plus sidebar by a few awesome winners, including:

JOEY CHESTNUT 

Won: five straight Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contests

The first thing I see when I get up in the morning is what I have written on my mirror: “Winning is the only option.” Before a lot of contests, I’m not the nicest person; I’ll tell the other competitors that I already called my mom and told her I won. It’s an awesome feeling, knowing that no matter how hard they try, the other competitors are going to barf.

JENNIFER EGAN 

Won: Pulitzer Prize (A Visit From the Goon Squad)

At the National Book Critics Circle awards, I remember feeling so acutely uncomfortable. Of course I wanted to win, but I also just wanted it to be over. I just wanted a resolution. There was this agonizing sense that the verdict would never come. I can’t even remember whether they said my name or the name of my book. It felt shocking in a physical way.