13 EMPOWERing Behaviors that Turn Ordinary People into Extraordinary Champions and Winners

By Dr. Z.

The Consultation Tower believes that anyone can become a champion, no matter what their past.  We believe that anyone can be EMPOWERed into a habitual winning streak.  Your painful past does not make you a loser in life.  Quite the contrary, we believe that  everyone can learn simple but POWERful traits that can turn victims into victors, winers into winners, and challengers into champions.    In this spirit, the aim of this article is to EMPOWER ordinary people with simple but extraordinary behaviors that will turn them into winners.  Before we share these behaviors, it is important to take note of some overrated traits that are important for personal development, but will not make winners.  The following traits ARE NOT on the winner transformation list:

1. Intellect is not on the list, because intellect alone does not accomplish important goals.
2. Good intentions are not on the list, because the even greatest intentions are inferior to the least of actions.
3. Enthusiasm is not on the list; because, like good intentions, enthusiasm stops at the heart.
4. Strength is not on the list; because, unused strength is no more useful than a hammer hanging in the shed.
5. Good work is not on the list, especially when it only meets minimal standards and is not focused on accomplishing specific goals toward victory.
6. Sincerity is not on the list; because, sincerity, while admirable, has very little to do with taking action toward victory. 
7. Power is not on the list; because, countless people with prestige and power had fallen short of an important race, especially when there can only be one winner.
8. Talent is not on the list; because, talent, like strength and power, is nothing without determination and action.
9. Passion is not on the list; because, passion fades away with a lack of goal setting, planning, and action.
10. Faith is not on the list; because, as stated in James 2:17, “…faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
11. Creativity is not on the list; because, creativity alone does not lead to victory unless you actually take action and create.
12. Strategic thinking is not on the list; because, while strategy is an important winning step, it is impotent without goal-driven action.

Make no mistake, the traits above are typically exhibited by extraordinary people, but they do not turn people into winners.   The bottom line is, we believe that even the greatest people with the traits above will almost always be beaten by ordinary people who habitually display winning behaviors. Now that we know what is not on the list, let’s focus on the 13 behaviors that will turn average people into winners.

1. People Who Continuously Study

An ordinary person who studies hard on a regular basis will always beat out extraordinarily talented individuals who fail to study.  If knowledge is power, then knowledge gaps can explain the reason that some people perpetually fall behind and lack power.  If you want to increase your chances at victory, become an avid reader.  People who are readers become leaders.  If you are competing in a particular event or conducting business in a particular niche, do your research.  Consume information instead of needless products.  And, gain the competitive edge by having more knowledge than your competitors.

2. People Who Take Action

If knowledge is like solar power, then action is like the sun itself.  Action is the golden-fleece of victory.  The following demonstrates the power of taking action:

1. Action lead to your miraculous birth.
2. Action ignited the first rocket that pushed the shuttle through Earth’s atmosphere and into the heavens.
3. Action also divided the Red Sea, thereby saving the fleeing Hebrews from a blood-thirsty Egyptian army.
4. Action sparked the embers that lead to mankind’s first campfire.
5. Action gave man control over earths natural resources to create energy.
6. Action created the first wheel, flew the first plane, designed the first computer, and transmitted a signal over the first wireless phone.

The point is, there is no victory, no championship, no winner, and no wealth if there is no action.  We believe that an extremely gifted individual who has enhanced enthusiasm, faith, strength, great ideas, and good intentions, will still lose the race to an average Joe who simply takes action.  For example, the world is full of brilliant PhD-level underpaid computer techies who could have created the first successful social network, if only they had taken action.  There are people whoh could have been lottery winners, and actually had the winning numbers in their drawer, but failed to take action and claim the winning ticket.   And, there are people who sadly attended weddings only to watch their soulmate happily marry someone else because they failed to seize the opportunity to date these individuals, despite getting open signals.  So, take action, get moving, learn as you go, and win the race. 

3. People Who Act Fast

The very nature of champion-level engagement is to act fast.  Rapid action is literally symbolic of race-winning.  There is a saying that goes: “…good things come to those who wait, not to those who wait too late…”  This saying highlights the benefit of patience while pointing out that waiting may lead to missed opportunities.  The point is you must act fast to get ahead in most endeavors.   There are 4 strategies for rapid action:

1. The first is early intervention.  When you take action early enough, you can solve most problems before your competition does.  You can prevent 5-alarm fires simply by drenching tiny embers and sparks.
2. The second is rapid implementation, which refers to your tendency to quickly incorporate good mentoring and advice in your action plan.   So, strike while the iron is hot and make it happen.  
3. The third is to conquer procrastination.  Let’s be direct for this one.  Don’t procrastinate.  Avoid putting off goals if you have the resources and energy to accomplish them right now. If you were given the challenge to carry 200 pounds of rocks in 20 days, it would be easier to carry 10 pounds of rocks a day, than to try to carry all 200 pounds on the 20th day.  
4. The last is to batch your efforts.  This involves grouping important actions that will ultimately lead to accomplishing important goals toward victory.  For example, this can involve preparing notes for 3 upcoming debates simultaneously, thereby saving time that can then be used toward memorization and practice.

4. People Who are Consistent

Average people who consistently move toward goals typically outperform gifted and above average people who are inconsistent.  Consistency involves taking continuous action in the same fashion on specific tasks toward specific goals over time.  In this regard, it is important to be a steadfast and immovable rock when it comes to your values, your efforts, your action plan, your schedule, and your goals.  Consistency will turn you into a winner every time.

5. People Who are Persistent

People who are persistent are more likely than most other people to defeat the odds and win the race.   Persistence is defined as a continuous course of action toward goals in spite of difficulty or opposition.  A below average person with very little talent who is persistent and stays the course will beat gifted and talented competitors, despite personal controversies, limited funding, uphill battles, and steep learning curves.   If you are in a race toward some form of success, stay the course, face the challenges, and reap the reward.

6. People With Fierce Work Ethic

Work ethic is the internal motivational drive to work tirelessly toward challenging goals.  Winners tend to have the highest work ethic.  This is not just a matter of doing good work, as good work may be just enough to satisfy bare minimum requirements.  Great work ethic takes average people beyond the bare minimum standards, beyond the comfort zone, beyond complacency, and beyond the point at which most of their competitors will stop.  In short, great work ethic turns ordinary people into extraordinary winners by virtue of the fact that they are willing to work circles around their competitors.  So,  work until you cross the finish line.

7. People Who are Detail-Oriented

Detail-oriented people have eagle eyes.  They can see an objective miles away, and execute strategies with detail-oriented precision.  Winners have a well-developed knack for meticulous details which gives them the technical advantage over their competitors.  Let’s consider an example involving 2 marksmen.    The first marksman has a natural talent for shooting, having learned shooting skills since he was a very young child.  This marksman does not need manuals and technical know how because he can shoot with his eyes closed.  A second marksman learned to shoot as an adult.   Over the years, he learned how to adjust his sights for windage,  how to adapt his left and right visual field over the rear sight aperture of a weapon, and how to calibrate the weapon, all with superb mathematical precision.   When you pair these 2 shooters together, the second detail oriented shooter is likely to win the shooting match.  This is because his command over the important details gives him technical control over all of the variables that could affect the shooting outcome.  In the same way, any average person in any competitive endeavor will dramatically enhance their chances at victory by understanding the technical details.

8. People Who are Extremely Focused

Winners are focused.  They have a tendency to focus on singular high priority goals until they have succeeded in accomplishing those goals.  Multitasking is not in their vocabulary because they do not get distracted trying to juggle tasks.  We believe that average people who stay focused on high priority goals are likely to win when paired against extraordinary people with lofty ideas and fleeting goals.   Keep a laser-sharp focus on your specific high priority goals, and you will always come out on top.

9. People Who are Highly-Organized

People who are highly-organized have a staircase-like upward structure toward success.  An average person who is highly organized will ultimately outclass a brilliant individual who is disorganized and out of step.  In practical terms, a State University-educated professional may perform better and get promoted sooner than her ivy-league educated colleague simply because she was able to catalogue her notes and read all of her Emails in a timely fashion.  Organized people are better-informed, better-prepared, and better integrated into the organizational structure.  As a result, they have a greater advantage and are likely to win.  So, get organized, or get someone to help you with organizational skills.

10. People who Can Adapt

Ordinary people can gain competitive advantages over gifted people by adapting to new challenges, and evolving during changing times.   People who are flexible are likely to thrive, even when there is a rigid system.  Others are likely to break under pressure.  So, remain flexible and be ready to shift gears to change the tide of the race.

11. People Who are Confident

We have written about confidence in other articles, and we believe that it is absolutely necessary for success and victory during any challenge.  We define confidence as the ability to trust yourself in difficult circumstances.  Specifically, it is the ability to trust your higher power, your skills, knowledge, abilities, and resources what faced with challenges.  We like to think of confidence as faith with action.   A person may have great talent and a lot of faith; however, if that person is ill-prepared for a challenge, that person is not likely to have the confidence to win the challenge.  On the other hand, an ordinary person who put in the time and effort to build their knowledge, skills, abilities, and resources will have the confidence needed to win the challenge and overcome their competitors.   The real lesson here is to prepare yourself, because greater preparation leads to greater confidence, which ultimately leads to victory.

12. People Who Use Strategy

Being a strategic thinker is not enough to become a champion.  There are a great many strategic thinkers who are still imagining their strategies for success, decades after the original idea.  As mentioned above, you must take action, meaning you have to use the strategy.  In fact, you may have to revise and improve a strategy based on its effectiveness.   With that being said, ordinary people who use strategy will always dominate extraordinary competitors who wing it.   This brings to mind the famous  1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” heavyweight boxing match between George Forman and Muhammad Ali, wherein Ali upset the much younger champion by using and revising a well-thought-out strategy.  So, do not just think strategically, act by using  a field-tested strategy to win the game.

13. People Who Practice

Practice is critical for success and victory.   Dr. Z.’s Law of Practice states: “Practice does not make perfect, practice makes proficient.  A lifetime of practice makes perfect.”  It is not only important to practice for an upcoming event, but it is also important to continually practice your craft for continued success in your field of competition.   No one is above the rule of practice, not even the extraordinarily talented.  You must practice by rehearsing, recalling, remembering, and undergoing training in preparation of the real challenge.   In fact, we can think of practice as a self-imposed trial by fire.  If you practice harder than than your competitors and beyond the rigors of an upcoming competition, you will ultimately win.

Featured image by Wesley Eland from Unsplash