Usain Bolt of Jamaica celebrates with the crowd after winning the Mens 200 metres on Day 13 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 9, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Usain Bolt of Jamaica celebrates with the crowd after winning the Mens 200 metres on Day 13 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 9, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Usain Bolt of Jamaica celebrates after winning gold in the Men’s 200m Final on Day 13 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 9, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Gold medalist Usain Bolt of Jamaica celebrates on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Men’s 200m on Day 13 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 9, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States competes in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Uneven Bars final on Day 10 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 6, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States competes on the beam during the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Beam final on Day 11 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 7, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States competes on the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Beam final on Day 11 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 7, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Kyla Ross, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber and Gabrielle Douglas (L-R) of the United States women’s Gymnastics team at the adidas Olympic Media Lounge at Westfield Stratford City on August 8, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images for adidas)
Maya Lawrence of the United States reacts while competing against Tatiana Logunova of Russia during the Women’s Epee Team Fencing Finals on Day 8 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at ExCeL on August 4, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
Courtney Hurley (2nd R) of the United States and teammates Susannah Scanlan (R), Kelley Hurley (L) and Maya Lawrence (2nd L) celebrate winning the Bronze Medal Match 31-30 against Russia during the Women’s Epee Team Fencing Finals on Day 8 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at ExCeL on August 4, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
DeeDee Trotter of the United States competes during the Women’s 4 x 400m Relay Round 1 heats on Day 14 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 10, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Carmelita Jeter of the United States celebrates winning gold in the Women’s 4 x 100m Relay Final on Day 14 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 10, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Allyson Felix of the United States celebrates winning gold in the Women’s 4 x 100m Relay Final on Day 14 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 10, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Tony McQuay of the United States competes in the Men’s 4 x 400m Relay Final on Day 14 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 10, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Silver medalists Bryshon Nellum of the United States, Joshua Mance of the United States, Tony McQuay of the United States and Angelo Taylor of the United States celebrate after the Men’s 4 x 400m Relay Final on Day 14 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 10, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Track athlete, Lashawn Merritt, poses for a portrait during the 2012 Team USA Media Summit on May 14, 2012 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Track and field athlete, Brittney Reese poses for a portrait during the 2012 Team USA Media Summit on May 13, 2012 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
3. The time you spend training is much greater than the time you spend performing.
Let’s take the faulty Usain Bolt logic one step further. The writer of that comment fails to ignore the countless hours that athletes spend training to become the best. Natural talent can only take a person so far. Think about how much time Olympic winners have trained to compete in events that only take a few minutes to complete. The same is true for business. When my clients pay me hundreds of dollars an hour for consulting, they are not just paying for my time, but the knowledge and expertise that I have gained through many years of schooling and practice.
The time that you spend sharpening your skill set are deposits into your bank account of human capital. The more time that you spend investing in your own training, the higher your return on investment will be once you become the best at what you do and make others realize it.
4. Behind every great athlete is a great coach.
One of my favorite things about watching the Olympics is hearing the stories about the athletes and their coaches. As I said earlier, natural talent can only take a person so far. Coaches are people trained at getting the most out of a person. I am very thankful for my coaches and mentors who have helped me with my Great Black Speakers and Ujamaa Deals businesses. When you are in the trenches growing a company, important pieces of information can escape you because you may be too close to the situation. Coaches make sure that you notice areas in which you can improve so that you can continue to grow.
If you do not have one, I recommend finding an excellent coach or mentor. Think about the people that you look up to in your profession and reach out to them. You may be surprised at how willing successful people are to help other motivated people attain their goals.
5. Being the best that you can be can inspire others to succeed.
You may not have millions of people watching you like Gabby Douglas and Michael Phelps, but the junior consultant across the hall or the teenager at your church may take notice of your excellence. A person can have all of the potential in the world, but if that potential is not turned into something useful, then it is a waste. Inspiring and motivating others with your success can have a lasting impact on the world by helping others strive to be all that they can be. This is just as important as winning medals.
The list above contains just five things that we can learn from Olympic athletes. I am sure there are many more. What are some of the principles of success you have noticed by watching the Olympics? What additional wisdom gained from watching athletes can we apply to our daily lives?
Lawrence Watkins is the founder of Great Black Speakers, Great Pro Speakers, and co-founder of Ujamaa Deals, which is a daily deal site that promotes black-owned businesses. He graduated in 2006 from The University of Louisville with a B.S. in electrical engineering and earned his MBA from Cornell University in 2010. Lawrence currently resides in Atlanta. You can follow him on Twitter@lawrencewatkins.
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