By Eric Moeller
Sometimes you stumble on something that has traits similar to entrepreneurship when you least expect it.
My wife and I signed up our children for competitive diving classes. While watching their first lesson, it struck me that there are parallels between learning to high dive and becoming an entrepreneur.
If you're considering taking the plunge into entrepreneurship, here are three lessons from diving that every new entrepreneur should remember:
1. You Need to Learn and Apply Proper Technique
The technique divers use determines the success of their dive, and whether they get injured. The higher the diving platform and the more intricate the dive, the greater the need for proper technique to ensure their safety.
Entrepreneurs also need to know and execute specific skills to ensure their business's health. Without the right skills, they could end up doing a painful entrepreneurial belly flop. The new entrepreneur needs to be able to sell, find and manage people, set the vision, solve problems -- the list goes on. Some of these skills require competence, some require mastery. The bar (or should I say the high diving board) is high and you’ll need to be ready to hone these skills fast.
2. A Good Coach Can Elevate Your Achievement
Teaching yourself to dive will only take you so far, most likely limiting you to diving from the pool edge or perhaps from a small diving board. Learning to dive from a higher diving platform requires guidance from a good coach. Coaches share their expertise and experience, both to increase the speed of a diver’s development, and to keep them out of hospital!
In the same way, business coaches share their expertise and experience to help new entrepreneurs develop faster, reduce the likelihood of failure, and increase the chances for success. Finding the right coach and creating rapport are important elements for building trust.
A given coach may only take an entrepreneur so far, requiring them to move on to a new coach who can help them take their business to the next level.
3. Positive Psychology Is Critical to Your Success
A sport like high diving forces an athlete to face and conquer their fears. Attempting new complex dives and diving from different height platforms requires the athlete to manage their psychology. Mental toughness is needed and doubt must be eliminated.
This same mental toughness is needed by new entrepreneurs who must face their own fears to achieve their business goals. An entrepreneur’s thoughts influence their words and actions, and ultimately the levels of success they’ll achieve.
Entrepreneurs also can’t cower, hold the railing, scream in fear, and crawl toward the edge of their new business ventures. No. They need to stride confidently to the edge and execute their business ventures.
Remembering these three important lessons from competitive high diving will serve anyone planning to take the plunge to become an entrepreneur.
