Positivity Leads to Winning

I'm very competitive.

You may be surprised to hear that if you've read my books or seen me speak.

People who play sports with me are surprised at how competitive I am.

As a kid I grew up competing against my family and friends in my neighborhood. I was a three sport athlete in high school, competed as a Division 1 college athlete and now I compete on the basketball, tennis and pickleball court.

Today I missed a shot on the pickleball court and yelled a word I don't normally say.

My pickleball partner, Matt Rambo, who is one of the top lacrosse players in the world, laughed seeing me get so mad. When I asked him why he was laughing he said it's funny watching the positive guy get fired up.

We won every game after that. When I got mad, I didn't get negative. I got more focused, more driven, more determined to win. More positive we would win.

People think being positive means being less ambitious, less gritty, less competitive but the truth is you can be positive and competitive. You can be positive and fierce. You can have a humble heart, a positive attitude and a warrior spirit.

Too many equate positivity with weakness but it is a source of courage and strength.

People think you have to choose between positivity and winning but I've found with all the leaders I've worked with; positivity leads to winning.

Because you believe the best is yet to come you give your best and expect the best from your team to create the best outcome.

So, as you work on becoming a more positive person and leader remember you don't have to sacrifice your competitive spirit. You don't have to lose your ambition. And you don't have to give up your quest for excellence.

Sometimes the most positive thing you can do is turn fear into fuel, frustration into focus and failure into finishing strong!

-Jon