Words to Live By

   Jo Malone is a British woman who happens to make some of my favorite fragrance.  Her first fragrance company Jo Malone London became a critical success.  A year ago she started her second fragrance company called Jo Loves. In an email she sent out to subscribers about her cologne, she had an Olympics themed message concerning business. As the London Olympics come to a close, I'm struck by how appropriate these words centered around great Olympians have so much weight and merit for our own lives. Here's what she wrote in this email.

1.) Know what you want from your business, product or service. (I think we could add Know what you want out of life to those of us not in business).  At the age of 13, a young man with a dream to become a track athlete went on to win four gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. That young man was Carl Lewis, one of the greatest athletes of all time.

2.) Enjoy the journey; celebrate your successes and reward hard work.  At the 2004 Athens Olympics, a female British athlete gave a double gold medal-winning performance and a year later was appointed with a Dame. Today Dame Kelly Holmes is an official Team GB ambassador.

3.) Be consistent in your pursuit to fulfill your dream and believe in your abilities. Don't be put off by difficulties, embrace challenges and stay focused. In the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics, a young man from Alabama achieved international fame by winning four gold medals despite tremendous adversity. Jesse Owens remains the best remembered athlete in Olympic History. 

4.) Perfect your gift. Go above and beyond to equip yourself with the skills and information necessary to succeed.  In 1976, an unknown Romanian girl won three gold medals at the summer Olympics in Montreal and became the first female gymnast to score a perfect 10. Within just 26 seconds, Nadia Comaneci altered the course of gymnastics history.  

  We don't have to be an Olympic athlete or starting our own business in order to gleam a few nuggets from these statements. Whatever goal we have in life, we need to define what we want, enjoy the journey (both successes and failures), be consistent in our efforts toward achieving that goal, believe in ourselves, and give ourselves as many tools and pieces of education as possible to help us achieve our goal.