Are You Playing The Long Game?

“It took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success” said Lionel Messi — one of the most famous athletes in the world.

The greatest, most significant accomplishments take a long time to manifest.

Most people don’t have the focus, grit, patience and resolve to set and achieve ambitious goals. In current times that are laden with infinite distractions and the craving for instant gratification, those who play the long game, have a massive competitive advantage.

Like Stephen Richards said — “If you do what everyone else does, you will get what everyone else gets”.

Are your thoughts and actions oriented towards achieving short-term wins or do you have your eye on the big picture? Are you playing the long game?

Here are 15 signs that indicate one is not playing the long game:

1) Not having a long-term vision or goal
2) Not knowing what it will take to get there
3) Getting distracted and losing focus
4) Chasing instant gratification
5) Not taking risks and giving in to the fear of failure
6) Giving up in the face of challenges
7) Playing it small — not dreaming big, because your dreams seem far-fetched
8) Losing patience when you do not see quick results
9) Not investing time, money and effort in yourself
10) Taking decisions based on short-term gains even when they don’t tie in with your goals
11) Losing sight of the big picture
12) Not tracking progress or making pivots
13) Getting deterred by roadblocks and viewing failure as final
14) Not investing in building a network and in cultivating long-lasting relationships
15) Spreading your focus and energy thin on multiple project instead of keeping your eyes on the one big prize

Do any of these signs apply to you? If yes — give it a thought.
It is not worth playing small with our lives.

Chase your biggest dreams, your loftiest goals — play the long game and play it well.

Let me leave you with a quote by Tony Robbins:

‘The only impossible journey is the one you never begin’.