Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn: A Roadmap for Growth

Carl Drotsky
Dec 31, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Dec 31

Welcome to My Blog!

As we step into a new year, I’m excited to launch this blog series focusing on growth, learning, and team development. Inspired by John Maxwell’s book, Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn, this series will explore key principles for transforming setbacks into stepping stones. Whether you're an athlete, coach, or business leader, the insights shared here will help you unlock your full potential and build stronger teams.

Winning and Learning: A Different Perspective

John Maxwell opens his book with an important distinction—successful people don’t see losing as failure but as an opportunity to learn. Instead of brushing failure under the rug, they face it head-on, reflect on it, and grow from it. Their mantra is: Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.

Lessons from Endurance Racing

Reflecting on my nearly 40 years of endurance racing—including Ironman triathlons, the Duzi Canoe Marathon, and ultra-marathons—I’ve learned firsthand how to handle setbacks. One race stands out in particular—the one I didn’t finish. Despite happening over 20 years ago, it left a lasting impact and taught me more than any victory ever could.

Les Brown captures this idea perfectly in his quote:

“The good times we put in our pocket. The bad times we put in our heart.”

What Makes a Successful Person?

John Maxwell emphasizes that success isn’t about avoiding losses but about managing disappointment and learning from it. As Michael Jordan famously said:

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

This mindset is key to developing resilience, whether in sports, business, or life.

3 Daily Practices for Growth

As we prepare to make 2025 a year of growth and learning, here are three important lessons from Maxwell’s book that we can all practice daily:

Watch Your Words – The most important person you’ll ever talk to is yourself. Be mindful of the words you use.
Guard Your Thoughts – The most important person you’ll ever evaluate is yourself. Pay attention to your thoughts.
Act with Intention – The most important person you’ll ever love is yourself. Make sure your actions reflect that.

Join Me in a Year of Learning

Are you ready to make 2025 a year of growth? I’d love to hear your thoughts and invite you to join one of my focus groups for deeper discussions and learning. Contact me through the form below to get started.

What’s Next?

In the coming weeks, I’ll be diving into the 11 key lessons from Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn in greater detail. Here’s a sneak peek at the topics we’ll explore: