WINNING IS NOT A SOMETIME THING. YOU DON’T WIN ONCE-IN-A-WHILE. You don’t do things right once-in-a-while. You do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game and that is first place.
I have finished second twice in my time and I never want to finish second again. The second place in any game is for losers. It is and must always be your zeal to be first in anything that you do, and to win, and to win, and to win, but only by soaring with your own wings.
Do not be afraid to lose so that you may dare to know how to win. Every time you play to win you must use every inch of you. You have got to be smart in this world to win. Don’t worry about the people who grin. If you always have a lot of head and a lot of heart you are never going to come in second. The objective in life is to win by carrying your own load. This does not mean that you walk over others to reach your goal.
You simply put your shoulders to the task and not to stop until you have done our best. It is a reality in life that when you do something well you become a standard for the world. People will never worry about the average man. They only follow the man who shows that he knows how to lift his load and refuses to lift those who want to learn. Any man is happier when he has done the best he could for a good cause. He knows his finest hour, his greatest fulfillment and all that he holds dearly is inherent in what he knows he has given his best to.
Marva Collins
