We live in a society where conformity and staying within the lines is the norm. Anyone who ventures outside that circle is deemed a pariah; someone who has lost their way. The world does it’s best to bring you back within the fold. Family and friends will strongly urge you to take the tried and tested path. They will tell you it is for your own benefit. I can’t fault them, they are using their past as an indicator of what lies ahead. However, this is where the fork in the road comes into play. In life we have two options, we either play not lose or we play to win. Many of us do our best to hedge both sides of this coin. Unfortunately this third strategy almost guarantees us the worst outcome.

Playing to win doesn’t need us to do wild and crazy things as one would imagine. Everything starts with identifying what you want. That goal decides the tactics we need to use to win. Whether that be running a successful business or travelling the world. The important thing to remember is to pursue that goal aggressively. We will be required to make many difficult sacrifices. This is where most people hit a wall. The thought of giving up something in the present is painful. Losing feels far worse than winning. We do our best to hang on to everything as our ship is sinking.

The only way to get what you want, is to play to win. Embrace all the setbacks as lessons and keep moving closer. The worse thing you can do is lose sight of the goal. At times when we do win, we may have lost. This is when we chose to pursue the wrong goal. However that is life and the game we play. It is better to have played and won or lost, than never played at all.

The Prioritization Paradox This article gels well with this week’s theme. Prioritizing what you need to do on a daily basis is of critical importance. Getting it right can greatly accelerate the rate at which you reach your goals.

23 super-successful people share the best advice they ever received I always enjoy reading posts like these. The major themes are listening better, surrounding yourself with the right people and focusing on what you want to win at.

Wasting Time With The Joneses This is a great essay on the fundamentals of raising capital. It talks about when to raise it and what sort of businesses are the most suited for it.

Uber’s Secret Weapon This article talks about the road Ryan Graves took to become an early employee of Uber. It is a story about hustling, knowing what you want and going for it.

Don’t Ask For Permission. Ask For Forgiveness Great article by James Altucher. I enjoy reading his posts and his style of writing. My favorite line from the post is “Our life worth is not our net worth but the impact we have on others.”

Shark Tank Investment Data I am a big Shark Tank fan. It is an entertaining watch and educational at the same time. The program gives us insight into how to pitch and what investors are looking for in a business. This is a spreadsheet which contains all the deals that have been done in the tank. If you are looking for new business ideas this is a great spreadsheet to study.

Wishing everyone a great week ahead!