Most of us have a romantic view of what a victory looks like.

We might think of hitting a buzzer-beater to win the game, or maybe we envision ourselves walking across the stage on graduation day.

Regardless what the specifics look like, more likely than not we think of one moment in time. The moment when we won.

But life rarely works like that.

Graduation day doesn’t feel anything like hitting a buzzer-beater.

By the time graduation comes, the ceremony is merely a formality.

The actual success? That took place in the classroom months, or years before.

All the drama is already gone by the time we show up to pick up our piece of paper.

I see something similar in my work.

You could say that my biggest success would be winning an important project for my company.

So when is the moment?

Most times, it starts with a nod from the technical team saying that they want to work with us. That moves the probability from 50% to 75%.

Then eventually the commercial team at our customer either tries to negotiate the contract terms or they let me know that my company has been selected for the work. Assuming things go well, the probability climbs to 90%.

Then approvals need to take place.

The purchase order meanders through a long list of signatures. Each one getting us closer and closer to “winning.”

91%, 92%, 93%…

And finally, if everything goes to plan, the purchase order finally comes in. We won.

But it doesn’t feel like a buzzer-beater.

It just feels like the needle moving from 99% to 100%.

And even though we won the project, it isn’t all sunny skies. We still have to execute. We have a long road ahead of us to please the company and hopefully make some money.

And on top of that, I have 20 other similar projects that I’m working on at the same time. Some I’m probably winning. Others I’m losing.

So ultimately, there is no triumphant win.

The moment doesn’t exist.

At first that bothered me.

But eventually, I came to grips with it.

The opportunities to lift the team to victory with a walk-off homer are few and far between now.

So I might as well start celebrating the singles.

-Brandon