Guest post by by Cass Mullane, Accountability Coach, Right-Brain Business Plan® Licensed Facilitator, Prosper Creatively, LLC

It’s the Olympic season and I’m really enjoying watching the athletes compete in Rio. I’m also continually in awe of what the human body is capable of. The strength and flexibility of the gymnasts, the amazing control of the shooting athletes, the speed and endurance of the cyclists, all I can say is wow!

But what I most appreciate is the tremendous amount of work elite athletes put in without anyone watching. It’s what goes on day after day, month after month, year after year that prepares them for the various competitions that lead up to that single moment in the spotlight in Rio.

If you’re an athlete, here’s what you do: get up and train, put in a full day at work so you can pay your bills, then cap it all off with your evening workout. Day in and day out. There are no cameras, there are no cheering crowds, it’s just you. You make the daily choice to do the hard work to reach your goals. Now that’s commitment and discipline!

So several thoughts are popping up for me:
1. Training – you’ve got to build the right skills and you have to keep honing them over and over and over to excel
2. Mindset – if you’re head’s not straight, you take yourself out of the game before you even start. Pay attention to your thoughts and your resulting actions and make appropriate adjustments.
3. Discipline – do the hard work, even when you don’t feel like it. Be self-motivated, make the sacrifices, follow the plan, keep the focus on the goal every single day
4. Commitment – show up every day and be your best
5. Deliver the Goods – do your thing often, whether on a local level or internationally

Does this sound familiar? It’s what you do to be a successful entrepreneur.

You train in your specialty and your industry to stay on top of your game. You read, attend conferences, take classes, get coached and you practice your craft consistently.

You make sure you have the right mindset to invite success. You know how important it is to quickly clear your head of useless self-talk and replace it with productive thinking. You know what’s important and what can drop off the plate. You know what to do to get yourself out of a funk and back into the joy of doing what you love.

You are crystal clear on your goals and you focus on them when making decisions. You make a plan and you do the hard work to execute that plan. You show up consistently every day and you deliver the goods to your customers and clients worldwide.

There’s no one sitting on your shoulder watching you 24/7. You’re the one making the choices and setting the goals. You’re the one developing a plan for success then choosing to do what it takes to make that plan work. You’re the one who decides how you’re going to spend your time and who you’re going to hire to do the other tasks. You’re the one choosing to put in the time to make sure your business flourishes. You’re the one choosing to go for the gold.

So, what do you do when no one is watching?

Cass Mullane is an artist with an MBA. Cass’ calm, comfortable approach consistently yields positive results for clients. Her business and personal coaching practice, www.ProsperCreatively.com, specializes in delivering solid left brain business skills to right brainers and creatives in a fun, visual way. She’s a best selling author, textile and mixed media artist and creator of the Cool Stuff Jar™ coaching program. You can also visit Cass on Facebook!