Blue print for success

This philosophy came as a counter to the belief "Winning is not everything, it is the only thing." This latter philosophy leads me to question the integrity of people who believe it to be true. It gives a distorted meaning to the words "killer instinct." If you ask a person on the street, "What is the meaning of killer instinct," most responses would be, "You have to win by hook or by crook." That is not killer instinct, that is pure dishonesty. To a good sportsman, killer instinct means:

1. You don't put in 100% but you put in 200%.
2. To win, we must cash in on our opponent's mistake. Not cashing in on an opponent'smistake is a mistake. 

However, playing foul to win is not killer instinct, it is outright dishonesty. Unfair winning may give temporary success but certainly not fulfillment.The reality is that life is a competition and we have to compete. In fact, competition makes competitive people grow. The objective is to win, no question--but to win fairly,
squarely, decently and by the rules. 

Great people leave something behind. Winners recognize that no one can make it alone. Even though champions get the medals, they realize that there are many people behind their success, without whom it would not have been possible. Their teachers, parents, coaches, fans, and mentors. One can never fully repay those who have helped winners. The only way to show a little gratitude is by helping those who are following. The following poem says it all.

                                                  THE BRIDGE BUILDER 

                                           

                                           An old man, going a lone highway,
                                           Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
                                           To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,

                                          Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
                                          The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
                                         The sullen stream had no fears for him;
                                         But he turned, when safe on the other side,
                                         And built a bridge to span the tide.
                                       "Old man," said a fellow pilgrim, near,
                                       "You are wasting strength with building here;
                                         Your journey will end with the ending day;
                                         You never again must pass this way;
                                         You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide--
                                         Why build you the bridge at the eventide?"