Persistence Prevails (Why One Competes!)

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,  whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly;  who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and short-coming; but who does actually strive to do the  deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends  himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph  of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails  while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold  and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”          ― Theodore Roosevelt 

Sources:

• http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/44567.Theodore_Roosevelt
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_in_a_Republic
• http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/trsorbonnespeech.html

"I have fought a good fight: I have finished my course: I have kept the faith."  - 2 Timothy 4:7,

Persistence Prevails: The Zebra 1 The Lion 0

How should one hold themselves in the face of adversity? 
In most instances, zebras that are under attack by lions, lose. In the final moment, their posture changed, they bowed their heads, and submitted to their fate. 

Sometimes, the zebra gets lucky and reverses the situation

The following film clip shows the zebra drowning the lion.

In life, the successful competitors (or strategists)  never bow their heads. They keep standing straight, never adopting the posture of defeat, and always refusing to surrender.  

"It is persistence which wins many challenges. And persistence is strictly a matter of force of will. ... Sometimes, the outcome of a competition is not decided by the first strategic move or even the third. ... Rather, fortitude is involved. Force of will is persistence. If one does not lose their sense of self, he or she will persist and their strategic power will not diminish. ... On the contrary, it will endure after their body has wasted away." - A Nameless Strategist

Clue 

Understanding the configuration of one's Big Tangible Picture (BTP) and beyond, is the starting step. .We presumed that you know how to do that!?  ... Do you? 

Comments From The Compass Desk

From our experience, the will to prepare is greater than the will to win.  Do you know why?

The Will to Prepare To Win is Greater than The Will to Win

"The Will to Prepare To Win is Greater 
than The Will to Win.  . . ."
- Bobby Knight 

(updated at 15:15 hr.)

There are many variations of the mentioned quote. The gist is based on the significance of proper preparation in any strategic situation.  

The initial concept of this quote is similar to the "preparation precedes performance."  But the latter does not touch on the psychology of being prepared and how to stay focused on the current objective.  

From our professional experience, the understanding of "the psychology of preparation" usually enables the budding strategist to accelerate their performance of preparation.

Comprehending the reasoning behind the preparation and how to adjust to the situation is the essence of why certain strategists succeeds. 

While knowing the approach to seeing the configuration of one's Big Tangible Picture is the key to a smooth preparation session, defining the specific factors behind the configuration is the real challenge.

Whether the current objective is to prepare oneself for writing software programs or brewing tea or playing Bagua zhang,, he/she is always aware of the next current situation, based on the configuration of their terrain (the priorities, the time of day, the resources, etc.). 

Reading the situation means understanding the importance of assessing, positioning and influencing before ever pursuing an objective.

The low attention people usually have the need for immediate gratification, are usually in trouble in complex situations that require multiple steps. Any encounter of complex obstacles usually frustrate them first and then deter them from continuing.   They are living in the moment.

To strategize well, focus on increasing one's attention span while decreasing the need of immediate gratification 

Psychology is Strategy
A quote could only motivate someone for a limited period of time. But the constancy and the consistency of positive preparation increases one's will to win .

Those who rely on their "emotional will", have occasionally prevail in situations that is driven by short time intervals. But they will burn out in a long time-driven situation.

Methodical By Style: Be Deliberate

Source

(It is presumed that the planning strategist has properly collected the information.)

The first step of planning and preparation begins by methodically outlining each specific objective with a timeline and the approach. Connecting them in a sequential order by the prioritization of objectives while being mindful of the timeline, the allocation of the resources, the economics, the risks, etc. Building the script is the name of the game

The next step is the performance of each step efficiently until one could see the following step while doing the current step. Follow the script. Do it deliberately and slowly until one gets into the flow and ebb of the script.

Side note:  The assessment of one's own tangible situation (including the risk factor and the rewards factor) usually determine the amount of preparation 

This leads to one of our favorite Compass Strategic Principles.  . . .

"The amount of quality time and effort spent in assessing and positioning (through planning and preparation) is inversely proportional to the amount of time  that it takes to influence the circumstance of the objective while implementing through the plan.  .."

We will touch on that specific principle in a future post.

The Essence of Success: Persisting and Knowing When Not To Back Down

Youtube.com  

I Won't Back Down
Well, I won't back down
No I won't back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down

No I'll stand my ground
Won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
Gonna stand my ground

And I won't back down
(I won't back down)
Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
(I won't back down)
Hey I will stand my ground
And I won't back down
Well I know what's right
I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
But I'll stand my ground
And I won't back down
(I won't back down)
Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
(I won't back down)
Hey I will stand my ground
(I won't back down)
Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
(I won't back down)
Hey I won't back down
(I won't back down)
Hey, baby, there ain't no easy way out
(I won't back down)
I will stand my ground
And I won't back down
No I won't back down

Source: JenniferDawnBrody.com

What usually enables the successful strategist to prevail over the daily challenge of their endeavor?

"It is persistence which wins many challenges. And persistence is strictly a matter of force of will. ... Sometimes, the outcome of a competition is not decided by the first strategic move or even the third. ... Rather, fortitude is involved. Force of will is persistence. If one does not lose their sense of self, he or she will persist and their strategic power will not diminish. ... On the contrary, it will endure after their body has wasted away." - A Nameless Strategist

Understanding the configuration of one's Big Tangible Picture (BTP) and beyond, is the starting step. .We presumed that you know how to do that!?  ... Do you? 

Comments From The Compass Desk
From our experience, the will to prepare is greater than the will to win.  Do you know why?

Persistence is the Name of the Game

Source: JenniferDawnBrody.com

What usually enables the successful strategist to prevail over the daily challenge of their endeavor?

"It is persistence which wins many challenges. And persistence is strictly a matter of force of will. ... Sometimes, the outcome of a competition is not decided by the first strategic move or even the third. ... Rather, fortitude is involved. Force of will is persistence. If one does not lose their sense of self, he or she will persist and their strategic power will not diminish. ... On the contrary, it will endure after their body has wasted away." - A Nameless Strategist

Understanding the configuration of one's Big Tangible Picture (BTP) and beyond, is the starting step. .We presumed that you know how to do that!?  ... Do you? 

Comments From The Compass Desk
From our experience, the will to prepare is greater than the will to win.  Do you know why?

The Essence of Strategic Success

(wikimedia)

What usually enables the successful strategist to prevail over the day to day challenge of their endeavor?

"It is persistence which wins many challenges. And persistence is strictly a matter of force of will. ... Sometimes, the outcome of a competition is not decided by the first strategic move or even the third. ... Rather, fortitude is involved. Force of will is persistence. If one does not lose their sense of self, he or she will persist and their strategic power will not diminish. ... On the contrary, it will endure after their body has wasted away." - A Nameless Strategist

It begins by having a Big Tangible Picture (BTP)