Victory and Defeat Lessons

With the Summer Olympics about to begin, we’ll watch some athletes seize their moment in time. While others will experience the ‘agony of defeat’. There are always lessons to be learned in victory and defeat. As entrepreneurs we have suffered through loss and also enjoyed triumph. Today’s inspiration are universal lessons of both athletes and entrepreneurs.

When You Fall, Get Up and Try Again

Even the best athletes have their bad days. After years of practice, some falter on the most important day of their careers. But instead of staying down, giving up, and throwing in the towel, they stand back up, wipe off the sweat, and try again. Nothing in life works out perfectly. Sometimes all we can do is try our best and get up if we fall knowing there’s always another opportunity to try again.

Be Unique

Just like the gymnasts, each entrepreneur has a unique way of doing business. We run the gamete from flashy and colorful, to stylish and sophisticated, to routine and basic. We are multi-talented in different ways, we excel in different areas, and we perform better under different circumstances. We are unique and in being unique, we offer something no one else can duplicate. We must embrace our strengths, our differences and use them as our selling points.

Dare to Jump

Just like the pole vaulters and high divers, we jump and soar towards our own dreams. It takes guts, confidence, and a strong belief in oneself to leap into business every day. There are easier ways to have a career, just like there are less risky choices than doing a triple pike off a high diving board. But for those of us who have the burning desire to take these chances, to do more than the average person, we rejoice in the exhilaration of living out our dreams. We soar as high as we want.