Yes, you can be a winner too!

We all have dreams and ambitions. Things we still want to do in life. For some it is to start an own business, others want to excel in their careers, start a family or be in the top of their class.

The first mistake people make is to think that it will be easy. They look at successful people living their dreams and they only see the smiles, the new cars or the glory of someone winning gold in a race. They don’t know what it took for that person to get where they are now.

You see, you have to realize and understand some important concepts before you can reach for that dream. First of all, life is neither easy or fair, secondly to be successful in anything takes a lot of hard work, determination and courage that sometimes borders on stubbornness, thirdly you have to learn how to deal with failure and lastly you have to be willing to sacrifice for your dream.

I remember as a student studying many weekend nights when my friends went out to party. Why? Because I had a vision and goal in mind. As far back as I can remember I wanted to have a positive influence on people. As a child, I would use the heater as my pulpit and my brothers as my congregation. They had to listen to all my sermons! I knew what I wanted to do in my life and I also knew that I had to work hard and make sacrifices to get there.

It wasn’t plain sailing all the way. I had to overcome poverty and difficult circumstances, but with hard work, faith and grace I made it. I am living my dream. It didn’t happen overnight. It took decades, but I stuck with my vision and goals.

If you have a dream, you have to work for it! Steven Covey says in his book Seven Habits of Highly Successful People: “Successful people begin with the end in mind.” You have to envision yourself doing what you are dreaming of doing. Ask yourself what is the one thing I want to achieve against all odds? Keep that dream in mind when you have to work late hours, when you can’t go on that holiday or when you have to wake up early on a cold morning to do a workout.

To reach your goals in life, you have to constantly think and do outside of your comfort zone. Your dream equals your passion. Life coach, Jannie Putter, always say that passion can only grow and become stronger outside your comfort zone and that the fuel for living on the edge consists of faith and hope. You will never be able to ride in the Cape Town Cycle Tour, if you don’t push yourself to your limit and beyond.

Don’t try to reach your goals on your own. Whatever your dream is, be that to be a good chef, an excellent motivational speaker or the best parent you can be, there are people who are farther along the journey than you are. You can learn from their experience, wisdom and mistakes. They are your role-models. The good news is that you don’t even need to know your role-model personally, nowadays you can follow a person on social media or read articles on the internet. Equip yourself with knowledge. The more you know about the path ahead to reach your goals, the better you can prepare for it.

Practice makes perfect. It doesn’t matter how much talent you have to be an athlete, painter, writer, pianist or singer, if you don’t develop that talent you will never reach your dreams. Don’t try to do it all alone. Learn from the best. Take extra classes or courses. Develop your skills and work towards perfection.

Never give up on your dream. If you don’t get it right the first time, try and try again and then try some more. Learn from your mistakes. Just imagine what the world would be like today if any of the great inventors have decided to give up. We probably wouldn’t have had electricity, running water, cars, aeroplanes, computers or the internet, to name but a few of the things we take for granted today.

Winston Churchill said: “ Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. ”

Don’t be afraid to fail. Remember, making a mistake doesn’t make you a failure. See every loss and mistake as an experience from which you can learn to do even better. Above all else, never lose faith, never give up and think of yourself as a winner, because that is what you are!