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10 things everyone in business can learn from Olympic athletes

Can people in business learn anything from Olympic athletes?

Yes, says Steve Siebold, a former professional athlete, and author of several books, including "How Rich People Think" and "Secrets Self-Made Millionaires Teach Their Kids." He is a self-made multimillionaire who has interviewed more than 1,200 of the world's wealthiest people over the past 30 years.

The former professional tennis player says, "everyone should watch the Olympics, especially anyone in business, because it's good for their work ethic."

His 10 reasons why to watch:

1. You will learn that winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is. Olympians have a "whatever it takes" attitude. They've made the decision to pay any price and bear any burden in the name of victory.

2. You will learn that Olympic athletes embrace conflict for growth. When most people run into an obstacle, they seek escape. Olympic athletes have a plan to push forward when this happens and learn all they can from the challenges they face. They know facing adversity is part of being successful.

3. You will learn that Olympic athletes are held accountable on so many levels. One of the biggest problems is that most people have no means of accountability or a support system in place when it comes to what they're trying to accomplish.

4. You will learn that Olympic athletes are learning machines. They spend hours practicing, studying their competitors, watching videos of their performances and session after session with their coaches and mentors. If you adopted just a fraction of an Olympian's work ethic, the results they could achieve would be endless.

5. You will learn Olympic champions know very good is bad. For the average person, to be classified as 'very good' is something to be proud of. For the great ones, it's an insult.

6. You will learn Olympic athletes make "do or die" commitments. When most people are burned out from the battle, Olympians are just getting warmed up. It's not that they don't fatigue; but their commitment to their dream of winning the gold keeps them going.

7. You will learn Olympic athletes are consistently great. The reason they are so consistent is because their actions are congruent with their thought processes. They have a very clear mental picture of what they want, why they want it and how to move closer to their target objective.

8. You will learn Olympians are coachable. Most people will only accept the amount of coaching their egos will allow. Champions like Olympic athletes are well known for being the most open to world-class coaching. The bigger the champion, the more open-minded they are.

9. You will learn Olympians compartmentalize their emotions. In other words, they have the ability to put aside anything else going on at that very moment, and focus only on the task in front of them.

10. You will learn Olympians think big. Ask most people what they're thinking at any given time, and you might be surprised to learn how many think about just getting by. That's called selling yourself short. Olympians are fearless and focused on manifesting their ultimate dream of bringing home the gold.

Steve Siebold
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