Running a Business is a Marathon, NOT a Sprint

As I prepare for my first marathon, I came across this quote by Kate Stoltzfus, CEO of Developing Faces, a charity providing surgical care for children and babies living with facial abnormalities: "Running a business is like running a marathon. You have to be patient and persistent, but you also need to keep your head up and focus on the goal."

I've found this quote to be very true when it comes to running a business. In the past couple of years as a caregiver for my father, I've learned a lot about how to be more productive and reach my goals. It's easy to get caught up in all of life's chaos and forget that running a business is like running a marathon. It takes patience, hard work, consistency and focus if you want to stay on track towards your goal!

And here are some practical tips for staying motivated:

Set achievable weekly or daily targets. This will help keep you focused on what needs to be done without getting overwhelmed with everything at once.

Find time for fun things. If we don't take care of ourselves first; then it becomes harder to do anything worthwhile. Schedule time into your day just for YOU so you can recharge yourself when you need it the most.

Take time to reflect. We must stop and look back at where we've been, consider what needs to change moving forward and then take charge of our destiny.

In order for any business venture to succeed, there's a lot of hard work that goes into it... but if you have a clear goal in mind; stay focused on making progress each day; make sure your team is working together well and taking care of themselves so they can keep up with their tasks; then anything is possible!

Running a Business is about consistency and determination: If I want to reach my goals one step at a time, I know that running this marathon will be worth all the training runs put in up front. All I have to do is keep my head up, focus on the goal and never give up!

Running a business requires patience and persistence, just like any other marathon runner would need if they were training for 26 miles. It took me several years to come out of trying to fulfill every box in my organizational chart. I was so rooted in my SuperWoman complex of perfectionism, people-pleasing, overwhelm and overgiving, that I refused to admit how much work it actually was to run a business of my own, but I'm glad that now I know what kind of commitment is needed, and that I have a supportive team.

Running a business requires determination as well: You can't give up halfway through because then you'll never reach your goal; so keep going until you make it all the way. If life throws anything at us on our journey towards whatever we want most, don't lose hope because no matter what happens along the way there are always new opportunities waiting ahead if we just keep going.

Personal growth is vital to business owners and marathoners. It's what gets you out of bed in the morning and keeps you going when things are tough. But personal growth doesn't just benefit your own life, it also benefits your company! Personal growth will help you grow your business by giving you new ideas, helping you solve problems more effectively, and inspiring others around you.

Running a marathon and running a business also require strategic vision, a personal definition of success, patience, persistence, good communication skills and a support system.

Both marathon runners and entrepreneurs need good mental health conditioning by finding time for self-care, which includes sleep, healthy eating habits, exercise, and time for hobbies.

What sets marathon runners apart is their mindset, habits, rituals and support system. The same is true for you as a business owner. Do not spend time worrying about competition. As an entrepreneur, there will always be someone and who has a similar offer similar in service, price and offering to yours.

Grow yourself in order to grow your business. No one can do exactly what you do in the exact same way that you do. Keep your eyes, mind, and heart focused squarely upon serving your customers to the best of your ability. Nor can anyone do a better job than you at making your customers feel loved, valued, respected, and appreciated.

In closing, keep in mind that entrepreneurship requires discipline and patience – it's more of a marathon than a sprint. But that doesn't mean entrepreneurs can coast along while looking for something else to do when things get tough; it simply means that success isn't instantaneous.

Every Chief Executive Owner and Founder understands that if you want your company to grow, you have to put in the hard work and patience while staying focused on what is important: the successful achievement and accomplishment of their goals and objectives.