A few days ago a good friend of mine shared a picture on one of the SMM platforms and it was just a few days after our club competition.  Of course, everyone wants to be first, and coming third in a competition where only 5 people have competed may not sound so amazing.  Remember my recent blog “Am I a failure or success?”.   If you look at the full picture there are nearly 20 members in our club, of which 15 did not compete.  That immediately puts anyone who competed in the top 25% and anyone who won in the top 15%.

The truth is to just enter the competition takes effort, it takes some preparation even if it is mentally.  In my case, I had been thinking about it since the previous year.  I had come up with speech titles, I had read the judging criteria for speeches.  I had adapted the speech, I had practiced it in front of family and friends, I had acted upon their feedback, and to the very last minute prior to the competition, I was looking at improving and delivering a winning speech.  I took a chance and I changed the speech just a week before the competition.  It meant cramming some practice time, getting the idea together, building the story and there was no time to make it word perfect.   So I worked on the opening, the closing, and the message and I let the body flow naturally. It was a true story so I worked on just telling my story and looking out for the timer.

Few people would run a marathon without training and with the exception of a few, most people have to put in the effort in order to succeed or win.  What you see at the top is often the glorified tip of the iceberg.

The startup world is no different and often what you don’t see or hear is what it took to make it.  In many cases, it is years of relentless dedication and vision, sacrifice and training, failures and repeats,  doubts and focus. The list goes on however the most important to remember is that everyone can win. You can win and achieve anything.  You just got to put in the effort and remember to enjoy the journey independent of the outcome. Independent of reaching the top. If you make a point of enjoying the journey then you will have an easier time getting to the top and you will have fewer disapointments along that journey.  I believe in this model because disapointments can sometimes set you back with negative feelings and emotions.  If you push forward without expectation then you will make progress and at some point you will break through.

In my keynote speech “Passion & Vision” I speak about the importance of focusing on your passion and keeping your vision despite the hardship, and never changing your passion for glory.