Learning How to Win the Race

My husband and I were watching a show where these words in Latin appeared as a motto on the wall. Slow and steady wins the race…a great reminder for us that life is really a long game, not a short spurt. In this competitive world where winners and those who come in first are glorified across every media platform possible, the winners are really those who finish via the long game. Longevity, sustainability, endurance and patience are the winning traits we should truly emulate and admire.

Talent is abundant in this world. There will always be people who create, produce, lead and blaze new trails that others willingly follow. Having reached middle age in life the people I truly admire are not the young and energetic, I admire those who have sustained their places and beliefs through time and turmoil, remaining focused on being excellent and bringing out excellence in others. The leaders in their fields who have survived the multitude of changes, fads, highs and lows everyone encounters along their path, yet these people have stayed the course and persevered through the decades.

Many of these sustainers would be described as old guard, fuddy duddies, out of date and possibly even over the hill. They have earned the right to be themselves which may mean they no longer seek attention for attention’s sake. They crave the ability to endure beyond the current trends and to help mentor and build that next generation following them towards the finish line. These heroes are the ones who have seen it all and figured out how to keep going. They have won all the awards, made the money, built the homes and the second homes, started businesses and brought younger ones along side throughout their own journey. Helping grow and nurture those yet to endure the race. Let’s face it, these people have already run the race and won over and over again, no matter how often they tended on social media platforms.

What do these winners do now? Usually it is not just sit around, they invest their time and energy into building up and helping others endure for the long haul. They still produce and do amazing things, not to win simply because that is how they do things. They build teams and invest in people to secure an enduring foundation for the future. Slow and steady does not always mean over the hill or out of date; it usually means been there long ago and bringing along new people to help them learn how to win the race.

Want to know how to win the race? Find someone who has run it for a long time and follow their lead. THEY know how to win, they’ve been doing it for a very long time, they understand the where, the what, the how and they have a great why!