Super summer of sport Olympics and Paralympics

So what will I do now that the greatest show on earth is over?  

But what to do afterwards? well I hear Mo Forrah is eating chips, and Tom Daley is back at school. But actually both of those guys are just taking a break before they get back into training, they have already set new goals before they had achieved the previous ones.

It is really important to set goals but don't make them so finite that afterwards you feel deflated and it's all an anti climax. As you near the summit, start thinking about the journey down and the warm bath and the next mountain you want to climb. Always keepa goal in front of you.

People have been saying, what will Seb Coe do now, I bet he already knows and has already set himself a challenge. He is mentally preparing for his next acheivement.

What does this mean for our careers?

Yes have a goal, yes have a game plan and a development plan, keep on working towards that goal AND start thinking about the what happens after. Work is a part of life, start preparing for what you want to be not just what you want to do.

I loved all the Olympics and Paralymics and shed so many tears. What does it take to be that good, to be excellent?  Hard work, dedication, achievement orientation and very clear vision and goals. I was struck by the number of young men and women who had put their lives, their marriages,  their babies and the things the rest of us taken for granted on hold (a Mcflurry, a glass of wine..)They are single minded in pursuit of their goals. I really ‘got it’ when Jody Cundy threw his strop about the mechanical failure.. four years of his life had gone into this short space of time. I saw the Queen’s sense of duty and her loyalty to her job at the Jubilee and now I have seen another characteristic of excellence in these sports people.  That has been lots of talk about the brilliance of the games makers, they’ve loved it but it has been an act of generous altruism that has motivated them.

For most of us our jobs are less than all consuming and we try to achieve a work-life balance; but take a moment to think about who was your hero this summer, what is the lesson you learned from them, download a picture, write your lesson, stick it in your diary/daybook/calendar and create your own personal legacy from these awe inspiring games. Be different. Be part of the seismic change.