Go for gold and risk everything - or settle for silver | Warrior Forum - The #1 Digital Marketing Forum & Marketplace

KarlWarren

16 years ago

I love her attitude...

I was watching it in the early hours of the morning - she's a star.

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Scott Burton

16 years ago

You want my business? You'll have to take it.

Had the rider in your example not made the effort, then she would always question whether she could have gotten the gold.

There are a few cliches out there that I recall which really seem to fit the example scenario.

"No Pain, No Gain."
"No Guts, No Glory"
"The greater the risk, The greater the reward"
"Quitters never win, Winners never quit"

Although I don't usually like to resort to cliches, these just really fit. Unfortunately, in this case it didn't work out for her, but you I would rather regret the loss from taking a chance, than always question what might have been had I tried.

--Scott

Originally Posted by Peter Bestel

Where do you stop with your efforts in your business? If the competition is getting hot, maybe too hot, are you inclined to back off, or do you stand your ground and fight, knowing you could lose all if you don't win?

In this week of the Olympics, a young British BMX rider (a gold medal chance) has received some negative press for trying to overtake from a guaranteed silver position, only to fall off in the attempt, and therefore finishing outside of the medals.

Whether she was brave to try or foolish to risk losing everything is not for us to say, but can we face similar dilemmas in business, and if so, what would you do?

Peter

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ErinJoi

16 years ago

Whatever feels right in your gut - you should do.

I personally think that if you are passionate enough about your business, you will believe in it under any circumstance. And if this is the case - you will fight, fight, fight! (And WIN!)

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CSwrite

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Peter Bestel

Whether she was brave to try or foolish to risk losing everything is not for us to say, but can we face similar dilemmas in business, and if so, what would you do?

Peter

I think anytime you settle for something, you end up wondering what would have happened if you had gone for the gold. It's better to at least try and find out, then spend the rest of your life wondering what might have been.

Go for it and let the chips fall where they may!

Cary

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Lance K

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Peter Bestel

Where do you stop with your efforts in your business? If the competition is getting hot, maybe too hot, are you inclined to back off, or do you stand your ground and fight, knowing you could lose all if you don't win?

In this week of the Olympics, a young British BMX rider (a gold medal chance) has received some negative press for trying to overtake from a guaranteed silver position, only to fall off in the attempt, and therefore finishing outside of the medals.

Whether she was brave to try or foolish to risk losing everything is not for us to say, but can we face similar dilemmas in business, and if so, what would you do?

Peter

Burn The Ships!!!

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paul8368 16 years ago

I've been doing this for the last 22 months have name a net loss of 10K which I will get back as I have a steady income but to be honest if I did it all again I think I would have been better off diversifying earlier rather than going for gold in one field.
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Tuzic

Banned 16 years ago

Hi,
The bmx rider is still a star. no doubt.

but business is risk & if we dont take risks then how will we ever take the next big step? but its worth considering all risk factors otherwise you can waste a lot of money.

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1 reply

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Andyhenry

16 years ago

GO FOR GOLD!!!!!

Failure is when you stop trying.

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nothing to see here.

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KarlWarren

16 years ago

I love the idea of burning ships and bridges...

I left my last job, not in the best way possible - with NO NOTICE
giving me no option of going back, and no likelihood of a good
reference.

I wouldn't advocate this kind of behavior, especially for anyone
in my current position - but, it's was my way of motivating myself
to getting things done.

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jhongren 16 years ago

I would say Go For The Best and Live Without Regrets!

John
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Lance K

16 years ago

Originally Posted by KarlWarren

I love the idea of burning ships and bridges...

I left my last job, not in the best way possible - with NO NOTICE
giving me no option of going back, and no likelihood of a good
reference.

I wouldn't advocate this kind of behavior, especially for anyone
in my current position - but, it's was my way of motivating myself
to getting things done.

Indeed.

Win or Perish.

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ArTsYwRiTeR 16 years ago

I am going for gold and I am gonna get it!
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- Martin Avis 16 years ago
  
  Anyone who could advocate an Olympic athlete settling for second best when gold was in sight doesn't deserve to be listened to - let alone taken seriously.
  
  I'm all for the 'taking part' ideal, but unless everyone is out there doing their absolute best, what's the point of the Olympics at all?
  
  Martin
  
  P.S. Having said that, I still think that every one of the 10,300 athletes taking part, wherever they come from and wherever they end up ranking, are complete and utter heros. Just being that close to the top of any sport is an incredible achievement. They all deserve our applause - and this from a man who has no interest in sport of any kind!
  
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  lakshaybehl 16 years ago
  
  Olympics... Once in 4 years
  
  BUSINESS... EVERYDAY NEW DAY
  
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- Peter Bestel 16 years ago
  
  Go For Gold seems to be the consensus of opinion.
  
  I didn't expect anything different from your answers, or should I say, I hoped you'd say that. I tried to put an unbiased comment on to start the thread but truth be known I was quite angry that anyone should have a go at this young champion - because that's what she is - a true champion. She's fantastic.
  
  This is the attitude, I believe, you need to have to succeed in business. Shoot for the highest you can, get up after you fall and keep on striving for gold!
  
  Peter
  
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Stanley Tang 16 years ago

GOLD FTW.

Never settle for silver.
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Sandor Verebi

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Peter Bestel

In this week of the Olympics, a young British BMX rider (a gold medal chance) has received some negative press for trying to overtake from a guaranteed silver position, only to fall off in the attempt, and therefore finishing outside of the medals.

Whether she was brave to try or foolish to risk losing everything is not for us to say, but can we face similar dilemmas in business, and if so, what would you do?

Peter

Hey Peter,

Great thread. My standpoint is that I try something out rather and I fail in it, than I try nothing out and I am successful in it.

Go for the best,

Sandor
_____________
"Nobody, who didn't enter, gained a competition yet."A.Bennett

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Frank Donovan 16 years ago

Peter

I have to echo everyone's sentiments. It's a case of living up to your own expectations and clearly she expected to win gold. Good for her!

And anyway, the silver medal is the WORST medal to get. If you get bronze, you're just glad to be amongst the medals, but with silver, you'll always feel that you should have just pushed it for the gold - it must seem like a defeat; an "if only" sort of medal.

Frank
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Dan C. Rinnert

16 years ago

I don't like the sports metaphor. In a given athletic event, only one person can win the gold (except in the rare occasions when there might be a tie). In business, there is plenty of gold out there!

If gold is making $2 million a year, and silver is making $1 million a year, would you risk everything for an extra $1 million per year? In a sporting event, you might risk losing in order to get that gold, but in business you can find the gold elsewhere. You can always diversify. Why risk all that you have for one shot at that extra $1 million per year, when you could diversify and find alternative ways of making that extra money without putting as much at risk?

I prefer the metaphor of shooting for the stars. Even if you fall short, you may still reach the moon. And, that still puts you ahead of the other 6 billion people on the planet.

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Kay King 16 years ago

If you are second best in your business, would you really risk it all on the outside chance you could move into first?

That would be extremely foolish. The biker clearly wanted gold - but for the country she represented, silver might have been more impressive than nothing.

I see "failure is not an option" as a platitude. If you are taking a risk, failure is always one option that you need to consider and evaluate. Once you have a plan for managing in the event of failure, you can proceed full speed toward succeeding with the risk you are taking.

Before jumping blindly into high risk ventures, it's good realize that "go for broke" may end in "broke" and "zero-to-hero" is a two way thoroughfare.

kay
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Chris Lockwood

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert

I don't like the sports metaphor. In a given athletic event, only one person can win the gold (except in the rare occasions when there might be a tie). In business, there is plenty of gold out there!

I was thinking the same thing.

Also, unless your business is just an ego trip, you need some income from it to survive, while an athlete doesn't have to win a medal. In fact only a fraction of those in each competition do.

If someone said only 1/5 of people here could be successful, they'd be called negative at best, yet that is true if you stick with this medal analogy.

I didn't see the race, so I'm confused about it. If she was already in 2nd, then tried harder, how did she not finish at least 2nd?

To not win a medal she must have come in 4th or worse, so how did she manage that starting from 2nd? I don't get it.

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Thomas Dean

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Chris Lockwood

I was thinking the same thing.

Also, unless your business is just an ego trip, you need some income from it to survive, while an athlete doesn't have to win a medal. In fact only a fraction of those in each competition do.

If someone said only 1/5 of people here could be successful, they'd be called negative at best, yet that is true if you stick with this medal analogy.

I didn't see the race, so I'm confused about it. If she was already in 2nd, then tried harder, how did she not finish at least 2nd?

To not win a medal she must have come in 4th or worse, so how did she manage that starting from 2nd? I don't get it.

Chris,

She was in second then on the last bend she tried passing the one in first and fell off.

She's one of the hero's of these Olympics, from a British point of view.

She's a winner and doesn't settle for second best. If more British athletes adopted her kind of attitude we'd have far more success.

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Sandor Verebi 16 years ago

I wrote my earlier remark based on the viewpoint of the sport. Naturally the viewpoint of the business the situation is different. I agree with Dan and Kay.
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Lance K

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert

I don't like the sports metaphor. In a given athletic event, only one person can win the gold (except in the rare occasions when there might be a tie). In business, there is plenty of gold out there!

If gold is making $2 million a year, and silver is making $1 million a year, would you risk everything for an extra $1 million per year?

Absolutely in a heartbeat if making $2 million a year was the plan.

Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert

In a sporting event, you might risk losing in order to get that gold, but in business you can find the gold elsewhere. You can always diversify. Why risk all that you have for one shot at that extra $1 million per year, when you could diversify and find alternative ways of making that extra money without putting as much at risk?

Depends on what the plan is. The money isn't always a stand alone goal. Sometimes monetary goals are tied to the path taken to get there. It's the thrill of competition.

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Jose Delgado 16 years ago

Come on guys! Isn't there a video???

I want to see what she did.
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- Peter Bestel 16 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Jose Delgado
  
  Come on guys! Isn't there a video???
  
  I want to see what she did.
  
  Here you go:
  
  BBC SPORT | Olympics | Cycling | Video - Reade crashes out of BMX medals
  
  Interesting comments.
  
  Maybe you can't draw exact parallels with sport and business, so a sporting metaphor doesn't fit precisely, but the spirit that this girl showed throughout her event is something that a lot of entrepreneurs would love to have.
  
  Yes, there are more 'golds' in business - there isn't often just a straight winner and so 'second' is a relative term. In fact, placings aren't given because we don't even know we're in a race - and indeed we might not be.
  
  The point is, do you have that fighting spirit to keep your business at the highest level it can be?
  
  Peter
  
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MoaddinFM 16 years ago

The people that critic that great sportsmen attitude - the athletes trained hard to get there -

These people are the real losers.
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- Lance K 16 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by MoaddinFM
  
  The people that critic that great sportsmen attitude - the athletes trained hard to get there -
  
  These people are the real losers.
  
  They are not losers. They just have a differing opinion about how they would have approached the situation.
  
  Olympic athletes compete to represent their country. So I don't think it's unfair for fellow countrymen/women to have opinions about the games. Would you rather none of them give a damn?
  
  And since the Olympics are televised and the athletes make big money from endorsements, etc., a little bit of thick skin would do them well. It wouldn't be near as fun if the whole world wasn't watching.
  
  Remember, nobody else's thoughts & comments can define you unless you let them.
  
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  "You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."
  ~ Zig Ziglar
  
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  mdunn123 16 years ago
  
  I have a big issue with that....the bmw rider being critized for going for gold. I can understand if it's a long season with a points season for each race, then that's a bit different, but other wise you go for gold.
  
  In my opinion I have a problem with those who settle for bronze and sliver all the time and pat themsevles on the back and say "it's ok, at least we tried". Ive always hated that saying. Now not everyone can win...there's only room at the top for one, but I just can't see why someone would stop pushing for the top spot, and why someone would be happy to time and time again get sliver.
  
  This isn't to say that I have no respect for the atheletes that get second or thired or forth etc. Not at all! I coulnd't do what they do, and I have a lot of respect for them, but my point is shoot for first, if you fail...shoot for first again...and again, and never settle for anything other than first. Winner's are very aware of this, they don't sit back and say "well whatever, at least I tried".
  
  Now my take on business is just the same!
  
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Frank Donovan

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert

I don't like the sports metaphor. In a given athletic event, only one person can win the gold (except in the rare occasions when there might be a tie). In business, there is plenty of gold out there!

I think as far as the sporting metaphor goes, it simply illustrated that the athlete had a clear goal (in this case, the gold medal) and refused to settle for anything less.

That's definitely a lesson that can be applied to any business venture. Everyone can't be number one in their field, but they can set themselves a target to achieve and not be satisfied with anything less than that target.

Frank

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Go for gold and risk everything - or settle for silver

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