See Yourself as a Champion

Let me ask you: Who do you think you are? What are the qualities that make you unique? When you look in the mirror, what do you see? How do other people perceive your personality? How are you benchmarking yourself against your environment? Are you growing older, wiser, and stronger? These are powerful questions, right? And today we’ll answer them through what it takes to identify as a Champion.

Our identity is the essential way we define ourselves to ourselves. It is the expression of who we believe we are. Our self-belief is the filter through which we process the world. As a global coach, I’m constantly amazed at the power of self-beliefs. Often, the only difference between a Champion and a middle-of-the-packster is their belief about their own capacity. It’s not the size of the person in the fight. It’s the size of the fight in the person.

We are all magnets. We become the perception we have of ourselves. Our inner world forms our outer world. As we think, so we become. We are all the writers, directors and producers of our own reality show.

Becoming a Champion begins with identifying yourself as a champion. You cannot be what you do not believe. Champions believe five things about themselves.

1. I can be the best in the world
2. I have a unique value proposition that I can express clearly to others
3. I am passionate about my cause
4. I can thrive under any circumstances
5. My best days are always ahead of me.
Let’s review each belief:

1. I can be the best in the world
In sports, there are certain competitions that require an athlete to meet a qualifying standard in order to participate. That means they have to hit the mark or surpass it in order to compete.

For most elite competitions like the Olympics and Athletics World Championships, the world governing body publishes standards in advance of the competitions. Only 2-3 athletes can be selected for each event.

If you’re selected to compete at the event, you know you’re literally among the best in the world. You’ve qualified to perform at the highest level against the best of the best. Life is like an elite competition. Before you can compete, you have to qualify for it. Only then can you actually win. So my question to you is: have you met or surpassed the qualifying standard? How do you know? What is it?

When you say, “I can be the best in the world”, it’s not a boast. It’s a declaration. It’s a personal line in the sand that propels you forward.

I know I can be the best in the world at motivational speaking and personal coaching if I deliver 100 programs a year and I achieve an average rating of 9/10 or higher. That’s what I chase. How about you?

It may not always be possible to make a living at what you can be the best in the world at. You may be an Olympic caliber curler who manages a store. Or you may be a hilarious stand up comedian who sells life insurance. That’s ok. In pursuing “best in the world” status in one part of your life, you’ll enhance the other. By aspiring to be the best motivational speaker in the world, I become a world-class spouse, friend and colleague. Excellence cascades all around us.

So here’s the second belief:
2. I have a Unique Value Proposition that I can express to others

No matter what business you’re in, you’re in the same business as me: Meaningful differentiation. That means setting yourself apart from the pack in a way that makes you special to the people to whom you want to appeal. It’s creating an aura of desire that draws others towards you.

A Unique Value Proposition is your distinctive promise that makes you irresistible to others. It’s the pull that compels them to prefer you to anyone else. It’s how you can solve a customers’ problem or find them opportunity in a way that is superior to the competition? It’s a demonstrably superior contribution to their success.

Sometimes your Unique Value Proposition may not be related to the product itself. It may be related to how you deliver it, how you make it easier or how you make it safer? It depends on your colleague or customers’ point of view about what’s most important.

Your Unique Value Proposition is a kind of magic that transforms the quality of others’ lives. It enables them to do what otherwise would have been impossible.

So my Unique Value Proposition is: I give people the proprietary insights to play at their best so they become Champions. That’s it. That’s my mission. That’s what I live for. That’s my commitment to you. I am the Championator. Yup, I’m even creating my own vocabulary. Hey, if Arnold can do it, so can I. And so can you.

Think about the brands and people that you choose every day over the hundreds of options available to you. What are their special qualities that have made them indispensable to you? What are your special qualities that make you indispensable to others? In a sentence or less, how would you express your Unique Value Proposition? Have some fun. Make some noise.

3. Let’s look at the third belief: I am passionate about my cause

When you’re passionate about your cause, you’re forming a movement not just building a business. You’re engaged in an activity that excites you into action that you otherwise would never have taken.

Passion for your cause is passion that is inexhaustible. If you have enough commitment to something, there is no barrier that you will not break through. Passion is the secret sauce of people who win against all odds.

At the age of 76, Ralph Lauren still personally directs his brand’s new fashion offering every year. Here is how he describes his passion for the cause: “Fashion is about change. It’s about youth. It’s about aspiration. It’s about what’s going on in the world. It’s the blend of all things that are happening coming from many different directions. This is not a job. This is a joy. This is what I breathe. It’s what I live. And I think if I cut that off I’d be cutting part of my soul. …”

And in 2013, on her fifth attempt and at age 64, Diana Nyad became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage, swimming from Havana to Key West (110 mi), in 53 hours. Her actions demonstrated her commitment to personal growth, irrespective of age, “I am willing to put myself through anything”, she says, “temporary pain or discomfort means nothing to me as long as I can see that the experience will take me to a new level. I am interested in the unknown, and the only path to the unknown is through breaking barriers, an often-painful process.”

My passion is getting people to believe in their capacity to be the best in the world and overcome their innate self-doubt. That’s my reason for making this video. What’s your passion?

4. Let’s discuss the fourth belief: I can thrive under any circumstances
Champions have a core value that endows them with a sense of personal potency. It’s called Adaptive Navigation. That is the conviction that they can adapt to any situation and navigate their way through it. They find a way or make a way, especially when others say there is no way.

Another word for Champion is Denizen. Say it aloud: Denizen. It’s as decisive as it sounds. A Denizen is someone who feels at home anywhere in the world. Wherever they find themselves, that’s where they belong. They radiate a sense of ease and wellbeing. They take control of their environment by going with the flow.

A Denizen’s chief asset is her ingenuity. She’s cleverly inventive and original. Everything around her becomes a tool to enhance her odds and achieve her goals. Along the way, she enables others to stretch because people are her chief resource.

Denizens don’t bank on things getting easier. They bank on themselves getting better. Whatever happens in China, Greece, Canada, the US or anywhere else in the world just feeds their appetite for winning.

5. Let’s discuss the fifth and final belief: My best days are always ahead of me
The future begins here and it begins now. No matter how old you are, your best days are ahead of you by virtue of the fact that they’re ahead of you. Yesterdays are history. Tomorrows are imaginary. Today is our stage, our laboratory, our studio, our factory, and our playground, all rolled into one.

Our current level of happiness is a direct function of what we expect will happen next. We create our future by what we do today but what we do today is influenced by our expectations of tomorrow. I can only write these words because I expect them to be read. I expect to share them through videos and seminars around the world. I expect them to help others become Champions. I expect it all. That’s why I’m giving it my all.

It’s easy to believe that your best days are ahead of you at the beginning of your career. It takes a conscious will to believe it as you mature along the way. Half of the entire workforce is over the age of 45.

However old you are right now, it’s the right age to take action on your dream. Nelson Mandela was 69 when he became the first democratically elected president of South Africa. Ronald Reagan was the same age when he became the oldest newly elected president in American history. Harlan Saunders was 66 when he started Kentucky Fried Chicken. Ray Kroc was 54 years old when he started McDonalds. The great actress, Dame Helen Mirren, is peaking in her late sixties. At the age of 71, Keith Richard has just produced his first album in 23 years. At the age of 97, Herman Wouk published his 25th book, The Law Giver.

What would you do today if you knew for certain that your best days are always ahead of you? How much more excitement would you feel? How much more happiness would you spread around you? Start Now. Begin small. Make it big.