Is Competition Necessary for Success?

We live in a society today where our youth is being raised to believe that everything is fair.

The reality is ... that couldn't be further from the truth.

We can all agree on this.

Life isn't fair.

The world doesn't care about you...

...and you're not a delicate flower who automatically deserves a great life.

The real world has cutthroat competition.

The real world has winners and losers.

So if you want to be successful in life ... you have to be driven by competition.

Whether you want to compete or not is irrelevant...

You are in competition with others.

So is competition necessary for success?

Of course it is.

...and for more reasons than you might think.

Let me explain...

Competition Drives Excellence

When you create an environment where everybody wins, what you are actually doing is taking away the opportunity to become great.

As humans, we need competition to drive excellence.

If you think about it...

Competition is the biggest driver for getting better.

It's not necessarily about beating the next guy...

It's about being the absolute best you can be in order to win.

Beating the next guy just happens to be something that will drive you to be better.

Don't you hate losing?

I know I do.

That's because winning is in our DNA as human beings.

It's just how we're wired.

When there is no competition...

There's no real reason to be better.

Think about it.

If you're the world's fastest runner...

Unless you have people who can challenge that title...

What use is there to get better?

None.

The same goes for when you choose not to compete.

You are essentially just settling for average.

Is that really what you want?

You Have to Experience Failure

Even though you may not like losing...

You can't deny the fact that there's a lot of value that comes from your losses and failures.

Each failure is an opportunity to learn and become better.

That's why the single worst idea in human history was the creation of the participation trophy...

...and if we're being honest...

Anything other than first place is undeserving of any ribbon, medal, or recognition.

But here's the point I'm trying to make...

By making everyone feel like a winner...

Who's going to lose and learn the critical lessons they need in order to get better?

When you take away somebody’s ability to lose…

You are taking away their need to learn and improve.

That’s why competition is so crucial.

If you can’t win or lose…

There is no competition.

There’s also no point.

Plus, if you’ve never experienced failure…

When you finally do fail…

What are you going to do?

Probably throw your hands up and accept defeat.

Or worse, you’re going to throw a fit and adopt the victim mentality.

We see this all over the internet...

People who talk about how badly life screwed them over.

The reality is ... they took one loss and decided to pull themselves out of the game permanently.

If you're one of these people...

Get comfortable with never accomplishing anything great.

That's reality.

The Truth About Competition

Here's the greatest part about competition that most people overlook...

Most people think that when you lose in competition, you're somehow a loser.

Yes and no.

You lost, yes...

But here's the truth...

If you’re competing…

You’re not a loser.

The real losers are the people who don’t even compete.

The real losers are the people who quit after losing.

The real losers are the people who sit on the sidelines of life.

Being a part of the competition and doing your best to improve and dominate is what winners do.

While you may not win every single time...

You are building the necessary skills to win long-term.

Only quitters are losers...

Remember that.

How Does Competition Apply to Your Life

I already know that a lot of you are going to say this...

"But Andy, I don't see how being competitive has anything to do with my situation."

Like I said...

The real world is one big competition.

You're competing against your co-workers...

You're competing against your neighbors...

You're competing against your family...

You're competing against everyone!

Your life is a massive competition of who can be the best...

Who can make the biggest impact...

Who can get the next promotion...

Who can raise the best family...

The list goes on and on...

...and it really never ends.

You're in competition just by being alive.

That's how this applies to your life.

Competition Sets the Youth Up For Success

The concept of everybody winning is great on paper…

But it’s not reality.

If we teach the youth that they have the right to win and feel good no matter what the outcome is…

They are going to fail in the real world.

Because real competition is brutal and unforgiving.

That's why we must have competition in society...

That's why we have to show off and celebrate our wins...

That's why we can't give into fairy tale garbage like what's "ideal"...

This is reality.

We need to start treating it as so.

Ditch the participation trophies...

Teach the next generation how to play to win.

Otherwise we will be failing them.

Competition Is Necessary For Success

If you're not competing against anyone...

Why would you care to get any better?

This is why competition is crucial for success.

Competition is what drives excellence.

If you want to build the life you dream about...

It's going to require you to get your hands dirty and get in the game.