The following contains excerpts from the book, The Winner’s Edge (Denis Waitley).
At our music school in Midland, Texas we believe that music is more than sound, it is relationships. When discussing the subject of relationships, the concurrent subject of Leadership comes to the fore.
Denis Waitley wrote this landmark leadership book in 1980, which became an inspiration to many other Leadership materials, including much of John Maxwell’s writing.
Waitley introduces his thoughts, “As an investigator, I believe I have identified some fundamental denominators that appear to be common in people who become so uncommonly successful in reaching their goals…this book offers a ‘back to the basics’ approach to healthy behavior, supported by current research in the health sciences and by anecdotal evidence from the lives of ‘winners’ in many different arenas of society.”
One of the top priorities we have at our music school in Midland, Texas is to show honor to one another and to learn how to participate in the symbiotic experiences music can foster.
Self-image
In the chapter “Self-image,” Waitley begins, “A creative self-image is the key to developing that critical attitude for success known a as the Winner’s Edge. Individuals behave, not in accordance with reality, but with their perception of reality.”
“We make a mistake when we seek it in conformity to external standards, in the approval of other people, or in material things. You are a unique gift of creation. And what you do with yourself is almost entirely based upon your imagination of your possibilities. While self-esteem is a general deep-down, inside-the-skin feeling of worthiness, the self-image is very specific.”
“Scientists agree that the human nervous system cannot tell the difference between an actual experience and an experience imagined vividly, emotionally and in detail. This is why attitude determines success. Because attitude is an imagined inclination toward the achievement of a certain event. Therefore, attitude is everything since the human system cannot tell the difference between an actual performed experience and an imagined synthetic experience…The Winner’s Edge- as it applies to the self-image- is understanding the tenacity of the time-grown self-image and realizing that it takes days and weeks of constant ‘imagineering’…Winners practice as if they are first, even if their challenge is a first for mankind…In your imagination you never miss, unless you want to, or unless it’s your habit.
When you practice in your imagination, you have the ability to picture…practicing within when you’re without. It’s actually seeing yourself doing, within, when you are without. It is recalling and reliving those winning experiences from your past, to dwell on successes rather than failures. It is creating the synthetic experiences in the future, like the astronauts.”
As teachers at our music school in Midland, Texas we try to help the students see themselves in a positive framework, directing them to see their true strengths and uniquenesses and helping them to develop those unique characteristics.
Self-expectancy
In the chapter, “Self-expectancy,” Waitley states, “The body manifests what the mind harbors. True self-expectancy is synonymous with commitment, purpose, faith, obsession, a burning desire. It is the single most outwardly identifiable trait demonstrated by a sinning human being. Positive self-expectancy is pure and simple optimism, in the face of all odds. Self-expectancy is the key to motivation. It begins where the self-image leaves off. It takes the words, pictures, and emotions of imagination, and fuses them into energy and action by commitment. Winners have positive self-expectancy which creates desire. They are dissatisfied with the status quo. The want change for the better.”
When students at our music school in Midland, Texas watch successful examples of excellent musicians, it puts a positive example in front of them that they instinctively want to emulate. This is why our teachers are also excellent in their craft and can demonstrate for their students.
He goes on, “Everyone is self-motivated, a little or a lot, positively or negatively. Even doing nothing is a motivation…The word motive is defined as that within the individual, rather than outside, which incites him or her to action; an idea, a need, a notion, or organic state that prompts an action. Motivation is a force which moves us to action, and it springs from inside the individual. Defined as a strong tendency toward or away from an object or situation, it can be learned and developed.”
“Two key emotions dominate human motivation with opposite, but equally dramatic results- fear and desire…Is tension or stress good or bad? It is good or bad, depending on whether you are optimistic or fearful. Stress is the response to any demand make on the body, and there is both good stress and bad stress. In a totally tension-free state, you are either comatose or dead. What individuals actually need is not a tensionless state, but the striving and struggling for a goal that is worthy of him or her.”
One of the most profound benefits students at our music school in Midland, Texas receive is to have teachers who see their potential and help them set goals that are both attainable but also cause growth.
“Simply stated, winners focus on concepts of solutions, rather than on concepts of problems.”
“The link between stressful life changes, expectant anxiety and health changes seems to be associated with the body’s immunity system, which makes antibodies to fight foreign material and germs. Situations which arouse fear and anxiety also suppress many body functions and they may suppress antibody production as well.”
“Winners know that so-called luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity. If an individual is not prepared, he or she simply does not see or take advantage of a situation. Opportunities are always around, but only those who are prepared utilize them effectively. Winners seem to be lucky because their positive self-expectancy enables them to be better prepared for their opportunities…optimism is a choice…evidence is building up that optimistic self-expectancy created a natural high to help winners withstand pain, overcome depression, turn stress into energy, and persist.”
With proper preparation, students at our music school in Midland, Texas can meet each opportunity with success. Our strategy is to help each student discover their unique strengths and help them develop them through core competencies that are centuries old. As they develop in these ways, they become capable of achieving greatness.