The Mindset You Need to Build a Gold-Medal Business

Last night, I stayed up late to watch women’s Olympic hockey – the gold medal match between the USA and Canada.

Canada won 3-2, powered by two goals from captain Marie-Philip Poulin. 

This was Poulin’s fourth Olympic gold-medal game. She’s the only hockey player ever (woman or man) to score in four Olympic gold-medal games. She has scored 17 goals in her Olympic career – seven in gold-medal games. 

Talk about stepping up! 

During the game, the NBC broadcasters – Kenny Albert and A. J. Mleczko – discussed how Poulin plays best when the stakes are highest. Mleczko said: 

“She treats pressure as a privilege.” 

I LOVE THAT! 

First that word… “treats.” 

All of us encounter pressure. All of us face stress. All of us have a choice. 

Do can succumb to it, let it act upon us, let it hold us back, let it shake our focus? 

Or do WE CONTROL it, treat it as we wish, draw motivation from it, let it fuel us? 

Really… it IS a choice. 

Now that word “privilege.”

For Poulin and her teammates, the pressure is on because it’s a BIG game, a championship match.

What an opportunity to be there! What a privilege to play! 

If you view it as a privilege, the pressure is not a burden. It’s the price of admission to enter the arena, to play in the big game, to pursue the opportunity, to have the privilege. 

For us in business, it’s the same. 

We have strategies to devise, tactics to implement, reports to generate, presentations to design, and emails to write. 

Pressure and stress come with the territory. 

We can succumb, wallow, complain, freeze, give up, or we can do as Poulin does.

It’s a choice.

That work we do – it’s an opportunity to move the needle for the business, to raise the tide for coworkers, to serve clients who benefit from your products and services.

You’re in the arena, you’re playing the game. It’s a privilege. 

If you choose to embrace the opportunity and treat pressure as a privilege, you’re far more likely to build a gold-medal business.