Issue #100

Identify the 3 Faces of Competitive Advantage

In sports, the winner’s edge is a feeling of confidence that comes from the expectation of success. Success in athletics is based on leveraging a competitive advantage.

So it makes sense that once you identify your competitive advantages, and work to maximize your ability to use them, you’ll develop a track record of athletic success, and ultimately creates your own winner’s edge.

The key is how to maximize your competitive advantage. And that’s exactly why Sports America has created The Winner’s Edge... to help athletes identify their own competitive advantages and discover the keys to maximizing them.

Twice each week, The Winner’s Edge will bring to you examples of competitive advantage, how the athletes that possess these advantages developed them, how they strengthened them and how you can make them work for you.

Breaking Down the 3 Strengths of Competitive Advantage

To begin, strength comes in three basic forms: physical, mental and spiritual.

How you maximize your personal advantage in one, or all three of these areas, will be the key for you to develop your own winner’s edge.

• Physical Strength: It’s not just being faster, stronger or having more endurance than your opponent. Rather, maximizing your personal strength comes from making the most of your physical attributes. For example, you wouldn’t expect Dikembe Mutombo to be a good Kentucky Derby jockey. Nor would you expect Kentucky Derby winning jockey, Calvin Borel, to be a star basketball player. But each developed a competitive advantage to attain the winner's edge by making the most of their physical abilities.
• Mental Strength: Have you planned for every contingency of your competition? Have you anticipated your competition’s every move and developed a defense that's an appropriate response? In a marathon, if your opponents jump out to a blazing start, but you know they’ve never ran those splits before, you’ll be at ease letting them separate from the pack, knowing that an hour later, they’ll have hit the wall, letting you blow by.
• Spiritual Advantages: Given a level playing field, the same physical attributes, and the same mental preparation, you and/or your team can still win by strength of spirit. For some, strength of spirit is a religious belief. For others it’s belief in you and your own team’s abilities. For some, it’s a total belief in coaching. Wherever your faith is, it can be enough to give you the advantage you need to win.

The first step is identifying your individual strength(s). The second step is honing them so they give you the competitive advantage you need to consistently win. Your goal is to ultimately acquire "The Winner’s Edge."

Whether you’re a young athlete, just starting out in sports, or an athlete in your prime looking for that extra edge, or an older athlete looking to add longevity to your career, The Winner’s Edge can help you find the advantage you need to accomplish your goal.

Welcome to The Winner’s Edge, and welcome to maximizing your competitive advantage.

[sign up for your FREE Winner's Edge]

Back to Archive