It’s one of the oldest clichés in the book. Used by millions of parents worldwide to gee up their kids after a particularly tragic loss at mini-league or after drawing the word antidisestablishmentarianism in the school spelling bee.

My dad used it religiously when I attempted to play soccer at school and got frustrated when the coach’s son got picked ahead of me every time. Adaptations of the same theme were used when I wanted to quit playing guitar, became disillusioned with the sport of tennis, struggled in my quest to become a professional snooker player and generally a whole host of other activities I discarded during my ADD youth.

I used to think he was full of crap. But maybe the old boy had something?

The Mindset of A Loser

What is the number one reason for inaction in anything? The fear of failing, right?

After all, why do something if there is a chance of failure? Better to hedge your bets and stick with what you know to avoid the risk.

This type of thinking results in millions of people doing stuff they hate to do because it’s easier than attempting to do the stuff they want to do. You, me… we’ve all done it. The people that still do it are sheep.

Don’t get me wrong, I love sheep (preferably with a mint sauce dressing) but I wouldn’t want to be part of the bah-ing crowd that trundle through life hopelessly following all the other sheep.

If you think you might be a sheep (I am soon won’t be was), here is a handy checklist to help you out.

You are a sheep if:

• You hate your job but go to work every day regardless without an escape plan.
• You have great ideas but never flesh out the details so you never take action.
• You let people tell you what you can or can’t do.
• You complain about your situation to anybody who will listen.
• You spend more time watching Grey’s Anatomy than you do hustling to get to where you want to be.

The list isn’t exhaustive, but if you have 3 or more then you can safely assume that you are now a sheep.

The good news is that there is a cure. You can become a winner.

“But how?”, I hear you cry…

The Fundamental Difference Between A Winner and A Loser

You need the mind of a winner. Now before you try to entice Tim Ferriss to a local Argentine Tango competition and try to remove his grey matter, there is an easier way.

The crux of it is this: just take part. Whatever it is you want to be doing, do it now. I want to better myself and help others to better themselves too. That’s why I created this blog. Right now it doesn’t matter whether this blog post sucks because I am here doing what I want to do. I’ll get better. If you never take part, you’ll always suck!

It’s not a one-a-day cure that will have you creating passive income streams left right and centre. It’s a very conscious (initially at least) decision to just think differently and act differently by modelling yourself on those who have been before.

There are a few things you can do though (like I am doing) to aid the process.

1. Take action. If you want to do something then do it. Don’t think about winning or losing or, to some extent, the consequences. One small piece of advice though: use your common sense. Don’t just punch a midget in the face because you’ve always wanted to. They won’t appreciate it.
2. Take risks. If you want to be remarkable, and break away from the herd then you simply have to take risks. Who cares if you fail? If you take enough risks on things that you believe in, eventually you will become a winner. Again, common sense needed. I don’t mean taking risks in the sense of not wearing your seatbelt while you drive home from the pub after four pints of lager!
3. Make time. If you want your own business, don’t quit your job right away. Instead, make time in your schedule to dedicate to creating and growing a business. Just half an hour before work and an hour after would give you over ten hours a week. Plenty of time to building a thriving business.
4. Use your time wisely. As a follow on from the previous, you will not change your life by watching Prison Break again. There will be time for you to get your Wentworth fix later. Focus on work critical tasks and cut the waste.

Again, not exhaustive. I’m not trying to match Dragos in the number of items in a list competition. Not yet, at least.

I guess the message here is that if you don’t take part, you don’t give yourself a chance to win. At some point, if you want to change your life, relationship or business situation, you have to cut the cord. Without the fear of failing (or not winning, which isn’t always the same thing) all that’s left is possibility.

If you didn’t have the fear of failure, what would you want to take part in? Answers in the comments.