Agony of Defeat and Thrill of Victory

There are many important life and business lessons to be gained from understanding the Agony of Defeat and Thrill of Victory.

In this post, I am going to compare both and show you how to best deal with those inevitable agonies of defeat, while maximizing the thrills of victory.

The Agony of Defeat

Just as there is the thrill of victory, there also lives its evil nemesis, the Agony of Defeat.

Whether it be plays in sports or moves in our businesses, either will always be looming and tipping the scales in the balance.

Once upon a time, "Kaju Tsunami" lost our bid to advance to the BCA 9 Ball World Championship in Las Vegas by being defeated by "Marludicrous" by a score of 8-4.

We won our Division Championship 6 times, but this is now our 3rd loss in 9 Ball LTC play since 2014 at the "Big Show."

This was quite a bitter pill to swallow. Indeed we had our chances but we could not capitalize. In the end, it all came down to that we missed the most important shots at the critical times, while they capitalized on our untimely errors and also benefited from lucky rolls on their side.

That simple.

But just as we may fail time and again in our businesses and in life, that's pool Ladies and Gents.

Accept that there will be times we can practice hours on end and prepare for weeks, but all the planning in the world may not change the outcome.

We will still need to execute at the "Big Snow" to win, and on this occasion we simply didn’t.

So drag yourself up off the ground, dust off the dirt, and get back on that horse.

There is a Great Lesson in Every Defeat

There is a great lesson to be learned in every defeat.

When we lose a do-or-die match in sports and in particular any team sport, as in our brick and mortar and online businesses, we need to look back and analyze where we went wrong.

During this process, we need to do some serious soul-searching by being completely honest with ourselves. Always be 100% accountable for our failures, and do not make any excuses.

Specifically factors such as what most contributed to our team’s loss, why didn’t our team play well enough, why didn’t our post rank, why did our last ad campaign bomb, and ultimately what contributed to our failure.

Then we need to adjust our plan.

Now put this new plan into action.

Here are 3 Questions you should always ask yourself to identify the causes to adjust your future plan to a winning plan:

Once again, be honest with yourself. If you aren’t sure, ask for feedback from your team, a highly valued mentor, an impartial observer, or your staff.

When you have reassessed your most needed future improvements and are sure of them, record your answers in a journal, on your computer, or anywhere safe where you can easily refer back to them.

Then go out and take action on that new plan.

Never stop taking action.

The Thrill of Victory

How do we achieve that ever-elusive thrill of victory?

In competitive sports as in our brick and mortar and online businesses, there will certainly be times when we will be behind late in the game, and we will need to summon a “knockout punch” to deliver.

We need to know how to perform the 7 Actions.

These 7 actions will increase our chances of bringing home the thrill of victory.

Sometimes this takes the form of implementing deliverables of an important project deadline for a valuable client that cannot be extended, or meeting our money-raising target for a crowdfunding campaign we are running during the “eleventh hour”.

These are the most important moments in our businesses, and the moments that define us.

Imperative to our success will be “delivering the goods” in such clutch moments, when we need to apply a steady hand, laser-focused concentration, and to stay calm under pressure.

One of these clutch moments happened once in our Team 9-Ball Pool Quarter-Final playoff match.

Agony of Defeat and Thrill of Victory:  Be Prepared for the Unexpected

The night started off strong for us, as after 2 matches, our team was ahead 14-6 with the last two matches more to go - and both team’s best players still waiting to play.

This was when an unforeseen disaster struck, for this 3rd match now was the time I would put up one of our best and most reliable players.

One of our best and most reliable players was named “Storm”. His wins during the season were practically automatic and at times legendary.

The opposing team countered by answering our declaration with a solid but inferior player.

Even the best can at times be most susceptible to high stakes pressure.

In a performance of mediocrity we have never seen, “Storm” went on to lose 7-2 to the inferior player. A most dubious setback.

Now we were in deep trouble!

The Moments We Play For

Last match, we are now only ahead by the slimmest of margins 14-13 and in the final match I have no choice but to play myself against their best player.

There are no fall back strategies here, and no way to get around the dire circumstances I/we face. This is a MUST win for me to bring my team to victory.

A very tall order.

Although I was still shell-shocked by “Storm’s” 7-0 loss, the fact is I knew I was suddenly bearing the weight of the world on my shoulders. As soon as the first rack was struck my previous behavior now quickly morphed into a renewed and calm focus.

My thought process immediately became, "The pressure is on HIM, not me.” 

And whenever I needed judicious advice and assistance, I would call a coach up to the table in a most timely way to discuss how I should take the following shot.

From then on, EVERYTIME I would only focus on the next shot, literally keeping a steady hand on every shot. Whenever I didn’t have a clear shot I would implement a defensive maneuver called a “safety”, placing the pressure on my supposed “superior talented” opponent.

Remember I knew my opponent was already under the great pressure of high expectations. He was expected to win. This is the power of being the underdog. These maneuvers I implemented forced my opponent into making uncharacteristic mistakes.

The match ended at 12:30 am EST, and my persistent tenacious play helped me to overcome the enormous odds and defeat their best level A player by a score of 7-4.

After our team fell behind late in the night, my unlikely and AMAZING win helped seal a close 21-17 victory for our team!!!

7 Actions to Take Off Pressure from the Agony of Defeat and Thrill of Victory

This post was not meant to boast about my pool skills, nor was it written with my intention to bore you with all the myopic details.

Consider this post a metaphor of how to perform at your optimum level under pressure.

How was I able to beat that Level A player, a player of much superior skill to clinch the late victory for my team?

You all may wonder, what the answer is to this Great Burning question.

It's first about adopting the right mindset.

Here were 7 actions I knew I had to achieve to take off the pressure from the agony of defeat and thrill of victory in order to have any chance to win

When we apply all 7 of these proven winners to our daily businesses as exercises, we build a steady regimen of HABIT that is most conducive to “staying calm under pressure” during our most critical make-or-break moments.

Collectively, these are the pure moments that contribute most to our online business successes and "WINS" of the game. These are the moments that truly define us.

And these are the moments that make us feel the most alive!

Conclusion:  The Agony of Defeat and Thrill of Victory

The specter of the agony of defeat and thrill of victory remains present.

At any moment, the scales can tip one way or the other.

However, managing your emotions, and keeping a steady hand will often hedge the odds in your favor.

Thank you for reading this article, and here’s to your Great Success!

Feel free to make a comment below, they are always welcomed.