Complacency Is For The Dogs

Tiger Woods plays to winI’ve been in Chicago for three days – I’m attending a conference for association professionals (that is, this is an association for associations ;)) The trip has been excellent, but I’ll confess that I’ve been nervous about this meeting for a while… I have to stretch my brain, learn how my business will apply in this environment, and get out of my comfort zone.

But I’m here for a purpose, and there’s a news clip I saw on Saturday at the airport that I keep thinking about that reminds me of my purpose.

Tiger Woods was being interviewed. I missed the question but his response was something like:

I came here to win. I didn’t come to hit a few balls, or to walk around on a nice day, or to drop a few pounds. I came here to win.

It really made me think about why I came to Chicago. I came to win.

Winning is fun, but getting there is hard. I will have to do things where I hear “no,” I will have to introduce myself a ton of times to people who will look at me as a “vendor” and automatically try and figure out how to get rid of me. I don’t really like rejection, and even though every “no” is one step closer to a “yes” I still don’t get a kick out of hearing it.

But I came to win.

So I’m going to the meetings. Yesterday, I wanted to leave a little early. But I stayed, and I met amazing contacts after the last meeting.

I cannot be complacent about this. Tiger’s thoughts are in my mind while I’m here – I’m not here to walk around the expo floor just to look around. I’m here to win.

What about you? What are you doing and why are you doing it? Are you getting… complacent?

If your work is boring, unfulfilling or not headed in the right direction, think back a while ago when you had big goals and dreams for where you would end up.

It’s going to be hard, and there will be uncomfortable growth phases, but getting through them will make it all worth it, won’t it?

If you are in a job search right now, you have to play to win. It’s not a casual thing, you need to be the best game in town! Play to win! Have an excellent resume. Really, really prepare for the interviews, prepare your personal branding statement (aka, elevator pitch, aka, me in 30 seconds) so that it is captivating and natural.

Are you playing to win?

6 thoughts on “Complacency Is For The Dogs”

  1. Jason,
    A great message for all of us, wherever we are in our career path. It reminds me of one of my favorite posts by Seth Godin – a short, simple reminder to make something happen – now. Complacency can hit anyone at any time, that’s why we need to always be curious, inject creativity into what we are doing and as you said, play to win. Thanks for a great word and a great way to start what will be a busy week for me! Enjoy your conference.

  2. My, my, my! What a great post. Playing to win is all in the mind. The thing that Tiger has over most of his competitors when he steps on the green is that he comes to win. He truly is not thinking about them or their ability or inability to beat him. He beats most of his competitors before he ever begins to play the game. How many people walk in an interview with the attitude that they are getting the job! Not cocky, just INTENTIONAL, prepared and ready for the game – To WIN!! Good Stuff! I look forward to hearing the results!

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