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Define or Be Defined

In life there are people who derive a lot of power, esteem, and wealth by defining others.  They will dictate what you should wear, what you should eat, what kind of car you should drive, what type of jobs are important, and the list goes on.  Those with little self-esteem will fall into this trap and willfully step into the boxes defined for them.  What constitutes achievement, success, and winning are just of few of those boxes.  We can either define what constitutes winning and success in our lives or allow others to do it for us.  One theme that runs through all of my presentations is, ‘Define or be Defined!’ We are each creators of our own lives and have the authority and responsibility to create our own reality.  At any juncture I can choose to see myself as a winner or as a loser and so can you!  I choose to see myself as a winner and to define what winning means to me.

“When You Change the Way You Look at Things, The Things You Look at Change.”

9,504 people decided to take a chance on getting their own show on the Oprah Winfrey network, how many others who wanted to did not?  Let’s say hypothetically that another 50,000 others wanted to submit a show idea but allowed others or talked themselves out of entering the competition.  Wayne Dwyer quoting an unnamed author in one of his talks said,  “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” You could say instead that the 50,000 did not win, can not win, and did not try to win but that all 9504 entrants are already winners.

Let Me Define Winning

To some, the traditional definition of winning is the one who gets the prize, get’s there first, or who demolishes the opponent.  They might also argue that there can only be one winner and that makes everyone else by default, a loser.  Everyone is allowed their opinion; let them have it.  But realize that you and I are also entitled to ours.  I choose to see all 9504 entrants as winners.  Now let me define winning.  Everyone who takes a chance on their dream is a winner.  Anyone who has courage to get in the race is a winner.  Anyone that believes enough in their dreams to at least try is a winner.  Anyone that doesn’t give up or make excuses even though the odds are not in their favor is a winner.  Anyone who chooses to believe that the journey is just as important as the destination is a winner.  So, I choose to define as winning any effort that gets me closer to my goal, teaches me important life lessons, increases my faith, makes me more courageous, and expands my horizons.  Entering the Oprah Competition does all that.  That is why I say emphatically, “I WON!”