What It Would Sound Like If People Said the Same Things About Elite Athletes As They Do About Entrepreneurs

Image: Photo by Tara Moore

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Elite athletes and entrepreneurs have a lot in common. They sacrifice huge chunks of their lives for one simple thing: achievement. They want to be the best – they want to excel. They want to carve their names in history. They want to be remembered for the things they’ve accomplished.

Of course, while elite athletes are adored (well, until they put a single foot wrong, then they’re torn down – just like everyone else), entrepreneurs are often looked on with disdain.

I think it’s worse in Australia, where we hate financial achievement but adore sporting achievement, but I’ve definitely observed it happening in other parts of the world, also.

I wrote an article recently about the “Million Dollar Meltdown” – a rite of passage that many entrepreneurs go through when they hit the $800k plus mark. This, of course, drew fire from some people who hypocritically called ME greedy, while saying that much money should make you happy (yah. It’s ME that thinks money is all important. Obviously.).

It got me to thinking – if I took the statements that were thrown at me every day and turned “money” into “gold medals”, what would that look like?

Short answer: about as ridiculous as you would expect.

 

  • “You’re just greedy – there’s no need to have that many Gold Medals.”
  • “You’re stealing Gold Medals from the average person. Give them back to the 99%!”
  • “You don’t work harder than anyone else. Everyone gets up at 5am every day, lives on a restricted diet and gives over their life to training. You’re just an arrogant asshole who thinks you’re better than everyone else.”
  • “Only assholes want to go to the Olympics.”
  • “You only got that Gold Medal by fucking everyone else over.”
  • “Sure, you CLAIM it’s your Gold Medal, but it really belongs to your coach – because they’re the ones who really did the work.”
  • “Gold Medals are the root of all evil.”
  • “How many Gold Medals are enough? Isn’t it time you gave someone else a go?”
  • “Gold Medals don’t bring happiness.”
  • “I pity you. All you care about are Gold Medals. You’ll never understand what’s truly important in life.”
  • “How dare you go to the Olympics and get a Gold Medal when they are children starving in Africa?!”

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