So in the first post, I listed what different things are needed to succeed in a competition, so I will explain them here. Attributes can refer to anything that cannot be easily changed or altered once a competition has actually begun. The most obvious would be physical fitness, endurance, reaction speed, and so on. Others would be the equipment you bring depending on the sport. Although someone having superior attributes compared to you makes things difficult, it is always something that can be subverted with planning and skill. The second key is knowledge, this includes anything from knowing the rules that both parties are working under, such as the rules of a sport or game, and the other is knowledge on your opponent. What are their strengths, what are their weaknesses? Coming in with greater knowledge will almost always put you at a massive advantage.

Next are mind games, these come up most prominently during play. This is the act of anticipating and counteracting what you believe your opponent will do. Being able to stay one step ahead of your competition. The last one varies from competition to competition, and that’s luck. In a game like chess, luck plays no factor, while in something like poker, luck can make all the difference in the world, though good players will do what they can to maximize their luck, and minimize their lose conditions.

The definition of competition is when multiple people are trying to accomplish the same task. In this blog, I will be focus on 1 on 1 competitions, specifically in where it plays for games such as chess, poker, etc. The competition then becomes victory, with both parties doing whatever they can to defeat their opponent. The keys to victory can be broadly summed up as attributes, knowledge, mind games, and finally, luck, with each having a different degree of importance for a competition.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.