Do Athletes Invest Enough?

Do Athletes Invest Enough?

By Annette Huygens-Tholen

We’ve all heard that successful people have the ‘do whatever it takes’ attitude to make things happen. The problem, I think, is that everyone has a different interpretation of what is included in the ‘whatever’.

One of the biggest mistakes that I made as an athlete was not being prepared to invest enough in myself and my own success. That’s not to say that I did not put money towards my sporting career, but I did have my limits. I was prepared to pay for trips and get to competitions, to do whatever it takes to reach my goal of going to the Olympics. But one person’s concept of ‘whatever it takes’ will differ from another’s. I think most people have some unconscious limit on what they are prepared to do to reach their goals. You see, I was not prepared to pay a lot of money for my own personal coach. I was not prepared to spend time or money strengthening my psychological game.

I always thought I was doing ‘whatever it takes’ but I now reflect there was more I could have done. I had excuses and reasons not to invest my own money – “I couldn’t afford it”, “I don’t need to do that”. If someone had stepped up and challenged my desire to do anything and everything to reach my goal, then I obviously was falling short.

Many athletes are used to getting hand-outs – from the government, from their sporting teams, from their sponsors – that when it comes to decisions that require them to personally make an investment, they shy away. There is no habit of success developed that tells the athlete that it’s a good thing to do – invest your own money and you will get rewarded. They don’t have any experience of this.

On retirement from sport, when there are no more hand-outs, they may be waiting for things to be handed to them instead of taking charge of what needs to be done.

Athletes, current and former, need to redefine in their own mind, what they are prepared to do to create success in their lives. What is ‘whatever it takes’ in relation to their goal? What are their limits? Are these limits the very thing that is preventing them from achieving success?

I wrote this because in today’s economic times people are looking at ways to cut back their spending. That can be a great thing – reduce unnecessary expenses. But it is not so great when it stops the same people from investing their money in their own future. I extended the loan on my home originally to purchase a second investment property. Instead, an opportunity came to invest in my own education. A little bit more risky with less substantive means of return, but the returns in the life I have created since have made it vastly worthwhile.

Athletes can reduce their own risk by getting a greater understanding of financial management so that they can also make the wise decisions on opportunities they come across. This education can happen while they are still playing sport or afterwards, as long as they are prepared to seek it out.

Doing whatever it takes will take some form of investment – time, energy and money. Are athletes prepared for that?

About the author:

Annette Huygens Tholen is a former international beach volleyball player and participated in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. She experienced the difficulties of transition from sport and is now a Master Results Coach and International speaker using her learnings and experience to empower athletes to reproduce emotional and financial success in their life after sport. Annette also teaches seminars for the world's biggest NLP Coaching and Training Organisation -The Christopher Howard Companies. For more information on how to successfully transition after sport, please visit www.annetteffect.com and sign up for the free mini-Ecourse.