London 2012 Olympics: What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From The Games!

Today, the London 2012 Olympics Games will begin after all these years of preparation. And so, starting today, 27 July until 12 August 2012, the city of London and of course, the whole world, will witness some of the finest and entertaining sporting events.

There is no doubt; the Olympic Games are definitely our modern world’s foremost sports competition. Held every four years, the games feature summer and winter sports, with thousands of athletes and more than 200 nations participating in the games.

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The Olympic Games originally began in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. What we have today, governed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), actually began in 1894 when Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the IOC. The 2012 Olympics which starts today makes London the first city to officially host the modern Olympic Games three times, having previously done so in 1908 and in 1948.

Now, as athletes from around the world pour into the city of London, one thought that has been in my mind is the lessons we can learn from the games. I don't know about you but I have always admired sportsmen and women not minding the sport. I think there is so much we can learn from them about success especially as entrepreneurs.

Of course, this is really not just about the Olympics but as the games kick off today with people around the world turning their attention to these young men and women, I think it is the right time to share my thoughts on what we can learn from the whole thing.

I know that many will abandon their businesses during this period of the games. Many will turn their attention to their television sets and other forms of media just because they don't want to miss any bit of the action.

But while you want to do this remember they are about their business and you too should be about your business!

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So, what lessons can you learn from the Olympic Games?

1. Athletes Go To the Olympics to Win

This is very obvious. No one athlete going to the London Olympics is going there without the mind of winning a medal. It doesn't matter the level of his/her performance in the past. There is always the belief there could be improvement. Whether this comes to pass or not is a different thing.

I think this is a great lesson to us as entrepreneurs. It doesn’t matter what form of trial by error tactics and strategies you are implementing in your business, the sure thing is that your business is not a trail by error experiment. You need to go in with all your heart having a firm belief that you will make a success of your business.

Like the Olympic athletes work on your business with the mind to succeed!

2. Athletes Go To the Olympics Well Prepared

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Athletes going to the Olympics are always the best from their various countries. And, for them to be picked to represent their countries, they go through rigorous trainings and preparations. Most times these trainings take years. It is expected that both mentally and physically they should be well prepared.

As an entrepreneur whether online or offline, you cannot afford to go into business without the right mental and physical preparation. I know many online business entrepreneurs, because of the general belief that making money online is simple and you can actually earn in your pajamas, rush in without the right preparation. But this is wrong because without the right preparation, you will only wobble and fumble, floundering in all you do.

It is therefore important that you either get a mentor or design other ways to commit yourself to learning all you can online.

3. Athletes Going To the Olympics Are Temperate In What They Do

Athletes do not just commit to rigorous training but in doing so, they restrain themselves from a whole lot of things. They keep themselves to a set diet and discipline. They never indulge themselves. Of course, as the games kick off in London these athletes are ready to restrain themselves from the food they normally eat and from the liberties they use on other occasions. It is indeed, a strict lifestyle for them.

May you heard of how Usain Bolt dumped his girlfriend to concentrate on winning gold at the summer Olympics! He did this so that she won’t distract him in the build-up to The Games! This is a good example of what athletes would do to keep their focus on their game.

Now, entrepreneurs too should have the same mind. Strict discipline in every area of life should characterize the life of the entrepreneur. Of course, there are times you will want to indulge yourself with the latest forms of entertainment, but in times like that think of your business.

I did a guest post recently for the Technology Bloggers. The post cautions on our use of technology for business. You will want to read it if you don't want to be obsessed and become mesmerized with our ever changing technologically toys!

The point here is this, be temperate in your use of things.

4. Athletes Going To the Olympics Endure Pains

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Bodily pain is a common phenomenon in every game. If you are not ready to bear the pains then you are not really a sports person. In the years of preparing for the Olympics, many of these athletes experience all manner of bodily pains and sometimes wounds. But in all of this they never give up. In fact, the bodily pains are just part of what makes the victory at the end of the day more enjoyable!

It is not different in business. There are ups and downs but as an entrepreneur who has his/her eyes on tasting the sweetness of success, those painful hitches in your entrepreneurial journey should fire you up for more success.

Let me say here that I passionately believe that what you may be passing through is only testing your ability to stay the course. I have a whole lot of reasons to abandon this blog but something in me has kept me going. For the past couple of years the blog has crashed 3 times. The painful part is that every one of these crashes happened at a time when I have plans to push the blog beyond the level it was before the crash.

But, though those crashes have resulted in starting again at a level below where the blog was before the crash happened (traffic-wise) I’ve always succeeded in pushing it, not just back to where it was, but beyond that level.

These are indeed pains but they cannot stop the journey!

Today, I’m asking you to look at the athletes in London and know that no matter the pains, your victory is sure!

Over to you: Did this post speak to you in any way? Is there any other lesson you can learn from the athletes and the Olympics games that you want to share with us? Go on and share them in your comments.