Use Your Inner Athlete to Excel in Business, Sports, and Life
Elite athletes thrive on challenge and competition. They approach their training physically prepared and mentally in the zone, and are committed to realizing their full potential. The same principles that guide an athlete’s training can be applied to everyday life, helping you to set goals and follow a daily routine that supports your vision. Follow these 5 habits of successful athletes to harness your inner athlete, and use your mental edge to pursue new challenges to succeed in business, sports, and life.
Recruit Top-Notch Players
In your quest to become better in sports and in life, you must recruit the best possible team that challenges, inspires and propels you to new heights. Set high standards and surround yourself with mentors or “coaches” who are more knowledgeable than yourself that can guide you along your journey. Recruit top-notch teammates who have the same goals, and demand the best from yourself and those around you. Unless you are Kobe Bryant, you are only as good as your team. Choose your friends wisely, recruit the best staff, and learn from those who are smarter than you.
Write the Play Book
Elite athletes have a plan of action. They have a clearly defined goal, or purpose for playing, and have established the rituals that will ensure they perform at their best. On the road to finding your inner athlete, setting a goal is the equivalent of putting gas in your car. Having purpose is your fuel, but rituals -- the habits you repeat day in and day out -- are the roadmap that will deliver you to your destination. Make a list of tasks you can complete every day that contributes to your vision. This is your playbook, the roadmap to your success, so follow it. Your playbook becomes the guiding culture behind your personal and professional life -- make it valuable and indispensable to your operation.
Don’t Forfeit the Game
Highly effective athletes revolve their days around becoming better athletes -- they follow the play book. They train specifically to improve upon their sport, and have a properly balanced diet and sleeping schedule that allows them to fully benefit from their training. It’s important that you realize all of your actions have consequences, and pay attention to old habits that may hinder your performance and deter you from achieving your goal. Don’t forfeit the game by sleeping too little, drinking too much, or failing to prepare for meetings -- especially when investors are involved.
Play Your Position
On game day, athletes know their role and play their position. How can you relate this to your life? Build upon your strengths and spend less time focusing on your weaknesses. Devote your time to improving your abilities and increasing your knowledge in areas that directly contribute to what you do best. If you have a long, lean body and enjoy cross country running, do not waste valuable time struggling to become a power lifter. If you can crunch numbers like nobody's business but freeze up in front of an audience, it's okay to let your business partners do the talking during important meetings. Having a strong team allows different players and abilities to work towards a singular purpose. Embrace your natural talents, and strive to improve upon what you inherently do best.
No Matter What, Always Go Home Happy
Great athletes triumph in the face of adversity and failure. Their goals serve as the motivation that inspires them to ruthlessly prepare for a game or competition. On the road to finding your inner athlete, you must find purpose, passion, dedication and drive to make your vision a reality. Elite athletes are confident enough to perform, humble enough to prepare, and passionate enough to keep playing -- no matter the odds.
