When you are child you play for the excitement and you revel in the accolades but little thought goes into the life lessons that are pounded into our young minds on the field of competition.

Sports and business philosophies are so closely tied that the vernacular is seamlessly interchangeable. Every corporate boardroom is filled with sports cliché and huddle up speeches. Every aspect of sports can become a situational metaphor for business situation and strategy.

Here are two things my coaches pounded into my subconscious that have helped me in my business life.

“keep your feet moving”

This was a common thread that I have heard from many of my coaches.  No mater what the situation is this mantra of momentum can help us all push through. As a hockey player I was always a bit undersized but my coach would repeat this mantra to me “keep your feet moving” by doing this I was able to out work and win over my larger opponents.

He would always say when the puck goes into the corner and you end up in a fight for the puck just keep your legs pumping. When you are up against the boards and you are in a scramble for the puck it is important to not dig in and push. Rather get low and keep your feet moving.

By keeping your momentum up and driving through your base you can out work even larger and stronger opponents. But if you dig in hunker up and just push you become static predictable and week and you will ultimately lose the battle.

This is an important reminder to every entrepreneur because day in and day out with a small business you find your self up against the boards fighting for a loose puck. In theses tough economic times business are continually fighting for fewer customers against larger and stronger players but if you keep the wheels turning and you stay focused on the object ahead you can drive through.

So remember when it gets tough don’t hunker up, close your eyes and push. Instead get low, keep your head up and drive your legs. “Keep those feet moving” and if you are looking forward that is where you will end up

“Highest hips win”

When I wrestled we had this whacky old coach that every time you went to the mat he would yell in cattle call reminiscent tone “hips, hips”

Our coach would always say when ever you where in a scramble on the matt the wrestler with the highest hips would win. So every time we where in the down position or we where trying to escape he would start yelling “hips, hips”

In business when you are in a scramble work towards driving your business core up. Don’t rely on a periphery function an arm or a leg, rather leverage the core of your business and the rest of your business functions will follow rapidly. If you can get your core elevated quicker than your competitors you will win out over the competition.