10 Lessons From the Summer Games

Could watching the Olympics be good for your employees’ work ethic? That’s what former professional athlete and performance coach Steve Siebold believes.

Here, the author of “177 Mental Toughness Secrets of The World Class” offers 10 lessons the Summer Games could teach your employees:

• Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is. Olympic athletes have a “whatever it takes” attitude that may inspire your employees.

• Olympic athletes know that facing adversity is part of being successful. Rather than seeking to avoid obstacles, they push forward and learn all they can from the challenges they face.

• Olympians are held accountable on many levels, which pushes them to succeed.

• Olympic athletes are “learning machines.” They spend hours practicing, studying the competition, watching performance videos and training with coaches/mentors.

• Olympic champions refuse to settle for mediocrity. While the average employee is proud to be classified as “very good,” an Olympian strives to be “great.”

• These athletes make “do or die” commitments. Despite burnout and fatigue, Olympians let their dreams of winning the gold keep them going strong.

• Olympic athletes are consistently great because they have a clear mental picture of what they want and why, with a set strategy on how to achieve that objective.

• Champion athletes don’t let their egos get in the way of their need for a world-class coach.

• Olympic athletes compartmentalize their emotions. They have the ability to put aside everything else and focus only on the task in front of them—getting the gold.

• Olympians think big. While many people sell themselves short by only thinking about getting by, Olympic athletes focus on their dreams of bringing home the gold—and that’s why they get results.