Business and sport and both about success. They’re about setting goals and then achieving them.
Here are eight tips from Olympians past and present that you can use to motivate yourself in both your work life and your general life.
“It’s really important to have clarity on what your dreams are and what your goals are.” - Ed Clancy OBE, Olympic gold medallist
It’s tempting to think of dreams and goals as the same thing, but they’re very different. For an Olympian, the dream might be to win a gold medal, their goals would be the training milestones which, when accomplished, will give them the best possible chance to turn that dream into reality.
Your dream might be to have a thriving business with happy customers all over the UK, your goals would be the daily, weekly and monthly tasks that will help you achieve that dream.
Separate your business dreams for your business goals and don’t lose track of the fact that it’s the goals you should be striving to achieve on a day-to-day basis.
“I always say level up. Because I’m never content with what I’ve achieved yesterday or last year. I’m always looking for what else I can do.” - Chev Clarke, Olympic boxer
Achieving a goal feels good and can be cause for celebration. But you need to be prepared to move on to your next goal and the goal after that. Don’t just focus on the short term, think about what comes next and what success will look like further down the line.
“Understand what your main priority is. Don’t try and do a million things, just focus in on one or two or three things that you want to be really good at.” - Beth Tweddle MBE, Britain’s most successful female gymnast
Specialization is vital, both in sport and in business. Successful businesses understand their target audience and how to talk to them. They focus on a particular group with the aim of selling them a particular type of product or service.
“Having the discipline to control what work you do throughout your day is essential to your success.” - Amy Williams MBE, Olympic gold medallist
Whether it’s in business or in sport, focus gets things done. Understand and prioritize the tasks that you need to do day in, day out and then get them done. A to-do list you can tick off as you go along will help you stay disciplined.
“Eating the right meals will help maintain a more consistent energy level throughout the day leading to improved productivity and health.” - Professor Greg Whyte MBE, world-renowned sports scientist and Olympian
If an athlete doesn’t stay healthy, they can’t train or compete. If a business owner doesn’t stay healthy, they can’t work. Building healthy habits into your routine will help improve the way you work and your daily life.
“Pushing yourself too hard for too long will lead to burn out. It’s as true for sport as it is for business.” - James Woods, British World Champion freestyle skier and Olympian
Overtraining is counterproductive for athletes and overworking is counterproductive for business owners. Build downtime into your daily and weekly schedule. You’ll reap the benefits in the long term.
“Turn fear into positive energy. Learn to control it and work with it.” - Amy Williams
Fear can prevent you from doing things. It can prevent you from achieving your goals. But you can learn to overcome fear. Amy suggests turning negative thoughts into positive affirmations.
“Turn these tips into positive habits that you follow day in, day out” - James Woods
These tips won’t help you if you just try them once. You need to build them, and the other tips included in GoDaddy’s Business of Performance tool kit, into your daily, weekly and monthly routines.
If you can structure your life around positive habits that improve the way you work and play, you could see improvements you never expected.
Want more tips like this? Download the free Business of Performance tool kit now for more guidance and advice to help you hit the top of your game and stay there.
