Win at All Costs

Most people applaud the mentality to win at all costs. We gravitate to winners. We write about them and praise them publicly.

We provide opportunity for them to make even more money. We ask them what they did to succeed and then copy it as much as possible.

When you look at extreme success, you often see extremes in other areas as well. It usually means extreme sacrifices. Or extreme greed. Or the complete disregard for the rules in order to succeed. You often see individuals choosing to win at ALL costs.

Forbes likes to compile lists of the most successful people in the world. Their 30 Under 30 list holds some of the most successful individuals under 30 years of age on the planet. People tune in to see who is at the top. They want to know the ultimate winners in the game of life. They want to know who is earning money at the most exponential rates.

But this list has recently been criticized. Sure, at the time of publication those individuals on the list represent the collective success stories in the world. This snapshot in time is interesting for all of us regular folks, to see someone rise so high and achieve so much in such a short timeframe.

The list has been criticized because of the high number of honorees who go on to face criminal charges. It seems that the list of the most successful people in the world, also holds those willing to break the law at extreme levels to get ahead. In other words, they list all those willing to win at all costs. Sometimes that is through personal sacrifice or innovation. But often it is through a willingness to commit financial crimes to line one’s own pockets.

The fascination with winning makes sense. But when we lose sight of the important aspects of life to focus on one area, typically financial success, we start to praise those willing to throw away everything else for this pursuit.

Those who succeed do so by any means necessary. It isn’t surprising that it isn’t always through solid work ethic and ingenuity. Those who do it the right way get drowned out by those fascinating stories of the great rise and fall.

This is why I appreciate the systems and habits approach to improvement. It isn’t about winning at all costs. It isn’t about finding ways to gain leverage and then abuse that leverage.

It represents simplicity. It helps us see the full picture in our lives. Sure, we will find areas lacking that we want to improve and grow. We will see strengths and advantages we can leverage.

But we don’t do so by ignoring the other aspects of our life for this one pursuit. We find ways to adjust our lifestyle choices to adapt and grow. In other words, it isn’t about extreme levels of success. It is about simple improvement.

But if we crave the highest levels of success, we could easily get caught up in the win at all costs mindsets. We never really explore what those “costs” are. Instead, we throw away important aspects to chase a singular greed.

Learn from the Forbes list. Observe the large number of celebrities, politicians, and pro athletes that seem to have it all. Those who seem to win at the highest levels often have the most shocking falls when their sacrifices come to light.

Don’t get sucked into the greed mindset that is so prevalent. But don’t disregard improvement. Realize that there is a major distinction. You can improve and grow. You can get better and reach new levels of success. You shouldn’t chase extremes to feel the happiness that comes after working hard to reach a goal. Avoiding extremes and achieving creates more lasting contentment than the choice to win at all costs.