EXTREME ATHLETES
“ WHEN YOU RESPECT THE CHALLENGE YOU ’ RE FACING YOU GIVE IT THE WEIGHT IT DESERVES ."
RESPECT THE CHALLENGE
Whether they ’ re climbing one of the world ’ s highest mountains , competing in an aerobatics competition or trying to wrestle a major account away from a competitor , athlete / executives respect the challenge they ’ re facing . They do not take on life-threatening activities or critical business challenges lightly .
You should do the same . When you respect the challenge you ’ re facing you give it the weight it deserves . You seek out all the right advice . You don ’ t go after it illprepared . You put forth the effort it requires to be successful .
Don ’ t go overboard . Don ’ t make a challenge larger than it is and allow it to intimidate you . Just respect it . By respecting it you will significantly increase the chances of prevailing over it .
PRACTICE EXTREME PREPARATION
A logical extension of respecting the challenge is practicing extreme preparation . The athlete / executives in
Business Lessons from the Edge do exactly that . In both sport and business , they engage the challenge exceedingly well prepared so very little is left to chance . They identify the most likely outcomes and how they will respond to them . In sport they practice and condition . In business they do their research and rehearse . By the time the competition starts , they ’ re better prepared than their competitors whether it ’ s an auto race , a strategy session or a sales presentation .
Extreme preparation will always serve you well . How do you know you have prepared enough ? When you and your team can ’ t come up with a single contingency you haven ’ t addressed .
HONOR YOUR PASSION
A third common trait of the highly successful athlete / executives in Business Lessons from the Edge is that they honor their passion . They are keenly aware of what excites them and they incorporate it into their working lives as much as possible . They know that passion leads to commitment and commitment leads to higher performance .
Your first step is to identity your passions . what are you exceptionally good at ? What activities are so engaging they almost don ’ t seem like work ? These are clues to your passions .
WITH YOUR PASSIONS IDENTIFIED , THE NEXT STEP IS TO WORK TO UTILIZE THEM AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE IN YOUR WORK . IF THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE TODAY , REST EASY . WORK TOWARD BLENDING THEM INTO YOUR WORK AS YOU MOVE FORWARD . KEEP THEM FOREMOST IN YOUR MIND WHEN YOUR CONSIDER CAREER OPTIONS OR JUST YOUR NEXT ASSIGNMENT .
While you may have no plans to ride a bull , trek to the North Pole or even compete in a triathlon , you can still learn a lot from people who do and have also been very successful in their careers . When you respect the challenge , practice extreme preparation and honor your passion you will win the most important race – the race to be personally successful and fulfilled . +
Jim McCormick is the President and Founder of the Research Institute for Risk Intelligence . He has earned fifteen skydiving World Records , was a member of a skydiving expedition to the North Pole and has jumps from over 31,000 feet . He is an MBA , former corporate Chief Operating Officer and author of four books including The Power of Risk , Business Lessons From The Edge , The First-Time Manager and Body Language Sales Secrets .
More information is available at Risks-Institute . com .
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