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Questions on Becoming a Champion
by Ron Kurtus (revised 29 September 2001)
People have had questions about the philosophy of being a champion in their various endeavors. This document will try to answer these frequently asked questions.
Questions you may have include:
- What is a champion?
- What are some examples of champions?
- What are the steps to become a champion?
This lesson will answer those questions.
What is a champion?
Most people think of a champion as:
- a person of a team that comes in 1st place
- a winner
- someone who does his best
- a person who is proud of his accomplishments
- someone who gets recognition
- a success
But we will use a slightly different definition of the word: A champion is a person, a team, or an organization that succeeds in gaining or achieving a difficult goal and is proud of that achievement.
How can a business or company be a champion?
Any business or organization can promote a philosophy that results in achieving goals and having its members feel part of that achievement and good about it.
Do you always have to be first to be a champion?
No. If a person exceeds his expectations in a competition such that he feels proud of his performance and accomplishment, then he will feel like a champion, even though he may not have won the competition.
Do you have to compete to be a champion?
Not necessarily. To become the champion, you must win an organized competition, but to be a champion, you simply have to feel proud of your achievement.
Who determines if you are a champion?
You alone determine that you are a champion.
What about other people's opinions?
If others acknowledge that you are a champion, you feel ever better yet.
Who are some examples of champions?
We've seen many who have overcome obstacles to reach their goals. Athletics is one area that is in the spotlight for examples. But quite often people who feel like champions are unsung heroes, because they may not necessary get the spotlight from winning.
Are there some bad examples of champions?
There are many examples of winners who taunt those they defeated. There are also world champions who are disgruntled in their victory because of one thing or another. Such a person may be the champion or the winner, but he is not a champion because of his attitude.
Much of this attitude is learned from the negative philosophy that states, "Win at all costs."
What are some bad attitudes that people who don't succeed have?
- Lack of work ethic; no commitment
- No self-reliance; don't have control of life or of situation
- Negative thinking; low esteem and confidence
Does America need champions?
Yes. America needs you to become a champion. And you can become a champion today.
What are the steps to become a champion?
- Set a goal that will make you a champion.
- Make sure you achieve your goal:
- Make preparations for achieving the goal,
- Establish the proper attitudes to implement your plans,
- Implement your plans.
- Then congratulate yourself on the outcome.
What are important factors in becoming a champion?
- Having a challenging goal,
- Overcoming difficulties and achieving that goal, and
- Being proud of the achievement.
What is a procedure to set a championship goal?
- Pick an area in which to succeed
- sports
- business
- personal
- Consider some specific activity in which you would like to be real good at, the best, or number one. Write that down.
- Select some specific achievement related to that activity that would make you feel great to accomplish.
Upon achieving that goal, you will feel like a champion.
How do you make sure you achieve your goal?
- Make preparations for achieving your goal.
- Establish the proper attitudes for achieving the goal.
- Implement your plans.
What sort of preparation would you make?
- Put together a plan of action
- Make a schedule or timetable for your actions
- Commit to fulfilling the requirements
- Use tools and methods that will help you excel and succeed
What are the proper attitudes required for success?
- Feel committed to achieve your goal.
- Feel in control of the situation.
- Feel confident in your ability to achieve the goal.
How do you become committed to achieve your goal?
- Visualize rewards for:
- desire
- enthusiasm
- motivation.
- Prioritize actions for focus.
- Dedicate to:
- work hard
- give out extra effort
- do your best
What does visualizing yourself reaping the fruits result in?
- Seeing yourself enjoying the outcome will motivate you to make the commitment required.
- You feel determined and enthusiastic.
- You're ready to work hard to get what you want.
- You get focused.
How do you get enthusiasm in general?
- Love what you're doing.
- Physical conditioning helps vitality.
- Putting God in your life gives you enthusiasm.
How do you get control of the situation?
- Study the conditions and requirements.
- Make plans and steps to take. Break the task into smaller units.
- Learn to use any tools and methods that will help you succeed.
- Get the attitude of self-reliance.
How do you get confidence in your ability to achieve the goal?
- Recall the times when you have succeeded in something similar.
- Practice succeeding on smaller tasks, building toward the major.
- Acknowledge your abilities.
- Be a champion at smaller levels.
- Have positive expectancy.
- Move with sureness and momentum.
How do you implement your plans?
Do it one step at a time until you reach your goal.
How do you congratulate yourself on becoming a champion?
- Acknowledge the achievement.
- Pat yourself on the back.
- Say to yourself, "Good job."
When should you congratulate yourself?
All the time. Congratulate yourself on your:
- past successes
- little achievements
- major accomplishments
Why should you congratulate yourself?
- This is where you get to feel like a champion.
- By patting yourself on the back, you confirm you are proud of your accomplishment.
- By acknowledging your success, victory, or achievement, you feel good about yourself and the situation.
- By congratulating yourself, you feel elated at your success.
What are common situations where people don't acknowledge success?
Too often we've been champions but haven't realized it. We've done things to be proud of, but we haven't acknowledged it. People have praised us, but we didn't appreciate it.
How often has somebody given you praise, and you said, "Oh, it was nothing." Why do people do that? Why not accept the praise and feel good about it?
Summary
These questions and their answers should help you understand the philosophy behind the School for Champions and should guide you in becoming a champion yourself.
Be the best you can be
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champques.htm
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Questions on Becoming a Champion