3 Traits of a Champion Athlete Turned Successful Trep

When you were younger did you dream of being an astronaut or a doctor? What about being both?  When he was younger, Jeremy Bloom dreamt of having the Olympic gold medal and an NFL championship ring. He got closer than most men would dream being a two-time Olympian and being on two NFL team rosters but sadly didn’t have either of those dreams come true.

I recently read Bloom’s story in Entrepreneur Magazine, written by John Patrick Pullen. The article, “The Next Mogul” caught my attention because my brother competed in professional mogul skiing. Pullen focuses the life events that lead Bloom into entrepreneurship and starting Intergrate, “…the first advertising technology provider that empowers media buyers to plan, launch, analyze, and optimize marketing campaigns across performance, digital and traditional media.” While reading this article, three traits stood out to me that any entrepreneur or leader should have:

1. Be coachable

Bloom had the passion and the desire to be an Olympian and an NFL player but wouldn’t have gotten there by himself. Without coaches in his life he wouldn’t have had the training and guidance to take him to the level he needed to be. He admits, “I would have never accomplished anything I did in sports myself.”

Bloom applies this same mentality in business, “Now, having a company with 140 people, there’s no way I could accomplish this all on my own.” It is important to understand that even though you are in a leadership position there is always someone who is going to be better than you at something. Rely on and trust others to help you and your goals out.

2. Set goals

 Setting and completing goals is important. Goals help you push yourself. Without goals how would you measure successes in life unless someone else defines them for you? You could say Bloom had bigger goals than the average person. When looking at his career in sports he admitted, “I knew that the higher you are, the further you have to fall…” More importantly he knew that he would have to do something else post sports.

In 2008 while playing for the Pittsburg Steelers he was sidelined with an injury. He began “…planting seeds all over the place.” He started Integrate after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 2010. Integrate was named New Company of the Year at The American Businesses Awards just a year later. Bloom accredits goal setting to his business’s success because, “When you’re ultra-competitive, like more professional athletes or most CEOs, you’re setting goals on this treadmill that never ends.” He then points out the point of never ending goals, “You’re never able to truly achieve this greatness that you think exists, because it doesn’t^—there’s always more.” Once you complete one goal, set another.

 3. Stay humble

Even though Bloom didn’t accomplish his major goals in sports, he is considered a celebrity amongst society. He has appeared many times on MTV, Fox, ESPN, NBC, and Versus. Don’t forget that he also modeled for GQ, Abercrombie & Fitch, Tommy Hilfiger, and Under Armour. It’s no wonder he is considered a celebrity.

Even with this impressive resume of claims to fame he still stays humble. Google Ventures’ Bill Maris even commented, “Some people think that because they’ve done something great, they are great. Jeremy isn’t like that.” It is very easy to let your successes and fame go to your head.

Bloom may not have won an Olympic gold medal or an NFL championship ring, but the traits he gained through those experiences has helped him out in life since. You don’t have to be an Olympian or NFL player to develop or better these traits. The most important thing you can do is be persistent by always moving forward—no matter what life throws at you. Albert Einstein even said, “You don’t fail until you stop trying.” Bloom could have given up after the Olympics but he moved on to the NFL where he could’ve used his injury as an excuse to slow down and give up on his goals. Remember, you never fail until you give up.

Want to better your goal making, setting, and completing ability? Check out this other post by Ty Kiisel: Think Big—But Not Too Big: 3 Tips for Setting Goals You’ll Actually Achieve

Mike Alder is a University of Utah business marketing student and marketing specialist at Lendio. Passionate about entrepreneurship, small businesses, and inbound marketing. Mike shows his passion by sharing stories of successful entrepreneurs and companies with small business owners on the Lendio blog. He makes these big success stories easy-to-apply in simple and easy to read language for the everyday small business owner and entrepreneur.