Most can’t think beyond the first things. The trophy! The payoff! The acclaim! The vindication! You proved to yourself and everyone else that you could do it. You silenced the critics.
First time winners often go into a depression soon after.
Is that all there is? The first rush of rewards are phenomenal, but soon you get used to them, and the emotional rush they triggered fades. And you start to wonder – where’s the thrill now?
“All riches have their origin in mind. Wealth is in ideas, not money.” —Robert Collier
Being oblivious to the main benefit can throw you into a tailspin.
You wonder about how your life is changing. You can’t understand it, and you don’t know what to make of it. Many think the answer is to go overboard on enjoying the fruits of victory. They start chasing fun times, new friends, and exploring exotic, forbidden worlds. Taking a break to celebrate, reflect, and recover is expected, deserved and even necessary. But when you go overboard to the point of losing your bearings, the effect is to forfeit the winning pattern you had worked so hard to establish. But that doesn’t happen if you understand the big picture. So, what’s the big picture?
The BIG payoff is not wealth, fame, or power – but INFLUENCE.
Doors open up. People of influence will now respect you as one of their own. The opportunities to expand your world opens up. Now you can do great things for yourself and others that before were impossible. Your future becomes unlimited. But it can be the same, or even worse, if you get lost in the dizzy whirlwind of winning. These new opportunities are just that: opportunities. They have a shelf life.
Timing is everything.
It’s up to you to capitalize on the moment. Use it to move forward, or forfeit it and move back into the pack. The big payoff for winning is influence. The opportunities to do even greater things – for yourself and others.
