Think Like a Champion - Focus on the Top and You'll Get There

by Donald J. Trump

For what is the best choice, for each individual, is the highest it is possible for him to achieve.-- Aristotle

Some champions are born and some champions are made. A champion may be someone who shows marked superiority, someone who always places first in competition. A champion can also be someone who comes out on top, overcoming obstacles and beating the odds. We’ve all seen Olympic champions on television. What comes to mind when I watch these amazing athletes perform at their personal best is the amount of training they have endured, the sacrifices they’ve made, and the focus they had to have to get where they are. Endurance, self-sacrifice, and determination are the qualities of a true champion.

They also wanted to achieve something special. Ordinary wouldn’t be enough for someone who has the mindset of a champion. Champions think big. Champions work toward big goals. Champions are focused. Champions are disciplined. Champions think like champions. As Jack Dempsey said, “A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.”

Think like a champion.

When I’m having an especially tough day, I often think it’s like a race and I’d better have the endurance to reach the finish line. Somehow the endurance carries me through because I want to win. Billie Jean King said “Champions take responsibility. When the ball is coming over the net, you can be sure I want the ball.” I understand what she was talking about because I’m the same way. I want to play ball.

I have a box at the U.S. Open. Every year I love to watch those champions go at it. You can learn a lot from watching the pros, whether you’re interested in sports, the arts, or whatever. One thing they all have in common is the same mindset--they want to win, they want to be the best, not the runner-up: the best. That’s a very important quality. I’ve seen very talented people fail because deep down they were afraid of winning...they did not think like a champion. Winning comes with responsibility. Champions rise to that responsibility. Search yourself carefully to make sure you’re ready and capable. If you’re not, do something about it. It’s an important element of success.

Most of you know that I’m a golfer, and I own four amazing golf courses in the United States. I’ve always said that golf is a brain game, which it is, but it is a demanding sport technically and it's a game of finesse. You cannot play golf halfheartedly and expect to get anywhere with your game. You have to concentrate and you have to have patience. As the legendary golfer Bobby Jones said, “It is nothing new or original to say that golf is played one stroke at a time. But it took me many years to realize it.” We win in our daily lives by being careful with every day, by having a champion’s view of each moment.

When you think like a champion you prepare yourself for success.

Let’s go back to that quote by Aristotle. That is self scrutiny at its highest. It really is the best choice to go for the highest achievement possible. Why set your goals too low? Did you ever hear a child saying they want to be nothing when they grow up? They are full of dreams and plans and rarely are they mediocre aspirations. They want to be presidents, doctors, astronauts, scientists, and so on. They’re on the right track and have the right mindset. If you need to, bring yourself back to when you had high achievement as a goal. Not everyone can be the world champion at something, but you can strive to be the best you can be. That’s the first step, and a daily responsibility.

Champions go the extra mile. We all know when we’ve done just enough and when we’ve really exerted ourselves. Make an effort to exert yourself--every day. Don’t fail because you never allowed yourself to get started! Don’t avoid success because you think the responsibility might be too much. Just focus and get going! You’d be surprised at what intelligent effort can produce. Alexander Graham Bell said something that I have always remembered: “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” Pay attention to these things and you will be on your way to thinking like a champion--and becoming one.