A Golden Rule for Winners

One of the top values I coach people on is to live each moment with integrity. This summer, Olympic gold medal winner Cameron van der Burgh admitted using an illegal dolphin kick on his way to winning the 100m breaststroke gold medal. His rationale: "I'm not willing to sacrifice my personal performance and four years of hard work for someone else who is willing to do it and get away with it, and has proven to get away with it, as they did last year."

So, my questions for you are:

Just because 99% of other competitors are doing it, and the rule is not enforced, does that make it acceptable?

How important is integrity to you in business?

Is winning at all costs more important to you than losing with honor in tact?

These are important questions to ask ourselves in our struggle to grow our business, our name, our company, our brand.

Personally, I am surprised and saddened that no-one called van ber Burgh out on his chosen course of action. Not because I want to put Cameron in the spotlight and give him bad press, but because letting it slide is spreading the global message that as long as no-one is holding us to this standard, as long as we don't get caught, it is okay to cheat. It goes against what the Olympics is about. Not only that, when we're not acting with the highest integrity it actually affects our health and our immunity on a cellular level.

Cameron van der Burgh take note of this golden advice because if you do, it just might just be the biggest gift you have been given:

You actually won the last time round when you held yourself to higher standards than you did this summer. You lost the moment you decided to out-swim the others by bending the rules. Work on mastering your stroke not cutting corners. Live each moment with integrity... that's the kind of play that is worthy of a gold medal.

You will stand out in your industry as a winner when you raise your standard to exceed that of those around you. People will want to do business with you because they trust that you will act with integrity no matter what. You may not win the big bucks in the short term, but in the long term you will last long after others have fallen by the wayside.

Source: http://www.leenapatel.net/