If you don’t come first are you going to quit?
If you are the second best presentation to your client is it time to throw the towel in?
If you don’t get the gold star on your code review is it time to look elsewhere because someone is better than you?
If you don’t finish your work as fast as someone else should you pack up and go home?
Probably not right?
You’re still going to wake up tomorrow, you’re still going to put out your best work and you’re still going to try to do whatever it is you’re doing first.
Because that’s the game, that’s the goal, to get into first.
Some days you will, some days you won’t.
We all know the shortcuts that can get us there, you can see them in sports when athletes take shortcuts or when someone next to you cheats on a test – they were first.
But for how long? How long can they keep it up? How long can they keep pushing to first with that being the only goal?
Eventually they’ll falter, eventually they’ll fail, eventually they’ll learn that the real race, the one they missed out on, was the work, the effort, the path it took to get to first – that’s where the fun is, the excitement, the clients that come back to you because you aren’t a one-hit wonder.
That’s the race you want to be in and keep coming back to you.
Anyone can get to first, not anyone can keep showing up each and everyday, never giving up in their endeavour to get there.
