People on top want to stay on top. It’s not surprising. But people who experience an incredible success wind up yearning for that experience long after it is gone.
Set your sights, not on reaching an ultimate moment that will quickly come and even more quickly go, but on reaching a level of achievement that is both satisfying and sustainable.
Upstate New York florist Patricia Woyshner has been in the business for forty years.
She’s sold flowers to tens of thousands of folks in the area and even received one of the best assignments a florist could hope for—decorating the White House for the Christmas season. “I had to take a deep breath. I mean, you see pictures of the place all your life, then one day you’re in the Oval Office.”
Despite the excitement, Patricia’s focus remained steady on her day-to-day concerns. “Doing the White House was exciting and rewarding, but my job is to run my business. I want to have something here that will last forever, that I can pass on to my children.”
She realized that while she knew everything about flowers, she was not an expert in marketing her business. “All my education was related to the floral industry. I realized that I should try to learn from other industries because they face problems that are very similar to ours.”
Patricia attended business school seminars designed to help her attract repeat business. Patricia reports the classes helped, her customer base is up, and even the White House called and asked her to decorate again.
Studies of former Olympic athletes not surprisingly find that they are very capable and highly motivated individuals. However, more than half of former Olympic athletes have trouble adapting to more traditional post-athletic careers because they cannot replicate the heights of success and recognition they once enjoyed in athletics.
Sparkes 1998