Wouldn’t you rather be a winner than a loser? I can’t imagine that anyone would say no. Yet most people constantly practice losing principles and then wonder why they get losing results.

Much can be learned from the golf champion Tiger Woods. This young man lacks the experience of many of his competitors. He certainly doesn’t have the muscle tone or sheer power of most athletes. Yet he is a legend.

What Tiger Woods has discovered is how to win. And the principles he practices that make him a champion at the game of golf are the same principles that, continually practiced, will produce champions in the game of life.

When winners are studied, it is clear that they display consistently the same attitudes and practices:

• They play like their lives depend on it. For a winner, every practice, every game, and every action taken is intensely committed. A survey taken 10 years ago revealed that the average worker worked at about 50 percent capacity. Worse yet, the average manager used only 30 percent of his or her time in an effective manner. Winners understand that every moment, every transaction, and every decision is an opportunity to score big.
  
• They practice right. It is said that practice makes perfect. I disagree. Practice in itself will not guarantee winners. Practicing the right things in the right way will. Winners enroll the best of the best as their mentors and coaches and are relentless in applying and practicing the guidance they receive. The greatest artists, scientists, athletes, and businesspeople have this in common. They hooked up with teachers that knew more about the craft than anyone else.
  
• They do what others are unwilling to do. Winners know that winning never comes easily. Every career includes some tasks that are less desirable than others. While most people spend their time procrastinating or complaining, winners take on the least desirable parts of their work without question or complaint.
  
• They get over playing small. We are socialized to want to fit in, to be like others around us. Even our school systems devote endless hours to teaching students to conform. When my son was in first grade, he asked me to read to his class. I did, and then stayed afterward to observe the class. Now, my son was quite articulate at an early age—so much so that I nicknamed him “the professor.” When a teacher asked a question that day, he leaned over to me and gave a “professor” answer. When I suggested he tell the teacher, he raised his hand, and, in a baby voice, gave an answer that was much simpler than the answer he had just whispered to me. This skill of conformity, which we have had reinforced all of our lives, often holds us back later on.
  
• They discipline themselves to do what needs to be done. Probably the biggest difference between winners and losers is the solid commitment to do everything that needs to be done when it needs to be done.
  
• They take their lumps as sugar. Winners know that to win, you have to play hard. When playing hard, failures and mistakes are common and necessary. Winners know results do not validate or invalidate them as persons, and they move on from failure, quickly adjusting course without devastation to their egos. 

As popular as sports are in this country, you have to admit it’s all quite futile. Someone wins. Someone loses. The world changes little as a result. When playing the game of life, you win, you lose, and the world can change dramatically as a result of one person’s achievement. Isn’t it time to commit to being a winner at this game?