It never ceases to amaze me how successful professional habits in sport are very similar in business.
This week I attended the famous Spring Carnival of horse racing in Melbourne at the famous Flemington Racecourse. 4 days of fabulous horses, on average better than 80,000 in attendance each day & millions in prize money.
The TOP jockey with most wins over the 4 days of the Carnival was Craig Williams, & on Thursday 30 minutes before The Oaks race was run I noticed a jockey in green silks out on the track inspecting the best section of the track to ride his horse, Brazilian Pulse, in the last 200 metres. Turned out it was Craig Williams.
It had been raining on & off for around 7 days prior. He was the ONLY jockey that I noticed checking the track just before a race at any of the 3 days I was watched. Williams professionalism paid off as his horse won beautifully, & he steered the horse straight down the path he had walked on 30 minutes prior.
The point I am making is that in business the same things happen, the person who plans their course, checks it, visualizes it, makes corrections, often is the winner & is most successful. Craig Williams made his own luck, he wasn't always on the form horse, but his impeccable planning showed through, irrespective of bad weather & heavy tracks.
Business is so much like this isn't it? The journey isn't always easy, but sporting attributes & success attributes in business are often times paralleled.
I am so grateful that I work with like minded entrepreneurs who realise the value in being responsible for their own results, just like Craig Williams.
That's a nice read, thanks Lyn.
ReplyDeleteIt never ceases to amaze me just how people who succeed in sport don't rise to the same levels and beyond it in their chosen life afterward! Some do but not that many from what I can tell. Many are good at one or two things and that's what they are paid to do but the real success stories do redefine the parameters of analysis in their field. Craig Williams took it on board to seek a deeper level of knowing about the conditions and reaped the rewards. I guess it's important that despite the obvious, if our desire is to succeed and win big getting muddy feet, deciding how we are going to learn just what we feel that it will take to gain the winning edge should be the most important step we take. I think that we need to have an understanding that allows us to take full advantage of any opportunities that present themselves to us, from our defined expectations or from thin air.