Crossing the finish line first doesn’t make you a winner. That’s just the time when you collect the trophy.

Winning happens in the quiet when no one is watching or listening or cheering you on.

Winning is an attitude long before it is a result.

That may be hard to get your head around if you find yourself accomplishing less than you expect.

But it’s important to remember.

What you think about most decides how close you get to accomplishing your goals.

Winners are obsessed about progress. They don’t just plan and prepare. They obsess. That’s a whole different state of mind.

When you’re consumed with a mission, your game is stronger.

You’re not just going through the motions, you’re stretching your limits and demanding more from yourself. You’re uncovering new strategies and pushing your performance to the next level.

And it impacts everything that you do.

Winners spend their money on things that get them closer to where they want to be. They choose progress over entertainment. They choose a savings account over “Keeping up with the Joneses.”

Those are choices. Choices you can make. Choices that demand more of you. Not because you are high and mighty, but because you are desperate about getting to where they want to be.

Which is why winning is an attitude long before it is a result.

You won’t get on the podium or cross the finish line if you aren’t obsessed with it.

A few days ago, I had a conversation with a multi-millionaire friend of mine. Growing up, he was an acute introvert — timid in class and afraid to speak out in general. When he got his first job, in sales, he was completely unprepared for what he what he knew he would need to do to be successful. But he was hungry, so he bought Tom Hopkins’ 12 CD training set on selling. For the next two years, he would listen to those sales CDs every day. Almost 800 plays in a row. Day after day after day. Learning new skills. Soaking in inspiration. Overcoming his fear with facts. Over the next few years, he would build a financial services business generating close to $100 million in total revenue. A good sales executive could generate $1 million. He did 100 times that — as an introvert. He wasn’t the one that was supposed to win. But he did. Because he was obsessed.

That’s the truth about winning. It has to be an obsession.

No one else is going to care about your goal more than you do.

No one is going to be cheering you on in the middle of the night as you work towards your goal.

Winning is up to you. It’s your attitude. It’s what you do right now.

Be a winner in this moment. Do something amazing. Be awesome.

Seize the day.