10 Tips to Be a Winner at Life

culled from:beliefnet.com

As the five-time national championship-winning head football coach for Ohio State University, Jim Tressel knows a thing or two about accomplishing goals. And, in his recently released book, "The Winners Manual: For the Game of Life," he offers up his own "playbook for success"–which he uses in training his players every year.

Decide Your Purpose and Set Your Goals

John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach, is one of my heroes. In his classic autobiography, "They Call Me Coach
,"

he defines the elusive quality of success: "Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming." That's a great definition. First, it takes away any external characterization of success—conference championship, national championship, awards—and puts the responsibility on the individual to define his own success. Trophies, rings, or trips to the White House do not mean you're a success. Success is found in "peace of mind''

Develop an Attitude of Gratitude

We constantly talk to our players about having "an attitude of gratitude." I think life is a lot more fun if we take stock of our blessings and live in light of them. We all have things we're not excited about and things that don't go the way we want them to, but when we really step back and list our blessings, we find they far outweigh the hardships that seem for a moment to be so earthshaking.

Create Your Own Enthusiasm

It's hard to manufacture enthusiasm, and it's difficult to gauge, but I see it most on the sidelines. There are times when we're looking at the wide view of the field and can see both sidelines. We see the movement there, the excitement, and there's intensity and enthusiasm that can really help the team on the field. We get a feeling of support when we know that people are tuned in to what's happening.
Consider this: Providing enthusiasm just might be your role on any given day

Discipline Is a Daily Decision
I believe it was Billy Graham who said, "Those who get up and spend time in the Word to begin the day are not devoid of problems; they're not devoid of discouragement. They just get over it quicker." And that's true. If you can start your day by planting seeds of truth and get those kinds of habits ingrained into your life, you'll succeed at more than just football.

Be Your Best Where You Are

"Focus on the moment"

is a phrase we use a lot. I know we're not the first ones to have used it, but it's crucial to our success. The ability to focus on the moment gives you a chance to be the best you can be right here, right now. If you're in the weight room, your lift is your focus. If you're in the classroom, it's that class. If it's a players' meeting to study film from today's practice, the temptation to drift away mentally is strong. The other commitments tugging at you are strong. You have to focus.

Pursue Excellence

The number one expectation within our Ohio State football family is to seek excellence in all phases of our lives. In fact, we identify with the Latin phrase
Macte Virtute

(pronounced
mock

-tay weer-
too

-tay), which means "increase in excellence." We recognize
Macte Virtute

as an imperative statement, a command, to increase in excellence in all we do.

Have Faith and Believe

Faith and belief are really two sides of the same coin. Having faith means placing your trust in something much bigger than yourself. Faith is the bedrock of a winner. It's what anchors you. It's the foundation for everything you do, and thus it's part of who you are. Belief has more to do with what you're trying to accomplish. It's more personal. It's what you
do

rather than who you are. Belief is the outward expression of an inner faith. As we said before, faith is tied to your
purpose,

whereas belief is more a part of your
goals.

Learn from Failure

There are two types of persistence. In the first type, we start having doubts and aren't sure about ourselves or about the plan we've set forth, but we press on anyway. We may not be certain about our ability, but there are some factors inherent in what we're doing that propel us forward.

The second type of persistence comes from something deep inside us. Persistence isn't just what we do; it's a part of who we are. If we're this type of person, it doesn't matter what the score is, what our record is, or what obstacles are in front of us; we're living a lifestyle that says, "We're not giving up."

Be Prepared for Adversity

Adversity comes to us all—it's only a matter of when. The real question is not
whether we'll face adversity but how we will respond to it when it comes. If our attitude is one that embraces learning and growing, we'll treat adversity as a stepping-stone to the success we desire, rather than see it as an insurmountable obstacle. But if we have a negative attitude and become defensive at the first hint of criticism or begin to blame others for our mistakes, we'll miss the opportunity to develop into the types of people we want to be.

Love

Doc Spurgeon says that 99 percent of the people who say they love someone or something say it because that person or thing gives them pleasure. But the true measure of our love for someone or something is how much we give back to the object of our love. What are we contributing to our families, our churches, our jobs? Are we giving back to God?