Being A Winner

Life is not just about reaching the top, but also being able to stay there with hard work and renewed commitment.

By Alonzo Mourning; Photography by Dania Graibe

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I’ve had the fortune of experiencing success in sports at every level, and let me tell you, winning is something that never gets old. Having a competitive nature can propel you to reach great heights, not only as an athlete but in many other aspects of your life. For starters, it encourages participation—a need to be actually involved in activities that define your character and your measure as a human being. The role of spectator is always comfortable, but I have always been happier taking up challenges and trying my best to conquer them.

When people ask me which basketball-related achievement is the most significant for me, I always mention the NBA Championship I won as a member of the Miami Heat, since it rounded out a career that had already given me so much as a player. And it was particularly exciting because it brought so much joy to the people of South Florida, who had been waiting 18 years to celebrate with their team. This is one of the most rewarding things about winning: sharing the feeling of victory with people around you.

Naturally, success in sports is just part of what I want to be remembered for. Once my playing days were coming to an end, I knew I had to find ways to stay personally fulfilled, so now I’m devoting my efforts to family, charity work and plans for the near future. People have to realize the potential around them to reach new goals every day. Winners are all around us, in every single walk of life. When I think of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Douglass, George Washington Carver or President Barack Obama, I think of them first and foremost as true winners, always finding ways to inspire others to follow in their footsteps. Whether you want to succeed at the most basic level or on the world stage, it all starts with the same formula: commitment, dedication, the desire to compete against the best and the will to go down that road over and over again.

Get Zo’s practical tips to live a better life in the November/December 2009 issue of SOBeFiT Magazine.

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