I received my DXCC CW Award four days before the contest.  During the wee hours of the night when I felt utterly totally exhausted and not worthy of my fellow competitors, I just looked up at that newly framed award on the wall.  Just tell me that validation makes no difference!  You're wrong.  It helped. It DID boost my confidence.  I even switched from "search and pounce" to "run."  Those four letters are POWERFUL!  D--X--C--C!!!  Now you know why that award is iconic. Those four letters are a complete sentence.  You don't need a  subject and a verb!