As a professional athlete in a team sport, you are an employee. The IRS classifies you as an employee. Your team, coaches, agent and manager, all think of you as an employee.
And to them, you are.
But I recommend, strongly, that you think of yourself as the Business Owner, and an Entrepreneur. And you think of your life in sports as a Business, not a Job, not even a Career.
Why is entrepreneurial thinking critical to your success?
Definition of an Employee
An employee is a person who works in the service of another person under an express or implied contract of hire, under which the employer has the right to control the details of work performance (Black’s Law Dictionary).
From a mindset perspective, if you hold yourself as an employee – you are working at the will of your employer. It is about ownership – you don’t own your career – someone else does.
Definition of an Entprereneur
A person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so. (Oxford Dictionary)
As an athlete – you are not only taking greater than normal financial risk, you are also taking greater than normal physical risk every time! If you get hurt, your team replaces you. That risk is born by you alone.
But even more importantly – if you hold yourself as an Entrepreneur – then you are the master of your business, the leader of your career. With that mindset, you can step into ownership and power.
This mindset will raise your performance both on and off the field. Because you aren’t sitting back, waiting to be told. You are seeking out improvement and advancement opportunities. You aren’t waiting for others to advance your career. You are in the driver’s seat.
