Robert Herjavec - The Will To Win

All good is hard. All evil is easy.

Dying, losing, cheating and mediocrity are easy.

Stay away from easy.

Scott Alexander

I must do about 100 media interviews across Canada and the United States each year, or maybe it just seems that way. Doing interviews is part of who I have become, thanks to my appearance on network television. Its not a chore to be asked about my background or my views on life by a reporter or talk-show host, but the glamour wore off long ago.

I dont resent doing interviews. In the words of travelling salesmen from a couple of generations ago, they come with the territory. But there is a limit to how much I can say about myself and to the subject the interviewers can ask about, so the questions are often both similar and familiar.

One interview a few months ago took me by surprise, however. It was especially interesting because it was for an automotive magazine. The first few questions focused on my racing experiences, as I expected. Then the interviewer pointed out that the first thing I listed on one of my media biographies had nothing to do with my auto racing activities or business career or TV appearances. Your bio lists dad and husband ahead of any of your other identities, he said. What does that say about you?

It was a great question. It says, I told him, that as busy as I may get, I always take time for my family. I may not have what people call a balanced life, meaning Im not home for dinner every night at the same time. But my kids know Im always there for them, and that whatever else I may be doing, they are my first priority. The things I have achieved in my life are only of full value to me when I can share them with my family.

Later, after I thought about the interviewers question, I wondered if I had chosen dad to be the first identity in my biography as a subconscious tribute to my father, whose life and relationship to his family were very different from my own. My dad arrived from Yugoslavia with a wife, an eight-year-old son and about 20 bucks in cash, and I suspect he had never been happier in his life than the first morning he woke up in Canada. Despite all the challenges, including being able to speak almost no English, he considered himself fortunate.

The first job he hadthe only one he could getwas sweeping a factory floor. The better-paying jobs went to English-speaking, educated people, and many of them looked down on the immigrant pushing a broom. My dad didnt care. Back in Croatia he had been jailed more than 20 times for daring to speak his mind, and warned that one more charge could see him imprisoned for years. Here he was free not only to criticize the government but also to build whatever kind of life for himself and his family he chose. He was thankful for that opportunity his entire lifeso thankful that he did something that other people thought was really foolish.

After several years of working in the factory, he was laid off. Okay, it happens. What he had to do, friends told my dad, was apply for unemployment insurance. It wouldnt bring in a lot of money, but it would carry us until he was rehired at his old job or found an entirely new one.

Dad refused to collect the benefits owed to him. He said he would find a way to get by until he was back at work again.

But you paid into it, everyone told him. Its there to help you out at a time like this. Take the money!

He wouldnt touch it. Im lucky just to be here, he would say. I dont need a handout from anybody. This country gave me a chance, and Ill make the most of it.

As far as I know, he didnt collect a penny of unemployment insurance. He found another job, resumed work and ignored the opportunity to take money for not working, which is the way he viewed the deal.

Was Dad stubborn? I guess he was, and in this case maybe he was foolish. He simply believed in taking responsibility for himself, and in sticking to his own principles, which included the idea that you collect a good days pay for a good days work. There is no reward for doing nothing, and the better you perform your job, the bigger the reward you receive. And if you fail to succeed, dont waste time blaming other people.

Its an old-fashioned idea maybe, but its been at the heart of every job Ive had. And it doesnt mean you cant have fun from the things you do, including your work. Hey, I want to enjoy every day of my life as much as I can, and I want the people around me to enjoy themselves as well. But I have found that the amount of enjoyment you get from anything you do is in direct proportion to the amount of effort you put into it.

I put a lot of effort into everything I do, including building my business in a highly competitive industry, racing my car against top-rated drivers, appearing on television to compete with Sharks and Dragons, trying to get my golf handicap down to the level I want and, yes, being the best possible dad to my children. I dont always succeed at the first four goals, but I refuse to risk failure at the last one.

Why try so hard? Well, why try anything unless you intend to win? Heres a hint: The best way of winning at anything is to enjoy competing.

Not everything in life is restricted to just one winner. The World Series, the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup playoffs and all the other sports competitions are set up to declare one winner, and thats fine. But life is different. If I can lower my golf handicap by three strokes this season, Ive won. It doesnt matter who wins the Masters or the PGA Championship. In my personal competition, Im a winner.

I know that if my company exceeds its targeted sales volume next year, its a winner. And when I exchange high-fives with my kids about something they have accomplished on their own, and we laugh about it afterward, Im definitely a winner. Even when

I dont finish in first place, I refuse to believe I lost. Given more time, I tell myself, I could have won. If nothing else, I learn how not to lose next time.

You dont need to be on television or on a racetrack or running a business to win at life. You need the determination to achieve everything that youre capable of doing, and the will to get it done. Its not all about sacrifices, by the way. Sure, sacrifices always need to be made if youve set goals for yourself and intend to meet them. But when you finally get it done and youve met your goals, the satisfaction always exceeds the sacrifice.

Always.