© 2024 Melanie White
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I love AFL football. And watching my team play the other day, it became clear to me how football is just like business. Today I want to use football as an analogy for committing to your business no matter what and getting through the failures so that you can succeed.
Commitment to your business is like commitment to your football team.
I have followed the same football team since I was 14 years old and that’s a long time ago. I’ve been with that team through the celebrations, through the hard times, through the controversy, and I’m still here supporting that team.
And there are two parts to this that are relevant to business.
Firstly, your commitment to your business could be seen, generally, as your commitment to a particular sport. You love that sport and follow it like a true fan.
More specifically, you might follow a particular member of that sport. At some point, you might shift your focus to a different player that you like better, or that has more aligned values with you.
This is a bit like you changing your business model, or even changing your niche.
You’re still committed to that sport, but you’re just saying things a bit differently and doing things a bit differently.
Imagine for a moment that you could bring the same commitment to your business, that you bring to your favourite sport?
How would that change your attitude each day?
How would that change the action that you take?
What would happen if you were 100% committed to your business, determined to persist, and you did that over a period of years?
What would happen then?
If you’re any kind of sports fan, then you know that every team has failure. There is failure on a weekly level, on an individual level, at a team level, and even add a season level.
No team ever, and no individual sportsperson ever, is always at the top of the ladder all the time.
If you enter a sport or a business or anything knowing that there’s going to be failure along the way and committing to it anyway, what do you think would happen?
One of the things that would happen is that you would be training for that sport no matter what and expecting to win, but being prepared to fail and knowing what to do when that happens.
You don’t see teams and footballers and sports people throwing their hands up in the air, giving up, falling in a heap.
They are committed to the process of training and being their best and skills development no matter what their win or lose count.
If they lose a game, they watch a recording of it to learn what they did well, could have done more of, and what the mistakes were so that they can correct them.
They know that if they keep doing the work, and the training, and the preparation, and keep focusing on what it takes to win, and learn from failure, they will get there.
A friend of mine is a huge Richmond supporter in the AFL, and he has followed Richmond even when they failed miserably for many years.
But more recently he has had his comeuppance because Richmond has become a very good team and they won premierships in the last few years.
Failure is easier when you accept that it will happen, learn from it, and also rally support around you to get through it.
Sports teams and individual sports people have fans who relentlessly support their team no matter what.
In your business, and in your life, you also need to have that cheer squad and that support team who will help you to keep on doing the work and showing up and delivering every day so that you can achieve the success that you define for yourself.
If you’re committed to a process, embrace failure and build a support network and fan base you are well-positioned to wear the hard times and celebrate the good.
If you commit to your business or your football team and you roll with the punches in the hard times, then success will inevitably come as a result of continual action.
Success is not just an end result though. Success is also an opportunity to refine your message, do more of what you love, and create a singular focus to become a specialist.
To learn what your zone of genius is, your most lucrative service is, and what you do best.
This happens in football, too.
Recently, while watching the footy, a commentator made an insightful comment: in an average team, it’s all hands on deck. In a good team, every player sticks to playing their best in their specific role.
To reiterate – success is more than an end game – it’s a chance to refine, streamline, focus and excel.
There are many analogies for creating success in daily life.
Today I explained how the AFL could be a metaphor for commitment, managing failure and leveraging success in your business.
I invite you to reflect on the parallels and see what insights you gain.
Understanding who you are and what you need will allow your business to thrive! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.
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© 2024 Melanie White