If you asked me a few years ago, I never would have believed that I would be classified as a “runner.”
I also probably never would have thought that I’d be building a career in business development, and loving every minute of it.
There are a lot of similarities between the two when you break it down, and yesterday on my morning run I got to thinking about it.
Similarity 1: Taking the first step is the most important one.
What I mean by this is that its not enough to think about business or sales plans and its not enough to think about how you’ll start running, or lifting, or Crossfit, or whatever – you just have to take the first step. Lace up your shoes, get out there, and get started. By the time you start second guessing yourself you’ve already committed to starting and made that first move. Once you’ve gotten yourself started, the second, third and fourth become so much simpler.
Getting moving is always the most important step.
Similarity 2: Be consistent.
The more often you are doing something the better your dataset becomes. Committing yourself to a goal and plan (whether its a training plan or a business plan) not only keeps you honest and working towards it, but it gives you very important information about how you can improve every step of the way.
Similarity 3: Know when you’re most productive.
I like to run in the morning – before the heat of the day really starts setting in and before the rest of life’s challenges are thrown my way. Sometimes this means waking up ridiculously early, but it makes for a productive day and ensures I get a workout in.
Similarly, I feel most productive earlier in the day – this tends to be my best time for doing outreach, meetings, proposal writing and the likes. I spend the afternoons typically catching up on paperwork and other reporting, prospecting and other activities.
Similarity 4: You’re going to have hard days.
Not every run is going to go your way. You’ll feel sluggish, you’ll take a wrong step, or you’ll forget to check the weather and get poured on. Same goes in sales – a deal falls through, you get hung up on for the tenth time in a row.
What matters though is you don’t give up (see Similarity 2).
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