5 Things Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Medal-Winning Athletes

Watching world class athletes break new records and fulfil their dreams is truly inspiring. And for us mere mortals, there are crucial lessons we can learn from their successes, as well as those who meet with failure and disappointment.

Despite the uncertainties and doubts, the Games in Tokyo are now well under way and hopefully you’re finding some time to watch some of the events.

So, what can we learn so far?

1. Set Clear Goals

What we see when watching any sport is merely the tip of the iceberg, the result of thousands of hours of sweat, tears and incredibly hard work. That winning moment of hitting the final goal was years in the making and the culmination of hundreds of smaller goals being hit along the way. Because whether you’re an record-breaking athlete, a solopreneur, or already a successful company, everyone needs clear goals.

“You can’t expect to knock an hour off a personal best in a month with little training. This doesn’t just apply to running. Setting yourself small goals in life can make those big dreams more achievable.” says the British champion runner, Paula Radcliffe.

Setting yourself SMART micro goals – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound goals – will help keep you on track and motivate you to achieve more each day. It will also help you build your skillset and mental capacity to raise the bar further.

2. Fall Down Often

We’re often taught that winning is what counts. Life is a game and the winner is the one with the most money, cars, houses and general success at the end. Wrong.

As every athlete knows, there will come a day when you won’t win. Not every race will result in a gold medal. And that’s ok. In fact, its more than ok, its necessary. For it’s not the winning that matters but the stages of growth. And only by losing, or failing at something, can you learn and become better. Focus on the growth and success will follow.

While it may seem that many successful entrepreneurs achieved their success without any failures, this is just an illusion. Behind every success lies 100 failures. And each of these failures was an opportunity to examine and learn what they did wrong to get it right next time. Losing, or failing, is just temporary. Every day is a new chance to learn and it is here that true success lies.

3. Don’t Compare Yourself

While looking at your competitors is certainly important to work out where your niche is and what your business strategy should be, it should not be confused with comparing yourself to them. Of course, it is tempting to compare, but doing so is a trap that athletes know well. It is a trap that leads to a loss of focus and mental strength.

“One of the biggest predictors of success in athletics, and life in general, is confidence – the expectation that you will succeed,” says Jonathan Fader, a sport psychologist. Having this confidence entails not feeling inferior to those you perceive as stronger, and a great way to avoid feeling inferior is to avoid comparing yourself.

Having a growth mindset, however, is a way to avoid the comparison trap. Studying your competitors and admiring them can help motivate you in understanding what they are doing right and what you might be doing wrong. Indeed, the focus should be on who you could be tomorrow rather than comparing yourself to who someone else is today.

4. Persevere Every Day

Building on the idea of confidence, falling down often, and getting up often, is the essential quality of perseverance. It’s what Angela Duckworth, a psychologist who studies the character traits of successful people, calls “self-discipline, combined with a passionate commitment to a task and a burning desire to see it through.” Or put another way, in one short word, grit.

Grit in business is no different to grit in sports. In both worlds there are forces working against you, huge challenges to overcome. The biggest challenge of all, though, is to not let that put you off.

As an entrepreneur, whether new or seasoned, having the resolve and resilience to react to shocks or failures, and being adaptable to the changing tides, are crucial if you are to succeed. Believing in yourself will be one of your strongest tools to support you alongside working tirelessly every day and persevere through those times when you may be tempted to quit.

5. Stay Positive

Of course, no-one said that achieving your goals and persevering through the obstacles on the way would be easy. That’s why arguably the most important lesson to be learned from the athletes competing in this year’s games in Tokyo is to stay positive.

A positive mental attitude makes all the difference when the going gets tough – which it for sure will. This is what helped drive double gold medalist, Kelly Holmes, and champion rower, Katherine Grainger, to achieving their dreams. After years and years of trying and big setbacks due to illnesses and injuries, these world-class athletes overcame all the odds through maintaining, if nothing else, high levels of hope, determination, and positivity.

Having a positive mental attitude, though, doesn’t mean being happy and smiling all the time. Rather its about being realistic to the challenges, appreciating the difficulties that lie ahead and yet being optimistic and adopting a mindset of strength that will power you through regardless. It’s about seeing the path ahead rather than the pitfalls that lie on either side of it.

The Finish Line

Plenty more opportunities for success, and disappointment, await the athletes competing in this year’s games in Tokyo, and it’s great to cheer them on.

But when the cameras turn off and all go back to their home countries, as we have seen, there are many crucial principles to learn and develop that are required not only on the track or field but also in our businesses, and lives in general.