Success secrets of Olympic athletes

When it comes to success in achieving goals, you can't get a much better role model than an Olympic athlete. With that in mind, I was fascinated by this study from the  US Olympic committee that looked at, among other things, the factors to which Olympic athletes attribute their success.

Here are the top ten factors:

• Dedication and Persistence: 58.1%
• Support of Family and Friends: 52.0%
• Excellent Coaches: 49.4%
• Love of sport: 27.1%
• Excellent Training Programs and Facilities: 22.3%
• Natural Talent: 21.9%
• Competitiveness: 15.0%
• Focus: 13.0%
• Work Ethic: 11.6%
• Financial Support: 11.5%

Many of those things are equally applicable in our career efforts. 

One of the things that struck me was how important the support of others is. I found the same thing over a series of interviews with people who have successfully pursued their passions. I summarized the most commonly occurring themes in those interviews in my e-book The Five Fundamentals of Occupational Adventure (which you get as a free gift when you order The Occupational Adventure Guide).

One of those fundamentals is "Don't Go Solo." Whether it is emotional support from friends and/or family, or professional support from a mentor (i.e., "excellent coaches"), having others we can turn to is a key factor in achieving our dreams.

Take a look at your own path, your own environment, and your own efforts. What are the secrets to your success? What can you learn from the Olympic athletes' success factors? What resonates with you? Is there any way you can build more of that into the picture?

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Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM