Serial Winner: Chapter 3— Don’t Quit, Adjust
5 Actions to Create Your Cycle of Success by Larry Weidel
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“You don’t just get one second-chance. You get chance after chance to achieve what your really want. As long as you don’t fall down, rollover, and quit.” — Larry Weidel
Win Anyway
“When we’re down and looking up at those who have reached the top, it can seem like they’ve never faced any big challenges.” — Larry Weidel
Winning means overcoming
In the game of life, you are going to experience a lot of ups and downs.
In the game of winning you have to know that your hardships are there to make you better. You can overcome them and be better prepared for the next obstacle.
Check out this graph below. This is a great visual on what success really looks like when you work your ass off and never quit.
Imagine if you quit at the first problem!!! It takes time, effort, and struggle to accomplish great things.
Keep on keeping on.
Quitting is (usually) stupid
Quitting, like winning, is a muscle. The more you quit, the easier quitting becomes.
“People who have a pattern of quitting never get ahead in life — the never stay with anything long enough for their efforts to compound.” — Larry Weidel
Hard work only pays off when you work hard, consistently. That effort builds and grows into a powerful force.
As Roger Stauback is famous for saying “There is no traffic on the extra mile.”
So don’t quit. Keep pushing until you break through to the extra mile.
The difference between adjusting and quitting
Startups in Silicon Valley change their focus all the time. It’s called “pivoting.”
They normally do this when they realize that their customers want something completely different. For example, Twitter started out as a text messaging service. That’s why for so many years you could only write 160 characters. That was the traditional maximum for an SMS text message!
For years Elon Musk has created small novelty products to increase revenue. He famously created the “Not A Flamethrower” shown below to raise funds for his Boring Company.
The stunt earned the company $10,000,000!
Don’t quit. Adjust! It is totally different!
Use Facts for Guidance and Emotion for Fuel
“We all get depressed when things don’t work out as we had hoped, but winners don’t stay depressed.” — Larry Weidel
Don’t let emotion override reality.
Navy Seals go through something called “Hell Weak,” which is a week of cold, pain, and sleep deprivation. Throughout this process, the initiates are offered a warm bed and hot food if they just get up and quit.
The US Navy knows that it needs operators that can keep their emotions in check even during the most grueling circumstances so they test their initiates ruthlessly.
Your life is going to throw hell weeks at you too. What are you going to do about them? Are you going to throw a tantrum and make a lot of bad decisions?
I hope not. Separate yourself from the emotion. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
Then move on to the next section and only focus on what you can control.
Focus on the problems that are yours to solve.
Most of the world’s problems are not yours to solve. Most problems that present themselves in your life are not yours to directly solve.
When my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer for a second time, she didn’t try to solve the problem on her own. Hell no. She focused on what she could control and listened to her Doctors, Surgeons, and Radiologists. She showed up to her Chemo on time, kept a positive attitude, and sailed through the process into remission without letting the ordeal phase her.
Don’t shoulder the burdens of the world. Focus on your burdens.
Life is so much easier that way.
Winning Is a Series of Adjustments
“We adapt to the world; the world doesn’t adapt to us.” — Larry Weidel
Action = Progress
You’re not always going to win right away and you will inevitably face setbacks and obstacles. It is precisely then that you should take big action.
Nothing stalls progress more than a loss of momentum. Don’t let yourself lose momentum and continue to take action. Action is progress and every action you take will bring you closer to completing your goal.
“Serial winners stay in control by focusing on what they can do next and then doing it. Others lose control when they stop in their tracks and let their imaginations keep them from taking action.” — Larry Weidel
Facts = Competitive Edge
When obstacles strike, one of the actions you will likely take is to gather knowledge to make better decisions. Always be learning so that you can avoid making poor decisions based on poor information.
For example — in the game of Texas Hold’em Poker many new players think having a King and a Jack offsuit in your hand is a strong hand when in reality it is just a pretty hand that looks strong. There are a lot of other hands that will beat KJ offsuit that players won’t even consider.
New players don’t have the knowledge or insight to know this and so their ability to play good poker is severely limited.
“Serial winners go after the answers they need and the stay informed to improve their decision-making.” — Larry Weidel
Simplicity = Speed
Humans are complex creatures and we have a tendency to overcomplicate everything. We are perfectionists and are rarely satisfied with how something looks or works.
And yet, simplicity is a powerful tool for speed. There is a popular acronym K.I.S.S. that stands for “keep it simple stupid” that has saved my ass man times.
If you let a product or a solution get too complicated it requires more skill, more time, and more training to use, and don’t get me started on the effort required to maintain and improve on something that is overly complicated.
So remember, when shit hits the fan, keep it simple.
Small Adjustments = Consistent Growth
Serial Winners rely on small adjustments t reduce the natural human resistance to change. Everyone resists change and the bigger the change, the tougher the resistance.
Just look at how the United States has reacted to the huge shifts in lifestyle caused by COVID-19. Many people absolutely hate the idea of wearing a face-covering out in public.
People. Hate. Change.
You can avoid that on your path to success by constantly making small adjustments that don’t freak your “change muscle” out too much.
One of my favorite graphics that illustrate the power of how consistency and small changes or improvements can dramatically increase your success is this graphic by James Clear.
