During Michael’s amazing Olympic career, he’s earned 25 total medals to date, 21 of which have been GOLD! Here are 4 quick things I want to share with you about this incredible athlete and what entrepreneurs can learn from him:
Lesson 1 – ULTRA-FOCUS
Michael was diagnosed with ADHD when he was young. Because of this, he found himself in a lot of trouble for being disruptive. The same sort of thing happens in the lives of entrepreneurs who have SOS – Shiny Object Syndrome. Your brain works on overload and you find yourself disrupting your day because you want to jump from thing to thing to thing. What did Michael do to help with this – He hyper focused! He became singularly focused on becoming a great swimmer. Even in the picture that accompanies this post, he’s focused on what’s going on in his lane ONLY!
Lesson 2 – DISCIPLINE IS KEY
Michael didn’t become a superstar at his first swim meet! He began swimming at age 7! Starting when he was 14, he spent 6 hours a day, 365 days a year in the pool. He continued to build this discipline until the Beijing Olympics in 2008! Knowing that most of his competition took Sundays off, he figured he’d have a 52 day lead on the competition! He won 8 medals in Beijing – and each one of them was GOLD! Remember discipline is a muscle that you have to train. You can’t just say “I’m going to be more disciplined” and expect it to be so when you wake up the next morning. Discipline takes practice. Stick with it and with time you’ll perfect it and find yourself working efficiently and effectively in your business!
Lesson 3 – TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
Of the 25 total medals that Michael has won, 11 of them have been team medals. What’s interesting about this is that the team events in swimming are all relay types of events. The type of relay (freestyle, butterfly, etc) dictates which leg Michael will swim. He plays to his strengths. In the freestyle, he’s usually the lead leg, but in the butterfly, he might swim the second leg. In other races he might bring up the rear as the anchor on the team. My point? Go where you’re needed most based on your particular skillset and the team dynamic, but always playing to your particular strengths. Remember this when hiring and developing the teams for your business. Each project may be different and sometimes you might need to run point while other times you’ll be needed to close. Be flexible, but be a strong contributor no matter where you find yourself playing!
Lesson 4 – A SETBACK IS A SETUP FOR A COMEBACK
I couldn’t close out without mentioning his 2004 setback. Michael was arrested for his first of 2 DUI’s at 19. He got arrested again in 2014. He messed up. He’s not perfect, but he’s still a damned great swimmer! He dealt with the consequences of his choices in those incidences and refocused on swimming. Which brings us to Rio, 2016! He’s still racking up the medals. The point is to get up when you fall or screw up in your business – whether it’s a customer deal gone bad, a webinar that opens with only 5 viewers (1 of which is your mom and the other your honey), or a not-so-great quarter for your financials. Assess the situation; Deal with the consequences; Make the changes necessary; and Move Forward! That’s the only way to ensure a comeback!
What are you learning about your business from the 2016 Olympics? Feel free to share in the comments below!