“What Makes a Winner: The 13 Traits of a Winner”
"The first quality of winners is they have a dream," he said. "Without a dream, we tend to drift. We can dream forever. We
can have the greatest dream ever. But if we don't put it into action, nothing is going to happen."
The second quality is preparation. "When preparation is in place, it breeds confidence," said Williams. "Where does
confidence come from? It comes from preparation. The second key to being a winner is preparation, which leads to
confidence."
The third quality is that winners have is the unique ability to focus on what's going on right now, he explained. "It's as if
they're in the Kentucky Derby and have blinders on, so they'll be zeroed in on what's going on right now," said Williams.
"The ability to focus is a hallmark, an earmark, of the winners. If I look a week or a month out from now, it almost terrifies
me. But if I look just at today, I can handle that."
Passion for what they do is the fourth quality of winners. "They are filled with zeal and zest," said Williams. "They are
imbued with passion. They are excited about what they do. I encourage you to let your passion, your energy, flow. Where
does passion come from? You've got to love what you do."
"When preparation is in place, it breeds confidence." From perseverance to preparation, the Orlando Magic’s Pat Williams
explored the varied facets of what it takes to be a winner.
Hard work is the fifth quality of winners. "They understand you've got to put shoe leather to the pavement every day,"
said Williams, who referenced examples such as Michael Jordan lifting weights at 2:30 a.m. in Phoenix after a game, or
Tiger Woods out for a run in 95° heat in Isleworth, Fla.
The sixth quality of winners is they take responsibility, said Williams. "We're living in an age of deflected responsibility.
In today's business climate, if the decision does not work out, people seem to have a case of instant amnesia," he said.
"At the end of the day, the winner understands there's a consequence for every decision."
Specificity in goal-setting also is a quality of a winner. "A clear-cut, definite goal is a powerful motivating force," he said.
"I would recommend having short-term, mid-range and long-term goals. The most important ingredient in being a good
goalsetter is discipline, more specifically, self-discipline. We can have all of the goals in the world, but these goals need a
written deadline. With self-discipline, we can make these goals become reality."
The eighth quality of a winner is perseverance. "The winners hang in there," said Williams. "They may get weary. They
may get discouraged. But they don't quit. You can't let go of the vine, no matter how bad things are."
Closely related to perseverance, dealing with adversity is the ninth quality of winners. "We're always in one of three
positions: We've just come out of a storm; we're in a storm; or we're headed into a storm," explained Williams. "What are
we going to do in the middle of our storm? Crash and burn, or crash and learn? The struggles are the best things that
have happened to me."
The 10th quality of a winner is a positive attitude. "The winners in life have a positive attitude," he said. "The glass is
always half-filled or totally filled. Every day, I get to pick my attitude. It's the only thing I have control over. At the end of the
day, that's all I can control. Every moment of every day, you get to pick your attitude. Pick a good one."
The 11th quality of winners is they pay attention to the little things. "The challenge is to take care of the little things,"
explained Williams. "On the first day of UCLA basketball practice every year, Coach John Wooden would show his players
how to properly put on their shoes and socks for an hour." Wooden, said Williams, didn't want to lose a game or a
championship because of a blister on the foot of a player who put on his shoes and socks incorrectly. "He was taking care
of the details."
The 12th quality of winners is that they strive for perfection. "They are working to the highest level of quality," said
Williams. "When you head out to Disney properties, they're all expecting Walt to show up. Striving for and attempting to
get to the highest level of quality is something we never should sacrifice."
The final quality is that winners thrive on competition. "They love it," he said. "They take it as a personal challenge.
What do you do about the competition? You do not firebomb their buildings or put arsenic in their water supply. That
leaves us with one option: Welcome the competition."