Personal Rewards Program

I ncentive-laden contracts have become commonplace among professional athletes over the past decade. More and more athletes have “escalator clauses” in their contracts for reaching milestones involving individual statistics, how many games they play, or how many wins the team earns during the season. Some baseball players tack millions of dollars onto their salaries if they hit a certain number of home runs, win a certain number of games, or record a certain number of saves. Football players often receive workout bonuses for showing up to optional off-season minicamps. Basketball stars often earn bonus money if they are voted to the allstar team during a given season. Money is definitely a prime motivator for many people, regardless of their profession, but what drives you if you’re not being paid to play or compete? In my experience, athletes who establish a “personal rewards” system find it easier and more enjoyable to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve their goals. A forty-seven-year-old, wealth-management consultant who sought my services for some executive coaching mentioned that he used to be a competitive long-distance runner and had always wanted to run the Boston Marathon, one of the most storied and challenging marathons in the world. Before racing as a qualified runner in the Boston Marathon, entrants must first finish a smaller marathon under a designated time, depending on age and sex. For this client, Rick, that meant running twenty-six miles in less than three and a half hours. For a forty-sevenyear-old man who hadn’t done any competitive running since college, that was quite a goal. It would require months of concerted distance and strength training. When it came down to it, Rick was no different from many of the professional athletes who sign contracts with built-in performance incentives. I knew that creating extra incentive for Rick could help with his motivation, just like a major-league pitcher who collects bonus money for every ten innings beyond one hundred that he pitches. I asked Rick to tell me one thing he really wanted to give himself if he qualified for and finished the Boston Marathon. “I really like the look of the Audi A8,” he said. “I would love to have that car.” Rick agreed to buy the Audi for himself only after he successfully completed Boston. He ran his first competitive marathon in three hours and twenty-three minutes, qualifying for Boston, where he finished the race in three hours and eighteen minutes. Afterward, Rick cruised to his next session with me in his new Audi A8. Of course, personal rewards do not have to be material items. During a session with Michelle, a collegiate golfer, I asked, “What have you always wanted to do but haven’t yet done?” She told me she had always wanted to go on an African safari to see the elephants, because they fascinated her. At the time of our conversation, Michelle had a twelve-month product goal to make it through Qualifying (Q) School and earn a spot on the LPGA Tour. (Q School for the LPGA Tour consists of two tournaments and three cuts.) I asked Michelle if she would be willing to commit to herself that if and when she made it through Q School, she would reward herself with a trip to Africa to see the elephants. Michelle agreed and pursued her physical and mental preparation. Although Michelle was diligent in her physical and mental training, she did not make it through the grueling qualifier. A week after missing the cut in the final stage, she joined me for a talk about her future plans. Even though she was upset about not having achieved a paramount goal, she maintained a positive attitude. “I guess this means I won’t be seeing the elephants this year,” she told me, “but I will see them soon; I know I can make it through Q School.” It took her two more years to battle her way through Q School and join the LPGA Tour, but she never gave up on her dream. For three years, she was relentless in her pursuits, and she finally got to see the elephants. Rick’s story of earning his personal reward was certainly different from Michelle’s quest. For both, though, their successes might never have been realized if they had not endowed themselves with that extra incentive to keep plying away.