island iced tea (or one of it's five cousins), Blue Hawaiian, Irish car bombs (if you have Guinness on tap) and the occasional Zombie. Which brings us to shots. You should know how to make yummy shots. Fast. Lemon Drop, Mudslide, Red Headed Slut, Purple Hooter, Kamikaze (more on this later), B-52, Blowjob, Slippery Nipple, Buttery Nipple, Sex on the Beach, etc... Know how to make those.
Now, that brings us to two things you have to have to be a good bartender: Speed and customer management (being able to serve them when they don't know what the fuck they want, AND being able to say no politely). At least several times a night, you are going to get a girl or group of girls come up and say, "oh my god, I like, don't know what I want... What should I get? I want something GOOOD! can you make me something good?" At this point, instead of asking them questions, just take charge. A Sex on the Beach variation OR a Kamikaze variation ALWAYS works.
Let's talk speed. The more drinks you can make in a minute, the more more you can serve, the more tips you make, the BETTER tips you make (for being fast) and the more time you have between orders to hit on chicks (or build rapport with your customer).
Set up your rail and work area to work efficiently.
In front of (or next to) your ice bin (with TWO scoops in case you drop one), you should have a well with enough room for the following (in this order from left to right) Vodka, Rum, Gin, Tequila, Whiskey, Tripple Sec, Lime Juice. In addition to that I usually have a bottle of citron, scotch and some peach schnapps. NOW, this is your RAIL liquor - it is not your top shelf shit. If your customer orders top shelf, or calls a brand, use that. Otherwise, assume the rail.
Your soda gun should have Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, sour mix, tonic and soda. You should have Cranberry, Orange juice, Pineapple juice and cream within arms reach. In your back right pocket you should carry your bar key, in your back left pocket you should have your waiter's corkscrew (the little knife on the top of it will be invaluable for various shit). You should have a sharp paring knife and cutting board stashed near by along with a cocktail strainer, a wooden muddler and several lighters. Get a case of the small ones for cheap and carry at least three with you. Also, start the night with at least ten pens.
Have at least two large bar tins (you will be mixing drinks with a bar tin and pint glass) and learn how to hold the tin and the glass with one hand with a small gap to "strain" the drink. Do NOT let ice chunks get into a shot - your customer will choke. A small bar tin, a jig and a strainer are all good things to have on had as well. A small flashlight with a momentary button is handy as well (for cutting through the crowd if you have to, just blink the light in front of you and people will get out of your way easier).
To measure or to count? That is the question. It all depends on how your manager sets up the bar. Each drink should contain an ounce and a half of alcohol (generally an ounce of strong spirit and a half ounce of sweet liqueur). That is what the customer is paying for. With speed pourers, each count is quarter ounce. For a jack and coke, that is a six count jack. For a Cosmo, that's 4 count of vodka, a 2 count of tripple sec and lime juice and top off with cran. If you are measureing, use the appropriate jig. Some bars have "automatic cut off pourers". Those things suck. They always don't put enough alcohol in the drink and as a result, your drinks are weak (which means your tips are weak) Don't work in a place that has those.
You should cut your garnishes before your shift. Lime, Lemon, Orange, cherries, Lemon peel, Orange peel, Olives (although in a college bar you probably wont use very many olives, be sure to empty them out and get new ones at least once a week). Fresh mint leaves for making Mojitos in the beer fridge.
Let's talk about the Kamikaze for a minute. It's a shit simple drink made with vodka, tripple sec and sour (or lime). That variation is a pretty common theme. For example, a margarita is Tequila, tripple sec and lime. A cosmo is basically a Kamikaze with a splash of cran. If you are experimenting, or in a hurry and need to make something tasty in a pinch, XYZ CLEAR spirit (vodka, rum, gin, tequila), triple sec, lime and ABC juice (OJ, Cran, OJ AND cran, pineapple) will come out tasting pretty fucking good most of the time. It's simple combo that usually works.
-Take multiple orders at the same time. Set up your glasware and ice and make your drinks at once. Let's say you get a Vodka tonic, two Kamikaze shots, a Long Island Ice tea and a Cosmo. Set up a short glass a tall glass with ice a short glass with ice and a tin with ice all lined up on your pour mat. All of those drinks take vodka, two of them take tripple sec and lime. Start with Vodka in your left hand and tripple sec and lime in your right hand (learn to grab and pour tripple sec and lime at the same time - they are right next to each other on your rail and they will be the same count most of the time) and start from the outside and work your way in.
Four counts of vodka in the first glass (left hand), four counts of tripple sec and lime in your tin (right hand - you are making two shots in the same tin), bring both hands together, two counts vodka in the tall glass for the LIT, two counts tripple sec and lime in the short glass for the cosmo, put the two bottles in your right hand back on your rail, as you continue to go across the line up with the vodka. Grab the rest of the bottles to finish off the spirits in the long island, put them down, grap the cran and splash it in the cosmo, grab your gun and blast some sour and coke in the LIT, some tonic in the first glass and BAM you are done. Slap a pint glass on top of your tin, shake the shit out of it and pour two shots.
You just made five drinks in less that thirty seconds. The longest part (and most important part) is collecting loot and giving change. Best to start a tab and always collect a DL and credit card. Develop a system to track it well. Hopefully your POS (point of sale) system is decent and easy to navigate. If it isn't that will be the biggest thing that slows you down.
Why some people who bartend will find this useful, it's more to showcase the level of preparedness that you should undertake in any activity that you value. It is this attention to detail that will separate you from the pack!
Stay healthy,
Mike
Today I want to talk about the value of being prepared.
The other day I was reading a post on a forum about bartending. I have no idea why I ended up treading the thread but one post on being prepared for the job really stood out to me. I don't know the poster personally just as 'Angry Chicken'. If he reads this I just wanted to say I enjoyed it.
Here is the post,
Bartending in a college town is easy in terms of what drinks you have to know. Not many people are ordering anything sophisticated. 50% of it will be beer, 30% of it will be shots, and 20% of it will be mixed drinks. Beer is easy, just make sure you manage your kegs and bleed off the head BEFORE it gets busy. Mixed drinks in a college town will most likely be things like "jack and coke", "vodka and tonic", "red bull and vodka", "xyz spirit and abc mixer".
Those who want to get fucked up will order Long Island iced tea (or one of it's five cousins), Blue Hawaiian, Irish car bombs (if you have Guinness on tap) and the occasional Zombie. Which brings us to shots. You should know how to make yummy shots. Fast. Lemon Drop, Mudslide, Red Headed Slut, Purple Hooter, Kamikaze (more on this later), B-52, Blowjob, Slippery Nipple, Buttery Nipple, Sex on the Beach, etc... Know how to make those.
Now, that brings us to two things you have to have to be a good bartender: Speed and customer management (being able to serve them when they don't know what the fuck they want, AND being able to say no politely). At least several times a night, you are going to get a girl or group of girls come up and say, "oh my god, I like, don't know what I want... What should I get? I want something GOOOD! can you make me something good?" At this point, instead of asking them questions, just take charge. A Sex on the Beach variation OR a Kamikaze variation ALWAYS works.
Let's talk speed. The more drinks you can make in a minute, the more more you can serve, the more tips you make, the BETTER tips you make (for being fast) and the more time you have between orders to hit on chicks (or build rapport with your customer).
Set up your rail and work area to work efficiently.
In front of (or next to) your ice bin (with TWO scoops in case you drop one), you should have a well with enough room for the following (in this order from left to right) Vodka, Rum, Gin, Tequila, Whiskey, Tripple Sec, Lime Juice. In addition to that I usually have a bottle of citron, scotch and some peach schnapps. NOW, this is your RAIL liquor - it is not your top shelf shit. If your customer orders top shelf, or calls a brand, use that. Otherwise, assume the rail.
Your soda gun should have Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, sour mix, tonic and soda. You should have Cranberry, Orange juice, Pineapple juice and cream within arms reach. In your back right pocket you should carry your bar key, in your back left pocket you should have your waiter's corkscrew (the little knife on the top of it will be invaluable for various shit). You should have a sharp paring knife and cutting board stashed near by along with a cocktail strainer, a wooden muddler and several lighters. Get a case of the small ones for cheap and carry at least three with you. Also, start the night with at least ten pens.
Have at least two large bar tins (you will be mixing drinks with a bar tin and pint glass) and learn how to hold the tin and the glass with one hand with a small gap to "strain" the drink. Do NOT let ice chunks get into a shot - your customer will choke. A small bar tin, a jig and a strainer are all good things to have on had as well. A small flashlight with a momentary button is handy as well (for cutting through the crowd if you have to, just blink the light in front of you and people will get out of your way easier).
To measure or to count? That is the question. It all depends on how your manager sets up the bar. Each drink should contain an ounce and a half of alcohol (generally an ounce of strong spirit and a half ounce of sweet liqueur). That is what the customer is paying for. With speed pourers, each count is quarter ounce. For a jack and coke, that is a six count jack. For a Cosmo, that's 4 count of vodka, a 2 count of tripple sec and lime juice and top off with cran. If you are measureing, use the appropriate jig. Some bars have "automatic cut off pourers". Those things suck. They always don't put enough alcohol in the drink and as a result, your drinks are weak (which means your tips are weak) Don't work in a place that has those.
You should cut your garnishes before your shift. Lime, Lemon, Orange, cherries, Lemon peel, Orange peel, Olives (although in a college bar you probably wont use very many olives, be sure to empty them out and get new ones at least once a week). Fresh mint leaves for making Mojitos in the beer fridge.
Let's talk about the Kamikaze for a minute. It's a shit simple drink made with vodka, tripple sec and sour (or lime). That variation is a pretty common theme. For example, a margarita is Tequila, tripple sec and lime. A cosmo is basically a Kamikaze with a splash of cran. If you are experimenting, or in a hurry and need to make something tasty in a pinch, XYZ CLEAR spirit (vodka, rum, gin, tequila), triple sec, lime and ABC juice (OJ, Cran, OJ AND cran, pineapple) will come out tasting pretty fucking good most of the time. It's simple combo that usually works.
-Take multiple orders at the same time. Set up your glasware and ice and make your drinks at once. Let's say you get a Vodka tonic, two Kamikaze shots, a Long Island Ice tea and a Cosmo. Set up a short glass a tall glass with ice a short glass with ice and a tin with ice all lined up on your pour mat. All of those drinks take vodka, two of them take tripple sec and lime. Start with Vodka in your left hand and tripple sec and lime in your right hand (learn to grab and pour tripple sec and lime at the same time - they are right next to each other on your rail and they will be the same count most of the time) and start from the outside and work your way in.
Four counts of vodka in the first glass (left hand), four counts of tripple sec and lime in your tin (right hand - you are making two shots in the same tin), bring both hands together, two counts vodka in the tall glass for the LIT, two counts tripple sec and lime in the short glass for the cosmo, put the two bottles in your right hand back on your rail, as you continue to go across the line up with the vodka. Grab the rest of the bottles to finish off the spirits in the long island, put them down, grap the cran and splash it in the cosmo, grab your gun and blast some sour and coke in the LIT, some tonic in the first glass and BAM you are done. Slap a pint glass on top of your tin, shake the shit out of it and pour two shots.
You just made five drinks in less that thirty seconds. The longest part (and most important part) is collecting loot and giving change. Best to start a tab and always collect a DL and credit card. Develop a system to track it well. Hopefully your POS (point of sale) system is decent and easy to navigate. If it isn't that will be the biggest thing that slows you down.
Why some people who bartend will find this useful, it's more to showcase the level of preparedness that you should undertake in any activity that you value. It is this attention to detail that will separate you from the pack!
Stay healthy,
Mike
Monday, 12 January 2015
Staying the course!
Hey Guys,
Well 2015 is now nearly half a month in!
How are you doing with your goals?
Are you consistently moving towards your goal or have you already let habits start to slip moving you further away from them?
At this time of year you are going to see lots of posts that are wrote to keep you motivated with quick and easy tips to staying on track. Those articles are great but this isn't one of them.
The truth of the matter is that working towards any goal that is worthwhile is just hard god damn work! Most of the time you won't see results straight away and it will feel like a trudge to get stuff done. You won't always be motivated, you won't want to get your arse in gear and get it done most days.
These are the days that matter.
These are the days that separate the people who just WANT something, from the people that will HAVE something.
It is these days, when it's raining and it's cold, and there is something good on the telly, these are the days that move you further towards your goals. These are the days that test how much you want it. Do you actually want something or are you just faking it so that you can make Facebook posts and make yourself feel better about the stuff that keeps you awake at night?
I've said this before but everything has a price. For whatever you want in this world you have to pay a cost. Whether it's getting in shape, starting a business or being a good parent. Everything has a cost that you must pay in order to achieve that. Your cost maybe more than someone else's. That's life.
The bottom line is whether or not you're prepared to pay the price or not. Can't pay it? Can't have it. That's the universes law not mine.
So before you waste everyones time, including your own, maybe you should just ask yourself
"Can I pay?"
Stay Healthy,
Mike
Well 2015 is now nearly half a month in!
How are you doing with your goals?
Are you consistently moving towards your goal or have you already let habits start to slip moving you further away from them?
At this time of year you are going to see lots of posts that are wrote to keep you motivated with quick and easy tips to staying on track. Those articles are great but this isn't one of them.
The truth of the matter is that working towards any goal that is worthwhile is just hard god damn work! Most of the time you won't see results straight away and it will feel like a trudge to get stuff done. You won't always be motivated, you won't want to get your arse in gear and get it done most days.
These are the days that matter.
These are the days that separate the people who just WANT something, from the people that will HAVE something.
It is these days, when it's raining and it's cold, and there is something good on the telly, these are the days that move you further towards your goals. These are the days that test how much you want it. Do you actually want something or are you just faking it so that you can make Facebook posts and make yourself feel better about the stuff that keeps you awake at night?
I've said this before but everything has a price. For whatever you want in this world you have to pay a cost. Whether it's getting in shape, starting a business or being a good parent. Everything has a cost that you must pay in order to achieve that. Your cost maybe more than someone else's. That's life.
The bottom line is whether or not you're prepared to pay the price or not. Can't pay it? Can't have it. That's the universes law not mine.
So before you waste everyones time, including your own, maybe you should just ask yourself
"Can I pay?"
Stay Healthy,
Mike
Friday, 14 November 2014
What it takes to succeed.
Hey Guys,
I've often wrote many times in the past about what it really takes to accomplish a goal.
Any goal that is worth having (to YOU, not other people) will always be really hard work. It will require you to work hard, sacrifice thing and become uncomfortable. This is the law of the universe, not mine. Everything has its price and you can either pay it or you can't. Can't pay the price, can't have it and no amount of excuses will change that.
I think that we can all be a bit guilty of forgetting that sometimes (me included). It's to easy to become commutable and stop really working hard for what we want.
We go a little soft.
It's easier to stay in bed rather than get up and put the work in. It's easier to take sort cuts rather than giving your best. However it is only our very best efforts that provide us with the results we need.
In this article Matt Kroc talks about what it takes to excel in powerlifting, bodybuilding and just being successful.
Well worth a read, it reminded me of some of the things I have been neglecting in my own lift.
Stay healthy,
Mike
I've often wrote many times in the past about what it really takes to accomplish a goal.
Any goal that is worth having (to YOU, not other people) will always be really hard work. It will require you to work hard, sacrifice thing and become uncomfortable. This is the law of the universe, not mine. Everything has its price and you can either pay it or you can't. Can't pay the price, can't have it and no amount of excuses will change that.
I think that we can all be a bit guilty of forgetting that sometimes (me included). It's to easy to become commutable and stop really working hard for what we want.
We go a little soft.
It's easier to stay in bed rather than get up and put the work in. It's easier to take sort cuts rather than giving your best. However it is only our very best efforts that provide us with the results we need.
In this article Matt Kroc talks about what it takes to excel in powerlifting, bodybuilding and just being successful.
Well worth a read, it reminded me of some of the things I have been neglecting in my own lift.
Stay healthy,
Mike
Sunday, 7 September 2014
Chasing goals or chasing dreams.
Do you know the difference between a goal and a dream?
A goal is something that you are actively working HARD for while a dream is just something you wish would happen to you.
I bet that many of you reading this are sat there thinking "I'm working hard for my dreams". I bet many of you post how dedicated you are on Facebook and Twitter and love the odd motivational picture on Instagram (don't we all).
I love that, I really do. I'm all about people working hard towards a specific goal that will help them live the life they want.
However there seems to be a growing number of people out there who have forgot what HARD WORK actually is.
There seems to be a large number of people who have an entitled out look on their goals. People who seem to think that just because they are good at something, that people should support them and financially fund them towards their goal. Or even worse, that success will magically happen if they just keep doing what they love.
This is not the case.
I don't care how good you are, how many medals or shows that you have won or what kind of champion you are.
YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO ANYTHING.
It is your responsibility to finance, fuel and provide the hard work necessary to achieve YOUR goals.
They are no one else's.
Let me give you a hypothetical example of what I am talking about.
Say we have an athlete that is very good at their sport. They live at home with their Mother and Father and have no job except becoming better at their sport.
They practice every day, working on the sport that they love. They don't consider it 'work' as it is an activity that they love with all their heart. Now say that this individual has had some success on the competitive circuit. They have won a few local torments and placed well at a few international ones as well.
They then decide that either a trip to a well established training centre, a trip abroad to compete or some other kind of trip that costs a large amount of money will benefit them and their goal. The individual does not work but decides to set up a Just Giving page or something similar to gain the funds necessary to make the trip. They then ask all their friends, family, training partners etc to give them money so that they can continue to chase their dream.
They are basically begging for free money to take a trip.
I'm sorry but this just isn't right! Where is all the 'hard work' you said you were putting in? Where is the 'Grind' you talked about on Facebook? Why should anyone help you when you won't even help yourself?
People like this are just plain lazy. If you are not willing to put in hard work to support yourself then any should anyone else?
Here is a list of things that an athlete I know did every week so that they could save up to travel to New Zealand to train. The individual is a full time student living in privately rented accommodation.
A goal is something that you are actively working HARD for while a dream is just something you wish would happen to you.
I bet that many of you reading this are sat there thinking "I'm working hard for my dreams". I bet many of you post how dedicated you are on Facebook and Twitter and love the odd motivational picture on Instagram (don't we all).
I love that, I really do. I'm all about people working hard towards a specific goal that will help them live the life they want.
However there seems to be a growing number of people out there who have forgot what HARD WORK actually is.
There seems to be a large number of people who have an entitled out look on their goals. People who seem to think that just because they are good at something, that people should support them and financially fund them towards their goal. Or even worse, that success will magically happen if they just keep doing what they love.
This is not the case.
I don't care how good you are, how many medals or shows that you have won or what kind of champion you are.
YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO ANYTHING.
It is your responsibility to finance, fuel and provide the hard work necessary to achieve YOUR goals.
They are no one else's.
Let me give you a hypothetical example of what I am talking about.
Say we have an athlete that is very good at their sport. They live at home with their Mother and Father and have no job except becoming better at their sport.
They practice every day, working on the sport that they love. They don't consider it 'work' as it is an activity that they love with all their heart. Now say that this individual has had some success on the competitive circuit. They have won a few local torments and placed well at a few international ones as well.
They then decide that either a trip to a well established training centre, a trip abroad to compete or some other kind of trip that costs a large amount of money will benefit them and their goal. The individual does not work but decides to set up a Just Giving page or something similar to gain the funds necessary to make the trip. They then ask all their friends, family, training partners etc to give them money so that they can continue to chase their dream.
They are basically begging for free money to take a trip.
I'm sorry but this just isn't right! Where is all the 'hard work' you said you were putting in? Where is the 'Grind' you talked about on Facebook? Why should anyone help you when you won't even help yourself?
People like this are just plain lazy. If you are not willing to put in hard work to support yourself then any should anyone else?
Here is a list of things that an athlete I know did every week so that they could save up to travel to New Zealand to train. The individual is a full time student living in privately rented accommodation.
- Train 11 sessions a week.
- Study full time (second year University student studying Biochemistry)
- Work 2 jobs. 1 weekend job, 1 night time job.
- Cleans the training facility 3 times a week (to train for free)
- Cares for his two dogs.
He also asked for zero money to take take the trip. Not a penny. Not from parents, friends, training partners or sponsors. He did it all on his own.
Now I'm not saying that dreams shouldn't be chased. I'm a firm believer in chasing the life that you want. I tell all the kids in schools when I give talks that they CAN have the life that they want but they have to work for it, that their goal can be their reality.
Most of the time it won't come through traditional channels, or even come at once. But the deciding factor in realising any goal is that you must work hard (harder than you think). There is always struggle, there is real sacrifice. There is always a huge amount of failures before success.
There is always HARD WORK!
We seem to have forgotten that to achieve any dream you must WORK HARD. This involves doing things you don't want to do. This is early mornings and late nights, finding a way to support yourself and not ask for handouts, finding a way to turn DREAMS into GOALS and into reality.
If you can't put the work in then you can't have it. Everything has a price whether you like it or not. Not willing to pay the price? Can't have it. That's the universes law not mine.
No one should be supporting your dreams more than you.
Work hard.
Mike
Monday, 30 June 2014
Motivation.
Hey Guys,
Today I started to write a post about motivation and what it took to succeed at a goal.
I started to look at work habits and things that successful people do. I looked for trends and commonalities because as we all know, success leaves clues.
When I started to look at all of these factors I realised that no matter what the field, whether it was sport, business, education or art, the one absolute common factor was motivation.
Each single person was highly motivated.
However they were not motivated by winning, being the best or being rich or successful. They were simply motivated to keep going for the love of what they did.
This started me thinking about my own motivation and where I would like it to come from. I realised that the most successful people in any endeavour had an internal motivation that came from love, not external motivation such as possessions (medals, trophies) or glory.
They did it for their love of their craft.
The problem comes when using an external motivation is that, that motivation can go away.
What happens if you never win another game?
What happens if everyone in the world thinks you suck?
What we get then is negative feelings towards what you are doing as how you feel about it comes from your external desire and motivation to be successful. If you are never successful, then you will eventually run out of motivation (as very few win forever).
However if you are internally motivated from love and passion, any external factors will never matter as they cannot effect your dominant motivation to keep going and working on your art.
Now I am not saying that the desire to win and be the best is a bad thing. I look up to a lot of people who are incredibly competitive and fuel a raging fire from that motivation. Having a strong desire to do well is a great tool in becoming the best person you can be.
But it still needs to be about becoming the best version of YOU. Winning alone cannot be your sole motivation for any passion, but it most be passion for the craft that leads to your desire of winning. That way when you lose, the love of the craft will get you back on that horse again.
I know at this point I'm rambling and I probably lost most of you (especially competitors) around the time I hinted at winning isn't everything. But take a look at the people around you and you will see two different type of people who love winning and competing,
Today I started to write a post about motivation and what it took to succeed at a goal.
I started to look at work habits and things that successful people do. I looked for trends and commonalities because as we all know, success leaves clues.
When I started to look at all of these factors I realised that no matter what the field, whether it was sport, business, education or art, the one absolute common factor was motivation.
Each single person was highly motivated.
However they were not motivated by winning, being the best or being rich or successful. They were simply motivated to keep going for the love of what they did.
This started me thinking about my own motivation and where I would like it to come from. I realised that the most successful people in any endeavour had an internal motivation that came from love, not external motivation such as possessions (medals, trophies) or glory.
They did it for their love of their craft.
The problem comes when using an external motivation is that, that motivation can go away.
What happens if you never win another game?
What happens if everyone in the world thinks you suck?
What we get then is negative feelings towards what you are doing as how you feel about it comes from your external desire and motivation to be successful. If you are never successful, then you will eventually run out of motivation (as very few win forever).
However if you are internally motivated from love and passion, any external factors will never matter as they cannot effect your dominant motivation to keep going and working on your art.
Now I am not saying that the desire to win and be the best is a bad thing. I look up to a lot of people who are incredibly competitive and fuel a raging fire from that motivation. Having a strong desire to do well is a great tool in becoming the best person you can be.
But it still needs to be about becoming the best version of YOU. Winning alone cannot be your sole motivation for any passion, but it most be passion for the craft that leads to your desire of winning. That way when you lose, the love of the craft will get you back on that horse again.
I know at this point I'm rambling and I probably lost most of you (especially competitors) around the time I hinted at winning isn't everything. But take a look at the people around you and you will see two different type of people who love winning and competing,
- People who just want to win. These are the sandbaggers in the gym. It doesn't matter what they are doing as long as they win (the sport/art/task is irrelevant, it's the winning that matters).
- The second are people who win because they are devoted to the craft. If you told them that they could never compete or recognised again, they would still practice their craft.
Now saying all of this doesn't mean that the world is black and white. The world is full of greys. Most people fall somewhere in the middle (we are after all, only human), and the very elite of any sport can be a mixture of the two (e.g. Marcelo Garcia does it for the love of BJJ, Dan Gable did it for winning), so don't quote me on anything here as gospel.
All I am trying to say is that when it comes to my own life, I want to be internally motivated by love with what I do. Being successful is never the main goal but being happy is.
Some however, would call that successful...
Stay healthy,
Mike
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