Being a winner is not decided by an amount of money, size of a home, or college degrees. A winner has the confidence to take on challenges others avoid, to deal with conflict, to have tough conversations, take calculated risks, and not always be the nice guy or gal. A winner knows that a set back now will lead to bigger goals being reached later. A winner surrounds him or herself with other winners and makes it a point to avoid discussing other people's downfalls at it only distracts from them reaching their goals. A winner elevates the level of potential of everyone in their network. A winner keeps the bigger vision in mind.

As someone who does not have a natural “winning” perspective, I’ve intentionally worked hard to change my perspective to see the good in every situation. It has been a challenging and worthwhile journey.

I use to hate asking questions at the chance of hearing the word "no." I now realize I was taking things too personally. Now, I know better through self-reflection that in the micro moment that “no” is tough to hear, but in the macro, we will win huge in life. We are only on this earth once- I am choosing to change my mentality and grow into a winner.