Beyond Simply Winning, There is "Competitive Greatness"

(And just because you won, it doesn't mean you achieved it)

July 12, 2023

“Competitive Greatness includes a love for the hard battle and teaching those under your supervision the same.

It is the competition itself - a worthy opponent - that gives you and your organization the opportunity to find out how good you are, to reach deep inside and perform at your best when it counts.

This is Competitive Greatness. In my book, the score doesn't always reveal whether you achieve it."

-John Wooden, legendary basketball coach

Just because you won, it doesn't mean you were any good. And even though you may have lost, that doesn't mean that you didn't achieve Competitive Greatness.

Performing at your best - Competitive Greatness - has nothing to do with winning, and everything to do with the battle itself. Speaking for myself, it's much more gratifying to lose to a superior opponent (after having given my best effort) than to win easily against someone in a competition where I didn't even have to try.

We feel good about ourselves because we kept going when it was difficult; because victory was never guaranteed; because the opponent was great but we were even better.

So you can see how, in this way, the result of the contest is irrelevant compared to the manner in which you showed up and the supreme effort you brought to the attempt.

You'll never know how good you could become if you never face an opponent that demands your total effort in order to defeat them. In an excellent book about the teachings of John Wooden, Wooden on Leadership, Coach has this to say:

"Competitive Greatness is having a real love for the hard battle knowing it offers the opportunity to be at your best when your best is required.The great competitors I have played for and against, taught and admired all shared a joy in the struggle itself - the journey, the contest and competition. The tougher the battle the better.A leader must convey this to those you lead: a tough fight can bring forth Competitive Greatness. The hard battle inspires and motivates a great competitor to dig deep inside. That's why I relish the challenge a worthy competitor presents. You are tested. When properly prepared you will rise to your highest level and achieve Competitive Greatness."

Regular readers of The Competitive Advantage know that I love to win, but I love achieving Competitive Greatness even more.

I don’t just want to win. I want to be Great!

And when you bring that attitude…that energy…to the contest, that’s when everything changes for the better.

The Essential Wooden is one of the best books out there on this topic, and I’ve written a complete breakdown of that book for the Stairway to Wisdom, which you can read here for free. 

But what you’ve just read is one of the most essential lessons from the entire book.

Competitive Greatness is much rarer than winning, and you’re an even greater champion if you can achieve it, no matter what it says on the scoreboard.

All the best,

Matt Karamazov

P.S. Whenever you're ready, here are three more ways I can help you apply the wisdom found in the greatest books ever written to your life:

  1. I’m going to be leaving some casual spots open for personal coaching, alongside what I do for my monthly clients, and the first choice always goes to the people on my email list.Simply reply to this email or click here if this is something you're interested in working with me on, and I'll let you know more about it, answer all your questions, etc.Areas I can help you with include reading more books and remembering more of what you read, growing your business, getting into better shape, and building mental toughness and resilience.You’ll work 1-1 with me, and together we’ll be lining up big breakthroughs for you every single month.

  2. I've released 50 complete, in-depth book breakdowns on the Stairway to Wisdom that respects both your time AND your intelligence and will help you become the person you've always known you were capable of being. Read them for free here.

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