As a former swimmer, I watched Michael Phelps with great excitement at these Olympics. Watching him
swim to eight gold medals was truly something to behold. I got chills each time he got closer to his goal.
What struck me most about his accomplishment was a story the commentators told. When Michael was 11 his coach approached Michael’s mother and said, “I have a plan for Michael.” She replied, “Okay. What are we doing next week?” His coach responded, “No. Not for next week … for the next 14 years.”
For the next 14 years.
Winning eight gold medals at one Olympic games is not a fluke. It’s not luck. It’s not an accident. It is part of a long term plan.
While it may be awe inspiring – or shocking – that a coach could have this kind of plan for an 11 year old boy, think about the alternative.
Without this lofty goal, it’s difficult to keep working so hard. Getting up at 5 am to go to a cold pool. Heading off to the pool after school instead of playing with your friends. More pool on weekends as you head off to swim meets.
When Phelps became a teenager, what kept him in the pool instead of out picking up girls? The long term goal.
But it wasn’t just a dream of winning eight gold medals at one Olympics. Remember, his coach mentioned a plan. And while at age 11 Phelps’ coach didn’t have all his workouts and training schedules mapped out for the next 14 years, I’ll bet he had all the milestones spelled out. Junior national at a certain age. National championships at another. Olympic trials. Olympic gold.
And whenever his coach was creating a workout plan for a particular day, week or month, he kept those milestones in mind. An athlete can’t perform at his peak at an individual event if all the training in the weeks and months leading up to the event haven’t been geared to that event.
And over the years, Phelps’ coach couldn’t be swayed by fads in coaching. Train this way this month, swim that way the next. While occasional course corrections were needed, Phelps’ coach had to stick fairly closely to the original plan.
Now take Michael Phelps’ example and apply it to your business. Not everyone is looking for the entrepreneurial equivalent of eight Olympic gold medals. We don’t have to be Bill Gates to be successful entrepreneurs. But to be successful we need a plan. We need a long term goal and a road map of how to get there.
Without this goal, what’s to keep us going through the rough patches? The times when our bank account is too low or was just can’t make a sale to save our lives? Or the times we’re up before sunrise working on our business and still at it after our evening meal as the sun goes down? Our big hairy audacious goal.
Yes we’re in business because we love what we do. But there are times we hate it too. What keeps us going is the long term goal; the knowledge that we’re working for something bigger.
And as to the plan, we need to stick to it, even when the next greatest thing appears in our inbox. We need to stick to our plan when someone approaches us about the most amazing joint venture offer imaginable. Yes, we need to be flexible enough to make changes to our plan when it fits with our goal and our milestones. But we don’t want to be flying off following every fad. That’s not the way to gold.
And we also need to remember that you don’t get an Olympic gold medal (never mind eight) alone. Phelps had his coach, a physical therapist, a nutritionist, his family, his sponsors and the American Olympic swim team behind him. Two of those gold medals came from relays. He didn’t do it alone.
Too many entrepreneurs try to make it on their own, only to drown in the process. You need support too; perhaps a business coach, an accountant, a lawyer, mentors and colleagues. You need your own team. The nature and the make-up of the team will change over time. But you need to remember you can’t make it alone.
The Olympics isn’t just a really big sporting event. It’s an example of the best in human achievement. It’s a time to remind us of what is possible for humans to achieve with talent, hard work and guts. And the courage to stick to a long term plan.
Andrea J. Stenberg
