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Tiger Woods recently won his 13 major championship of his career. He is on pace to easily surpass Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major professional championships. Over the past decade, Woods is recognized as the best golfer in that time period. At the same time, many argue that he is the best golfer of all time. Wherever he ends up in terms of his historical standing, it is simple to recognize that he is a special talent.

Tiger has been winning golf tournaments since he was a young man. As a teenager, he was a repeat winner of both the US Junior Amateur and the US Amateur. In addition to his 50+ wins on the PGA tour, he amassed dozens of other victories around the world. It is safe to conclude that Woods knows how to win.

After he won his last major, he was being interviewed by the press. A comment he made caught my attention. He was asked if it was the fact that he has seen almost every shot imaginable that made him so tough to beat. His reply was that this was not what made him so effective. According to Woods, he is more capable of winning now than in his younger days because “he learned how to win”. An amazing statement coming from a man who was winning golf tournaments at an age when the rest of us were battling acne.

Further into the interview, Tiger mentioned that he gained a feeling of how to win. It is something that has developed as a result of being in a position to win. Invariably, he learned a lesson in the defeats as well as the victories. This brings up the question, have you learned how to win? Do you know what it takes to succeed in your chosen field? Have you acquired the feel of how to win in life?

Many have written how life is a “contact sport”. Unfortunately, most choose to avoid those situations that will lead to their growth. They fail to get involved in their own lives. As Thoreau said, “most people lead lives of quiet desperation”. Instead of moving forward, the majority trudge along hoping someday that things will change. Naturally, this rarely occurs. To excel, we must be proactive in our approach to our circumstances.

Regardless of the endeavor, success leaves clues. We can increase our chances of success if we do the things that the successful do. Repeating the activity that produced the intended results moves us instantly closer to getting the same outcome. There is no need to create the model ourselves. It is much easier to “copycat” our way to the top.

However, as Tiger mentioned, there is another factor to consider. Any golfer in the world can emulate Woods' preparation, on course strategy, and swing pattern. If the talent exists, that individual will experience a level of success that is greater than they had before. The other professionals might achieve success close to what Tiger enjoyed. Yet, until they learn how to win, they will not operate at a sustained level. The performance begins to fall off over time.

Life is exactly the same way. There are certain actions we can take to improve the quality of our lives. Nevertheless, we must acquire the “feel for winning”. This is done by putting ourselves in those situations that will teach us what we need to do. Engaging in life rather than succumbing to fear is the best way to approach it. We will experience defeat in the form of rejection, failure, embarrassment, and disappointment. It is through these negative experiences that we grow and are better able to handle the opportunities in the future.

Tiger has won 13 major championships. That means he has also lost over 30 of them since he has competed in more than 40 majors. While he maintains an outstanding ratio, his true excellence is that he learns from each experience. When things do not work out as he intended, he uses that knowledge to make himself better in the next one. Follow this strategy in your daily life and see how quickly your life moves to the next level.