Olympic Lessons – By Toby Garbett, Entrepreneurs Business Academy
The margins for success and failure in the world of sport come down to hundredths of a second. This can be likened to the width of an apple and in 2002 it cost me a gold medal, this equated to just 0.02 of a second! I was world champion in the preceding years and went on to represent Great Britain at the Athens Olympics.
In business, you may or may not be accountable for business being won or lost by fractions of a second but being as fit as you can be, mentally and physically, could help you win, or stop you from losing that important contract.
I now thoroughly enjoy bringing my experience, understanding and motivation to assist others in the office or at home as a personal trainer.
Tips For Success
With a Olympic Games rapidly approaching I have been looking back at the types of questions I used to ask myself regularly in preparation for competing at world-class level. This is what our current Olympic hopefuls will be doing in the run up to the London Olympics.
They will be analysing every single bit of their performance, not just regularly but every day and maybe even, every hour.
I have adapted these questions for our business and personal lives and this month I am concentrating on getting the mental aspect right. This is a great opportunity for all to ask ourselves some important questions. Are we performing to the best of our ability in all areas, both in our personal and business life. Can we do better?
Am I mentally prepared?
After competing at the Olympics myself and training people from all walks of life there is one thing that is paramount before physical ability. If you don’t get your mindset right you will not achieve.
For me, it was the ability of self-belief, as without this I could never have stepped up to the next level. This may be the same for you, or there may be something similar that is niggling away at you and stopping you from achieving your true potential.
Emotional – Who is supporting me?
The work-life balance is so important but is so often over-looked – people are working harder and longer than ever. I am all for working hard, but making sure you get longevity within your career has to be down to consistency through balance, at home and in the office.
Emotionally, we are happier if we know where we fit into a team and have support from that team.
Personal Pride
Do you have job satisfaction and pride in your work? Are you bored or in a dead-end job? If so, instead of moaning about it, work towards a change or a target. Try to be pro-active rather than re-active, which means taking ownership rather than waiting for something to happen.
This will give you pride in doing a job to the best of your abilities.