Greg Lemond was the first American to win the Tour de France.
Last night at dinner Greg Lemond shared his story of winning the Tour de France. I was very lucky to meet him and be able to learn from this experience. I belong to a group called EO Entrepreneur Organization. Our group raised over $57,000 for Greg's charity Tour de Cure. Heres the lessons that I learned.
Lesson 1: Passion is what overcomes!
Greg shared a story how he had been shot turkey hunting and he almost died. He said people said to him, "you cant win a race after being shot...you have to have perfect health to win." Well, Greg said, it didnt matter what anyone said. No one could tell him he couldnt do anything. He said He was determined to do what others said couldnt be done.
Lesson 2: Synergy is Power
In one of the leg's of the Tour de Cure, Greg mentioned how he was way behind the lead cyclers. There were 3 people on his team and he said, there was no way 3 cyclers could catch up to 12. They radioed ahead and had one of their teammates wait 8 minutes for them to catch up. After waiting 8 minutes, the 4 of them caught up to the other team. They than had the guy who waited 8 minutes cross the finish line first.
My thoughts are many times we think if I just work hard...Ill do great. But with synergy...you do even greater. If you are working by yourself, you are like a cyclist trying to win the race by yourself. But these cyclists perform better due to coaches and teammates.
Lesson 3: Sacrifice....Have the Vision of Team and be selfless.
How hard it must have been for the teammate who was 8 minutes ahead to stop and wait. But by doing so they still won the race. Although at the time, the teammate had to have felt worried that he lost his lead. Many times we might not want to do something because we see no instant benefit. The vision of the team brings you to a benefit. Who would have thought that by waiting 8 minutes...you would win the race? Thats because there is a higher law. That higher law is putting your own personal selfishness or instant gratification behind and doing what is best for the team. An example of this is buyers agents on a team. In the short run they may not want to give a listing to the listing agent on the team....but in the long run if they do so..the team will win.
Im grateful for the lessons that I learn outside of real estate because it shows that principles are universal.
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