With football starting again soon, it's going to give me an excuse to start placing sports bets. We've detailed my love of gambling on this site, so I won't hide it.
But I heard a quote about gambling that felt like a great connection for your career.
"In gambling, there are only winners and quitters."
The same goes in the pursuit of greatness in our careers. You either win or you quit. You don't lose — or at least you don't view your lack of success as losing, because there's no reason to talk about it in that way.
Gamblers are notorious for focusing only on the positive. You only hear from your friends when they win at the casino. Nobody ever texts you when they lost. They only send you photos of the bet slip that won or the jackpot that paid.
Gamblers have the outlook that you're there to win, and you're going to put in the effort to win repeatedly. You don't say you lost, and if you stop or throw in the towel, you quit. You never lost.
The same goes for the outlook in our careers if we're doing it right. If you see every setback as a loss, you'll stop taking chances. You'll play it safe. You'll convince yourself the risk isn't worth it, and before long, you'll stop betting on yourself altogether. But if you see those moments as part of the process — as steps on the way to winning — you keep showing up. You keep putting chips on the table.
Winners in their careers aren't always the most talented. They're the ones who keep going when others fold. They're the ones who understand that not every hand is a winning hand, but the only way to get the big payout is to stay in the game. They know that patience and persistence pay off more than a single lucky break.
Quitting is final. It's walking away from the table before the game is done. Sometimes you do it because you're tired. Sometimes because you're scared. Sometimes because you've convinced yourself that the win you want is never going to happen. But what if it was just one more hand away?
Your career is the same gamble. You show up. You make your moves. You stack small wins. You take the hits when they come and get ready for the next round. You keep betting on yourself because the alternative is to fold — and folding guarantees you'll never see what was possible.
If you want to win, you have to stay in the game. Not recklessly risking everything, but with the mindset that you are here to play, here to compete, and here to give yourself as many shots as it takes to win. Winners keep playing. Quitters don't.
So whatever you're working toward right now, remember the gambler's mindset. You haven't lost unless you quit. Stay in the game.