I write this in the midst of watching the Olympics. I’m fascinated by the athletes’ reaction to winning the gold medal.
The two that struck me the most were tennis player Novak Djokovic from Serbia and golfer Scottie Scheffler from Dallas, Texas.
In tears after his win Djokovic, according to CNN, said, “Playing for Serbia has always been my utmost, real pleasure, my priority . . . I’m just so proud to be a part of an elite number of athletes that managed to win gold for their countries in their respective sports.” He continued, “This supersedes everything that I’ve ever felt on the tennis courts”.
He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics – but never the gold. As he talks about this ‘superseding everything . . .’ keep this in mind: he holds 24 Grand Slam men’s singles titles including 24 majors, and 7 Wimbledon titles. He has also won over $470 million.
Yet, what he was able to do representing his country trumps it all.
Scheffler is ranked the #1 golfer in the world. He’s won over $27 million this year and over $91 million in his career. Plus, he won this second Masters earlier this year. Scottie started the final day back 4 strokes but shot a 62 in his final round to win by a stroke.
During our national anthem he began to cry, covering his eyes as the emotions of the moment took over – according to Inside Golf. He was quoted by them as saying, “I would say first and foremost, I’m proud of the country that I’m from; I’m proud to be an American.”
Winning a gold medal in the U.S. isn’t a financial boon. Gold medal winners in the U.S. are paid $37,500. Serbia pays it gold medal winners $214, 900. The International Olympic Committee doesn’t award any monies.
Motivation.
Here are two great examples of athletes who have made more money than any of us will ever earn – but are motivated to win for the glory of their country.
Last April Simone Biles said she draws motivation from the opportunity to inspire and empower others.
Tom Brady was interviewed and said that money didn’t motivate him. Fame didn’t motivate him. He said that he didn’t have the arm that would throw the ball 80 yards. He didn’t have the speed of other quarterbacks. He didn’t have the size of other quarterbacks. But, he did have something inside of him that others couldn’t see. He had work ethic and, importantly, consistent discipline.
Like Djokovic or Scheffler or Biles, he is known at the GOAT – Greatest of all Time.
Which brings me to the question – what motivates you? If you own a company – what motivates each of your employees? If you are a parent, what motivates each of your children?
Now retired, I’m looking back to try and figure out what motivated me over the years. I think I can cite several things that did – depending on where I was in life.
As the President of a company, however, I realize that I missed one key ingredient – what motivated each of my employees? Knowing this as an entrepreneur, a manager or a parent is so important.
Wealth? Fame? Notoriety? Interesting, isn’t it, that not one of the GOATs in this story mentioned these factors as motivators.
In your next 30 days try and discover what motivates those who look to you as their leader. Then, make sure you also answer the question of what is motivating you. I think you might be surprised!
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