What American Ninja Warrior Can Teach Us About Business and Life, Part 3
The daily grind of work can be tough. It is often challenging and you have to keep all of your goals in mind. There are so many great examples of this kind of persistence on American Ninja Warrior. Each contestant on the show trains to get into shape for the chance at ultimate conquest. Every year there are hopeful contestants that have never run the course before but will wait for weeks in the city where the regional rounds start just for the chance to be selected and make a run on the course. It doesn’t get more dedicated than that. I hope that these lessons outlined below give you direction and inspiration to make an impact in your career.
Saying Something is Completely Different Than Doing It
Just about every competitor is featured saying confidently that they will be the “next American Ninja Warrior”. About 600 hopefuls actually get to run the course each year and most, even the sport’s veteran competitors, don’t make it to the ANW City Finals. In this sport, the important part is the effort given and even failure can amount to inspiration to others. It can also be a driver for success on the next season of the show. When it comes to your career, be sure to make good on your promises and follow through every time. However, you should not be afraid to admit that you need extra time to complete a task or to ask for help from your team. Your co-worker may have expertise in the area where you face some struggles. Maybe you could even use assistance from an outside source. Many businesses rely on external partners to help them determine areas of improvement in order to fulfill their customers’ needs. Whatever you set out to do, make sure that you are well-equipped to accomplish your goals. Like the contestants, you may not always succeed but your efforts will get noticed and they always lead to more professional experience that can be built upon.
Glory and Recognition Can Be More Important Than Money
The prize for reaching the top of the final stage is $1,000,000 but the first winner of the American version never talked about that as a motivation to succeed. In fact, Isaac Caldiero lived a very simplistic kind of life in a camper and spent most of his days rock climbing as a way to train and keep in shape. As part of an interview from Climbing.com, Isaac describes his goals and how winning has changed his life: “[My girlfriend and I] have been living off less than $10,000 a year our entire lives. Now we have this giant pot of gold. I want to start a Ninja gym and train people, starting in Utah. And I want to write a book. First and most importantly, though — and it’s what I’m doing right now — I just want to go rock climbing. I want to go to all the amazing places I’ve never been. And just keep living this simple, frugal lifestyle that we’ve always lived. We have an old 1978 RV. We might put a new motor in it or something. But at the end of the day it’s still: I just want to go rock climbing.” Most successful business leaders will tell you that money is a fantastic motivator but the hard work, sweat and tears are more meaningful at the end of the day. The lessons that you learn along the way will help you on the path to future success and true happiness.
You Can Overcome Any Challenge That is Given to You
Over the years, there have been many many competitors on American Ninja Warrior. Some of these athletes have been through a significant amount of trauma or, in some cases, are still dealing with health or debilitating social issues. Jimmy Choi is one such competitor that has made the best of his situation and taken the fight of his life to the show. Choi was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2003 , and has had many ups and downs since his original prognosis but he has found that increased physical activity and motivational training has made living with the disease much easier to deal with. Choi garnered the support of the Fox Foundation and American Ninja Warrior even showed a clip of Michael J. Fox giving words of encouragement to Choi and the ANW community. Fox’s message was enough to bring tears. Others have brought their stories about dealing with anorexia, physical abuse, loss of a limb or mental disease to the course and they credit American Ninja Warrior as a form of therapy that helps them deal with the struggles that they have to face every day. It is vitally important to be able to summon the inner strength to conquer the largest of challenges. Days will be long. Management will be demanding. Personal struggles will cross over to work hours. Perceived friends may turn out to be back-stabbers. Anything can happen but you have the ability to rise above and shine through these moments if you make the right choices and focus on the important tasks that will allow you to do your job.
Personal Efforts and Goals Are the Ones That Matter Most
Ultimately, each runner is on their own. They each have family support, friends and the other competitors to help them through the course but each individual has to run the course on their own. The course is demanding in almost every way but it can be conquered through willpower and sheer dedication to the sport. A team mentality offers many benefits in sports and business but ultimately each participant is responsible for their contributions and the effort that they bring to the situation. Even if the team is stacked with talent, if there are individuals that don’t bring their best for a particular reason, the team will not reach its full potential. Personal challenges offer the most room for growth and discovery. More opportunities are available to those who seek them out for themselves rather than being led down a path set by their management or those who don’t look for any self-development at all. Take the time to develop and find the skills that can transfer to any industry and make yourself invaluable to the team that you want to be a part of.
In case you missed them, here are the links to Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.
Thank you to Cassi at Multiplier for believing in me and including this in the site’s content. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this series and stay tuned for more articles!
by Ben Truby
LinkedIn
