What exactly is a champion? When we think of a champion, the first thing we think of is a person standing on top of a podium at the number one spot getting the gold medal hung around their neck. Often times, we feel a bit intimidated by that because we think “well, I can’t get there”. “I don’t have the ability to play at that particular level.” Well in certain instances that may be true, but nobody can stand on anyone else’s podium. That’s not possible. We aren’t geared for that. That’s not really what the expectation is. I guess in the human mindset that seems like the target. For a champion, that is not their mindset. The target of a champion’s mindset really has to do with the three types of goals.
The first type of goal is an average goal where we are taking out the trash, getting in the car to get to work on time, opening mail, paying bills. Baby grunt work, average goals, nothing exceptional about that. That doesn’t really define a champion.
Then we have gutsy goals that are a little bit more outside our reach. When we talk about gutsy goals; those are actually things we can do, we have just never planned for it, or we have been intimidated not to try it. Fear of failure. Which is tragic and should never happen because it strips us of our belief in self to get us to a bigger future. But it is real. We have our gutsy goals, which our doable. We just haven’t done them yet. And, still, they do not really define us as champions.
Now we have our champion’s goal. Champion goals are those goals that are really big for us as an individual, as we define it. It doesn’t have anything to do with anyone else’s opinion. It’s about us and how we view it. A champions goal might give us sweaty palms and keep us up at night a bit. But there’s a gravity, a pull towards it. We really have to do it. “I kind of think I can do it. I want to do it. I want to try.”
Champion goals also need help to accomplish. None of us know enough to get the job done completely by ourselves. That’s the definition of the champion goal. Again, this goal is a very personal one. It’s not us against Michael Phelps. It’s not us against Elon Musk. These are not the yard sticks. The yard stick is very personal in terms of how we define average, gutsy, and champion goals. That’s basically where it all starts.
When we appropriately have a mix of those three types of goals. Not all of our goals have to be champion goals to become a champion. We can become a champion by achieving one large goal in one area of life. That makes us a champion. That doesn’t make us a full potential player because that’s across the board in all areas of life. But we can do it in one particular area. It could be something simple like baking a cake that you enter in a county fair to win a blue-ribbon medal or even place. To me that is certainly worthy of personally achieving that and becoming a champion within their personal capacity. Or someone else like Peter Diamandis, he wants to go out and lasso an asteroid and mind the minerals on it for a trillion dollars. Okay, well that fits within the criteria. It’s something he is aspiring to do. Gives him sweaty palms, keeps him up at night, gives him heart palpitations, and certainly can’t do it alone.
It’s us against us and our potential – that’s really what we are saying here. When we keep our score card in mind it becomes absolutely achievable. That’s the way champions look at each other and that’s the way champions look at everything. It’s a personal journey towards a personal best that we define based upon what our mind body and soul conceive that definition and those requirements to be in the goals that we pursue. Please be mindful that everyone is a champion in the making. The goals that we take in the process of getting there is a personal decision by us as defined by the criteria that was just shared with you.
Just keep doing the first thing champions do. Show up. That’s where the magic happens.
