I just saw a video with Lolo Jones, the 100 meter hurdles runner that fell short of her Olympic dream of earning a medal by one position and 1/10th of a second. In her interview on the “Today” show she was asked about some negative media coverage, specifically an article in the NY Times that claimed she was more image than accomplishment, in which she summed up her work ethics about as succinctly and riveting as I’ve heard: “I trained 6 days a week for 4 years for a 12 second race”
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Wow! How is that for dedication? Can you imagine doing that level of work for all those years and failing to get the medal? Every Olympian, on the podium and off faces that harsh reality. Think about it. When you go to the Olympics you’re looking for the Gold, but sometimes you get silver, sometimes you get bronze and sometimes you don’t get anything — and that’s the business of it all. For entrepreneurs, it’s no different. Entrepreneurs, like Olympians put their heart, sweat, tears, and money into pursuing their business dreams every single day and sometimes the ROI just doesn’t seem to fit.
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Every day, athletes, business owners and entrepreneurs make a decision — to continue to train and work hard to make their dreams a reality or to quit. The truth is some days you win and some days you lose, but to be successful you have to learn how to manage and handle both. Failure is not the proverbial dirty F word. It’s a reality and it’s okay. Failure can teach you some things. Going back to Lolo’s interview and in her words, “There are lessons to be learned when you win and lessons to be learned when you lose” So true.
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In order to go for the Goal and Gold, Olympics style, you have to think like an Olympian. Here are a few tips on how to do that:
- Put the Work in – Train, train, train — Get trained and be trained, practice your craft and be the absolute best at what you do.
- Knock out the Competition – Every Olympian comes into the Olympics with the notion that they are or can be the best in the world. To do that, they have to knock out lots of competition along the way, which means you have to be faster, more precise, stronger, more focused, have more endurance and the list goes on and on.
- Understand and Manage the Pressure – If the world’s eyes were on you, could you carry that weight on your shoulders? Would you make your country proud? Business carries all kinds of pressure and stress, but you have to be able to manage that and do the job anyway.
- Visualize the Results you Want – Four years seems like a long time, yet some entrepreneurs quit way to soon. Just think, 6 days a week and 4 years for a 12 second race. The only way someone can commit to that level of intensity is having the ability to see the rewards at the finish line. You better believe that every Olympian gets up every morning with a vision of the Gold medal in their foresight. Building and growing a business takes time. See the vision and the results you want to stay committed to the process.
- Create and Follow the Process – When you listen to Olympians and see them train, you begin to understand their process, which is often rigorous and grueling. Early morning, repetitive training day in and day out. These athletes are basically teaching their bodies and their minds what to do automatically. Do you remember Michael Phelps in the 2008 Olympics when his gargles filled with water? He stated he couldn’t see a thing, but he knew what to do and how far he was by counting his strokes. Do you have your processes so fine-tuned that if mishap occurs or even if it doesn’t you know what to do? There’s a process for getting new clients, marketing your business, starting a new program, and making an impact? And when you create it, begin to follow it, and tweak it as needed you will begin to see positive results.
- Celebrate the Milestones – Sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t, but along the way there is plenty to celebrate. Lolo didn’t win but she made it to the Olympics and she made it to the finals and well, she almost won a medal, and for now that will have to be enough.
Biz Practitioner
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