Last time we talked about how winning (and losing) is infectious. Success leads to more success, and losses can trip you up and hold you back if you let them. To achieve big things, you have to have confidence in yourself.
Today, let’s focus on fan clubs. I want you to pick your fan club wisely. People who win and people who underachieve both join groups that support those trends and their corresponding results.
Winners hang with winners. Overachievers seek out other overachievers. Entrepreneurs like being around other entrepreneurs; star athletes hang with star athletes, movie stars with other movie stars, top coaches with top coaches, etc. They are each other’s fan clubs. My daddy used to tell me eagles fly with eagles and turkeys stay with turkeys.
But then there is another club. Its members are those people who underachieve. They often get together to justify why they are not winning. They meet and talk about the slow economy, their bad territory, weak management, inferior products / services, poor support teams, technology challenges, etc. They give updates on how their competition is also underachieving. They become experts in underachievement like there is a reward in that disappointing message.
So pick your fan club wisely. You don’t have to be a highly successful entrepreneur or a top-ranking executive to be in the achievers’ club. No. You might not be able to be in the center of their circle, but you can play on the edges. You can ask to meet with these winners for coffee and advice. You can gain access to them while volunteering for a non-profit organization. You might see them at a chamber of commerce meeting or a trade show. You can follow them on Twitter, LinkedIn and other sites. Maybe you start by reading what they read and dressing like they dress.
This famous saying from Vince Lombardi easily applies to the attitudes of various fan clubs: “Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.”
Which kind of club are you in? How did you get there? How do you stay there?