In the film 'The Rock', Sean Connery takes a dim view of those who claim to be 'doing their best'. He comments grimly: 'Losers always whine about doing their best.' Is he right? This article tries to give an answer.
In the film, two men are set the near impossible task of disabling rocket bombs armed with nerve gas on the island of Alcatraz which has been occupied by ace rebel special forces. The lives of the five million citizens of San Francisco depend on their success. Tension is high throughout.
Sean Connery is one of the two men. He is a tough ex con. He asks his inexperienced partner, a mild mannered chemist, acted by Nicholas Cage:
"Are you ready for this?"
His partner bravely replies: " I'll do my best."
Sean Connery immediately corrects him:
"Losers always whine about doing their best."
Is Sean Connery right? Yes and No
Yes, people sometimes say they will do their best but really mean:
"I will make some effort but I don't really expect to succeed."
They use doing their best as an excuse for failure and are not in fact planning on really doing their best.
On the other hand some people mean they really will do their best whatever happens.
Such people do not always win but they often do win because so few others do their best. Those who do their best soon stand out from the majority who are content with mediocrity.
Also, doing your best allows you not to worry about the results and frees you up to focus on the task in hand. Come hell or high water, you will do your best and leave the results up to the universe. More often than not you will win.
Just saying "I will win", instead of "I will do my best", doesn't guarantee you will win especially if the other guy says he will win.
In the recent fight between world heavyweight champion Valeri Klitscho and the British Challenger Danny Williams both men said they would win.
However, Danny did acknowledge that both he and his competitor believed that they would win and that this would make for a great fight. Danny also had the grace to say he would only win 'God willing'.
In the end Danny put up a very brave fight and lasted into the eighth round but Klitschko won and retained his world championship belt.
In my opinion there is a lot to be said for really doing your best. The result is in the lap of the gods and is not necessarily under your control. But, if you do your best you may well win. Either way you are not a loser.
If you want to see who won in the film 'The Rock', get the video or DVD and watch it!
About the author
John Watson is an award winning teacher and martial arts instructor. He has recently written two books about achieving your goals and dreams. They can both be found on his website http://www.motivationtoday.com along with a daily motivational message.
The title of the first book is "36 Laws To Ignite Your Inner Power And Realize Your Dreams Now! - Acronyms, Stories, Pictures And Quotes?Easy To Remember And Use Everyday To Grab Your Life And Soar With The Eagles"
The book can be found at this URL http://www.motivationtoday.com
The book uses acronyms, stories, pictures and quotations to help readers remember 36 laws that can gradually transform your life if you apply them.
Ezine editors / Site owners
Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include this resource box.
best cleaning company Lincolnshire ..What do you need to have for a successful business?... Read More
Whenever we have a bad experience or we own up... Read More
Why do some people end up with boring jobs living... Read More
The first thing that you need to do is get... Read More
Measure twice, cut once Just as in carpentry, making sure... Read More
One way to become more successful in your life is... Read More
Cost is sometimes a difficult term to define. Here, we... Read More
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in... Read More
It's really all we have... the "Moment". Think about it,... Read More
When Julie looks through the lens of her camera she... Read More
The HungryIn May of 2005 there were over 2 million... Read More
Fourteen thousand civilised people died when the tsunami hit Andaman... Read More
According to Bill Gates there are 3 keys to success... Read More
"If you can tell the world who you are and... Read More
As a child you probably learned failing is bad...Failing meant... Read More
People say: "One can't help one's thoughts." But one can.... Read More
Wealth is more than money. It's abundance, or as the... Read More
How many times have people asked you what you really... Read More
As a work-life and career coach, I regularly work with... Read More
Have a "Pitch Party" Invite friends and work together to... Read More
Frederick W. Smith attended Yale University and wrote a paper... Read More
Lots of people network but few reap the rewards of... Read More
My life is a bubble; but how much solid cash... Read More
Sometimes it is better to just get on with doing... Read More
So you want to be successful (whatever that means to... Read More
on demand house cleaning Lake Forest ..Everyone talks about how to be successful through hard work... Read More
Why do so many of us lack belief in ourselves?... Read More
Most people want to be successful in life. But success... Read More
Most dictionary entries would define failure as the simple lack... Read More
Many years ago, forty to be exact, I started my... Read More
Give yourself a gold star Remember how rewarding it was... Read More
The ability to achieve our enormous untapped potential is directly... Read More
Does it surprise you that only 400 cokes were sold... Read More
Noted author and self-worth teacher Eric Butterworth* says, "Poverty is... Read More
Whether you are self-employed, whether you are an employee, whether... Read More
A young girl opens a birthday card from her grand... Read More
We were at some friend's house the other day and... Read More
"Don't get caught up in the how of things. If... Read More
Life is not a competition.Not at all. Life itself is... Read More
In my work with clients, the issue of perspectives comes... Read More
We speak every day without fully recognizing the impact our... Read More
So you want to be successful (whatever that means to... Read More
For each of us, how successful we feel will depend... Read More
Back in my early marketing days, finding the magic ticket... Read More
There's always a first time to meeting people. We want... Read More
A farmer in Pennsylvania decided to sell his farm, but... Read More
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our... Read More
On your journey to moving past using food to cope... Read More
A number of years ago, I had the rather unique... Read More
When you look into the eyes of a winner, what... Read More
Success |