The “Merry Mex” pro golfer Lee Trevino once said, “There is one thing that never gets old, and that is winning.” While Lee was just talking about winning golf tournaments, he may not have known that he hit the nail on the head when it comes to the concept that drives our whole socio-economic system in this country.

If you will think about it, the vast majority of us want to “WIN” anytime and anywhere there is a competitive activity involved. Most every school in this country has athletic teams, and the goal for each one at the beginning of the year is to have a winning season.

For those who are the traditional leaders in their sport, their goal is to go undefeated and win the state championship. We have a high school football team here in Arkansas, the Bryant Hornets, that have won the state championship the past five years. If you really want to get a visual of what I am saying, just think of what takes place the week of the National Football League’s championship and all the activity that leads up to and during the game. After it is over, the winner is crowned and reigns for the coming year. 

This concept is not only true in athletics but in many other areas of life as well, including business and industry, so long as there is competition involved. If we received a fairly good education growing up, we can take advantage of our system and not only win, but acquire many of the trappings of success. Here is a personal example of what I am saying.

When I was in high school the small “B” school where I attended had a football team. When I was a Junior, we only won two games and had 13 players on the team. About midway during the season, one of our players got hurt, leaving us with only one sub: a kid we called “Crane” who was about 6 feet, 7 inches tall. During one game when we were behind about 60 to 0, the coach said, “Crane, get in there” and Crane responded, “Coach let some of them other boys play.” We were all playing. A few years earlier I can remember that our home team never scored a touchdown. I would read the weekly paper each week during the season, not to see if we won but to see if we scored. 

The reason I share this is because it taught me a valuable lesson. I learned that you could play on a team that lost all or most of their games and still be a winner in the game of life. In time, I learned that our attitude is one of the most important things when it comes to achieving success. The saying “It’s your attitude and not your aptitude that will determine your altitude” is so true. It has been documented by research that our mental attitude is responsible for about 85 percent of our success, and knowledge and skill make up the balance.

Now this important question: How do we get a great attitude? The answer is simple: By Winning. And we win by setting goals, working hard, being of service to others, reading great books, having sterling character, respecting yourself and others, obeying the law and expecting to win. Even though they were the underdog, the Kansas City Chiefs expected to WIN.

—(Jim Davidson is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist, and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in the Log Cabin Democrat in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated in over 375 newspapers in 35 states. For a personalized copy of “Your Future Begins Today” send $20, which includes postage and handling, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)