I have a friend at work who explained to me that he went to a property development seminar many years ago. He further explained that he played to win and he wanted to believe that he could create wealth and make a lot of money in property.  He explained that he paid over a thousand dollars to do the course, and at the end of the course he was invited to go to another course that cost $5000.  

At that point he pulled out and he was very glad that he did. He learned several years later that the seminar leader was imprisoned for property fraud. 

This whole experience taught him that self development seminars do not work. He had wasted time and money, and this fraudulent seminar leader had lied, cheated and was corrupt.  This created a reference point in his mind for all self improvement seminars.  

Furthermore the principles and ideas taught in the seminar never did one bit of good for him. He had lost, and so do most people who attend a seminar. His philosophy is as follows. ‘They lose. They don’t change. They are still the same, and that’s just the way it is’. After I pointed out that his judgement concerning change is simply his opinion, suddenly he had nowhere to move inside of that discussion. 

His attitude was the interesting thing to me and I wonder how many people do not act because they believe they may fail.  The truth is if you do nothing you will fail.  If you do something, anything, you have a fighting chance at success.  Why not give it a go.  Why not try it on.  Why not be in the race.  My friend believes that if one does not win, then one loses.  A belief that I do not share. I believe that when I don’t win, I learn.  This belief creates a whole different approach to life. As a result I keep learning, growing, attending seminars, creating my own seminars and making a difference in my world and the world around me. 

So when you play a game, play to win. When you don’t win, learn, and then play again.