I believe that each of us wants to be a winner in our own minds.  But, what is a winner?  If you’re playing golf, if you win the game, you are a winner.  Does that also mean that if you lose the game, you are a loser?  Is a winner the guy who gets the job for which he applied, or is it the guy who gets the job and proves himself brilliantly?

Are Bill Gates, Gandhi or Mother Theresa winners?  Vincent van Gogh has gone down in history as a brilliant artist; however, he sold very few paintings during his life. So, was he truly a winner since he died a loser? 

Who decides whether you, I or anyone else is a loser or a winner?  Who makes the declaration, “And the winner is…”  If you believe in God, perhaps you think that he makes that determination.  Or, perhaps all those famous “success” speakers who give seminars on how to succeed create a list of those who are winners and another for those who are losers. 

Can your friends decide whether or not you are a winner?  Since they are your friends, how important is their opinion about whether they think you are a winner. 

Has it come to you yet?  In reality, who can decide whether or not you are a winner?  In the entire world, there is only one person who has the power to determine your fate.  Only one person can decide whether you are a loser or a winner.  Out of all the human beings on earth, only a single one of them has the right to judge you and change your path in life to become a winner or a loser.

By now, I am certain you realize that it is you, and only you, who directs your life.  Only you have the power to change the direction your life is going and steer it into a different direction.  No one else can even help you make that decision.  They may help you to learn certain tasks or behaviors that will enable you to walk a different path, but they cannot decide for you whether or not you are a winner.

Here is another question to ask yourself.  Do you FEEL like a winner?  That one is a bit more difficult to answer, because most of us don’t feel great about ourselves ALL the time, but we do some of the time.  There are days, weeks, even months when I definitely feel like a winner.  Then, something comes along in my life, and I feel helpless, weak and perhaps even stupid.  It doesn’t usually last long, but it does happen.

What can we do to make ourselves feel like a winner nearly all the time?  Because I do not believe in perfection, I won’t even suggest that we can feel like a winner ALL the time.

Let’s try this…

On a piece of paper, or on a blank page in your computer, begin listing the successes you have had in your life.  Look all the way back to when you were a little kid.  Did you learn to ride a bike or learn to swim?  Success!  Did you work hard and achieve good enough grades to graduate high school?  Success!  Were you successful in college or on your first job?  Did you get a promotion for which you worked hard to earn?  Did you marry the person of your dreams and create a lifelong successful marriage?  Success, success, success!

Now, you have the beginning of your list.  From here on out, each time you achieve a goal, every time you experience a new success, read through your Success List, and then add the new accomplishment to the list. 

Creating and maintaining a list such as this can help us think differently about our own successes.  They are not each isolated events, interlinking all the great things you have done, they become an accumulation of your life’s achievements.  When you look at your list as a whole, there is a great possibility that you will then be able to say, “I am a winner!”

To learn more about Julie and her Xpress Healthcare business, visit:  http://julie.joinxpress.com/xhc1.html?=blogger