Lesson #1: Think Like An Athlete

“You have to have a great tolerance for pain!” exclaims Schultz in reference to the qualities that make a successful entrepreneur. “You have to work so hard and have so much enthusiasm for one thing that most other things in your life have to be sacrificed.”

Around the world, Schultz has become a model of success, an entrepreneur to whom others look up to. But, that was not always the case. From struggling hard to escape the cycle of poverty that had entrapped his family throughout his childhood to having his idea of the Italian espresso bar in America laughed at, Schultz had to practice endurance; he had to persevere despite all the obstacles on the path to his dreams.

“I was turned down by 217 of the 242 investors I initially talked to,” says Schultz. “You have to have a tremendous belief in what you're doing and just persevere. The three venture capital firms we ended up with in 1989 are still on the board today and have been an invaluable resource.”

Schultz claims that it was a fear of failure that initially drove him to succeed. He had been afraid of ending up in low-paying jobs like his father, thus strove to be the first in his family to graduate from university. Once he had his idea for Starbucks, he worked day and night to realize his dream, never giving up. “As I tackled each challenge, my anxiety was replaced by a growing sense of optimism,” says Schultz. “Once you overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, other hurdles become less daunting.”

In addition to pain endurance, Schultz says that key to running a business is maintaining balance in his life – something he learned the importance of while playing sports in college. “I've gotten much better about this, and I'm very disciplined about the things I won't do, like travel on weekends,” says Schultz. “I try to be home for dinner with my family most nights. I've learned a balanced personal life makes for a more productive business life. Feeling great about your family life adds value to the company.”

Despite all the challenges Schultz faced growing up, he claims that it was those very things that enabled him to succeed later on in life. “I've heard that some coaches face a curious dilemma, says Schultz. “The world-class athletes on their teams – the players with the best skills and experience – sometimes falter when it comes to crunch time. Occasionally, though, there's a player on the team, a blue-collar guy whose skills and training are not quite world-class. Yet at crunch time, he's the one the coach sends out to the field. He's so driven and so hungry to win that he can outperform the top athletes when it really matters.”

Schultz was that guy – the one who was so hungry to succeed that there could be no stopping him. Indeed, he withstood the pain, overcame the hurdles and rose to the top of his game.



Lesson #1: Think Like An Athlete

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