By Bill Quain
Welcome to week #2 of the “Change Your Odds, Imagine the Probabilities” series. This week’s “Six Words on a Boardwalk Bench” will help you increase your odds of winning and decrease your odds of losing. If you want to win and inspire or help others to win, you need to read this. I call it “The Art of the Start.”
You can’t move the starting line.
In every race, you have two lines – the starting line and the finish line. Here is something that most people do not understand: You can’t move the starting line. You can only move the finish line! In life, you start where you start, but you can finish wherever you want. You basically have no control over where you start, but you have complete control over where and when you finish. So, if you want to increase the probability that you will succeed, put your effort into moving that finish line as close to the starting line as possible, and start winning!
When I tell people this, they are confused. They say things like “Well, I decide when I am going to start, and I don’t really decide when and where I will finish because whatever the finish line is, and wherever it is, that’s where I need to go, right?” Not only is that wrong, it is absolutely wrong! You’ll never achieve your goals unless you take charge of that finish line and give in to the idea that you start where you are now. Let’s take a closer look at “The Art of the Start” and see just how to win every race you enter.
Start where you are standing now.
These days, we hear a lot about “equity” and the idea that everyone must start and finish at the same place. Well, that’s impossible. Not everyone is at the same place when they start. In fact, the starting line is largely determined by forces outside your control.
You don’t arrive at the starting line. You are at the starting line right now. Think about it. If you decide to start something, and you say to yourself, “I think I need some preparation before I start,” then you actually just started!
Here’s an example: I run the Ocean City Half Marathon every year. I don’t just walk up to the line on race day and start running. I start by getting ready for the race and taking shorter runs. But my starting line was the day I decided to run the race and began my preparations.
And what about finishing my practice runs? I determined how far the finish line was going to be for my practice runs. I can remember years when I was in bad shape at the beginning of the season. My first practice run might be only a mile, but guess what? I set the finish line myself, and I set it so close to the starting line that I got a “win” every time.
The purpose of starting is winning.
When I start something, I want a win. Why? Because winning is habit forming. So I do everything possible to increase my probability of winning – and winning often.
The most impactful thing you can do is to move the finish line closer to the starting line. Think about it. Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m going to set really high standards and goals because that way, even if I don’t finish, I still accomplished something”? Well… that’s really stupid! Why would you want to set your goals so high that you decrease the probability of success?
Finish Lines – Not A Stopping Line
People always confuse the terms “finish line” and “stopping line”. They are entirely different, and that difference can mean a real difference in your life! When I want to accomplish something, I set up finish lines all the way along to the stopping line. By the time I’m ready to stop, I’ve already had many wins. My winning habit is then so strong that I just keep on going. Every finish line becomes a new starting line. By the time I get to the finish line that’s just before the actual stopping line, I just can’t miss!
Don’t Start, Don’t Stop – You Choose.
At Stockton University, I teach a class called “Make Money & Pay It Forward.” Today’s students get all kinds of bad messages about building wealth because so many professors (as well as the major news media and the politicians) are telling people that they can’t win, and the only thing they can do is to have the government give them more money to make things “equal.” On the other hand, I tell them that they all have the power to build wealth because we live in the country with the greatest opportunity in the entire world.
Then I tell them about “The Art of the Start”. As we watch videos from politicians who say “you can’t win,” and from well-known speakers who say, “of course you can win, and here’s how…” I sometimes hold up signs that say either “Don’t Start,” (in the case of the politicians), or “Don’t Stop,” (in the case of the famous speakers – including me). It might seem like a simple difference in philosophies, but it is actually the most important truth my students will ever receive. You see, it doesn’t matter if the odds are stacked against you. It doesn’t matter where you start the race. It only matters if you get a “win.” Then don’t stop until you get what you want! If you do that, you will also get what you deserve.
Remember, you can send me a comment or question to bill@quain.com. As I say each week, I’ll see ‘ya in the papers!
Bill is a Professor in Stockton University’s Hospitality Management Program. He is the author of 27 books, and a highly-respected speaker. Even though he is almost totally blind, Bill is a long-distance runner and runs the Ocean City Half Marathon each year. He lives in Ocean City with his wife Jeanne, and his Guide Dog Trudy. Visit www.billquain.com or email him at bill@quain.com.
