5 Tips To Make You A Fanatic Runner And A Passionate Entrepreneur

Are there similarities between a marathon runner and a passionate entrepreneur?

As an enthusiastic runner and a passionate entrepreneur, sometimes I ask myself if I am the only crazy person on this planet. When I leave home at 4.30 in the morning to do my running program for the day, and 15 minutes later, I find at least another 50 runners already in full swing with their training session, I take a deep breath and can confirm to myself:

I’m not the only crazy person on this planet!

Now, what’s the definition of a Fanatic Runner?

In one of many running blogs I follow, I found an interesting intent to define what “fanatic” means in this context. There was a list of 10 different characteristics to find out from. One of them was:

You are a fanatic if you have more running shoes than dressing shoes in your closet. I have 20 running shoes……

If your responses were affirmative on at least 5 out of 10 questions, you would be listed as a “fanatic.” My score was 9!

Reading biographies of famous entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and others, it’s not very difficult to find behaviors in them that would also be easy to define as fanaticism, like working around the clock and feeding themselves with pizza and Cokes.

But the curious thing is that it’s not fanaticism but classified as a

A Passionate Entrepreneur

Taking it all one step further and viewing the level of more professional people like:

Haile Gebrselassie is a famous runner from Ethiopia who has set more marathon records than any other runner in modern times. He is now running his own business in real estate and coffee, Ethiopia’s most significant export commodity.

“What I learned is patience. A marathon is like two hours-plus of running. The 10,000m is less than 30 minutes. The same thing when I switch from running to business – I learned more patience.”

This is just one example of the many statements this admirable runner has made comparing his experience as a runner to his life as a business entrepreneur.

Marathon Runners With the Mindset of a Passionate Entrepreneur

In another of the many blogs I follow, Realbuzz, they constantly give you many different tips and advice on improving your running in all aspects. In one of the last blog posts, the title was

“5 training tricks that will help get you marathon-ready”.

While reading the post, I was surprised at how well the text would have fit into a blog post about how to get your business up and running. So, I decided to rewrite the text and change the typical words for running to a more entrepreneurship-focused language and how to start up your business.

Five training tricks that will help get your business launch ready

Tips every entrepreneur needs.

Here are five training tricks to help you get your business launch ready and successful over time.

Make your persistence count

Train yourself and your mindset to persist in all hard work and frustrations, which is undoubtedly essential training for a true entrepreneur. To endure all failures and setbacks along the road will teach you to become efficient even when the worst things are happening. This is crucial as it enables you not to let frustration take over during the most challenging periods when “normal” people would have thrown in the towel. Spending time and working hard when things are tough will give you courage and positive effects to afford what it takes to manage a business successfully.

Practice holding yourself back

Building a company takes time, whether you’re an experienced entrepreneur or a first-timer. The trouble is that it’s too easy to get carried away by all the offers and tips, such as a newly downloaded training program here and a new app there. You feel good and unbeatable for the first week, maybe. A start-up with tips and hints from everywhere will overwhelm you, and the continuation will be slow and painful. The brightest entrepreneurs have detailed plans and try to stick to them. Keeping a detailed plan and daily journal on what to do and what to do will gradually increase your pace and, therefore, effort as the project progresses. This way of acting will teach you the discipline required for a good judgment of how to work.

Keep up a good health

Whatever business project you are into, you will need good health. Even minor defects in your health can significantly impair your performance and make you more vulnerable to more severe suffering in the latter stages of your project. It’s highly recommended to practice some physical exercise to keep your health at an acceptable level to prevent you from exhausting problems. Try to exercise regularly; it will help you keep up your work well.

Test all methods

The less you can leave to chance on your launch day, the better. It’s wise to test everything, not just the launch part. Try to do as many split tests simultaneously and under as similar conditions as possible as the actual future launch. All this will help you be more confident and sure when the launch will go live.

Have a back-up plan

To launch your business correctly, you should back up everything if something goes wrong. As we have developed the project, it’s easy to forget specific details or maybe more important stuff. Therefore, always have a backup plan if something doesn’t go as planned. The last days before “going live” should be moments only to do some fine-tuning. Reduce the working speed, rest for the big day, and feel good about what has been developed. Good luck with your project!

Whatever interpretation you would like to draw from the comparison between marathon running and entrepreneurship, and using all the different words connected with the two activities, like passion, fanaticism, crazy, persistent….etc. There is one fundamental description linking marathon runners and true entrepreneurs together.

A preconfigured mindset of setting goals, progress, results, and getting things done.

Are you a marathon runner, a passionate entrepreneur….or both?