The MacGyver Principle of Winning

Winners find a way to the top.

Bill Orender, one of the greats in my company, once told me how he starts his day. He said, “I get up every morning, go to the refrigerator, pour myself a glass of orange juice, and remind myself that the cavalry is not riding to my rescue today.”

Here’s the tough truth: If you are waiting for life to hand you everything you need to reach your next goal, plus a good cushion to cover the unknowns, you’ll be waiting until you die. The universe is not coming to your rescue today, or ever. That’s why winners find a way to MacGyver their way to the top.

Winners get things done.

Because it’s not what you have that matters, it’s what you do with what you have.

This concept is central to the message of my book, Serial Winner: 5 Actions to Create Your Cycle of Success. People who win consistently understand a fundamental truth about winning: you have to start where you are and with what you have right now.

While winners are turning a rubber band, dental floss, and some borax into a lasso to swing toward the next goal, losers sit around whining about everything they need and don’t have. This is the biggest difference between people who never get things done and people who are always getting things done. Those in the “never do” group are always preoccupied with the things they don’t have and believe they need before they can get started. The “get-r-done” group goes on the attack using whatever is available. They overdo. They are as creative, clever, and industrious as they can be in getting the most out of what they have.

Winners know that the little things matter.

They know that the little things matter, and can lead to greatness. Luke 16:10 states it well: “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much.” We all have tools and resources that we can leverage to develop an advantage. Some are obvious—experience, skills, talent, knowledge, relationships, money. Some are less obvious—organization, perseverance, focus. Almost like a miracle, when we stretch our resources to the limit, new resources appear. That’s called growth.

We all have the ability to set big goals and make progress toward them. Look around. What’s available to you? What can you use to move forward right now? I’m sure there’s something.