How To Leverage Your Passions

Everyone thinks we are odd and even crazy.

It’s 4:30 AM, and as noiseless as possible, we jump out of bed and put on the outfit we had already arranged the evening before. Two bananas, half a cup of coffee, and plenty of water are our breakfast, or whatever we would like to call it.

Half an hour later, we are out running. First, a kilometer of warming up before we come together with another 25 to 30 “odd” people. It´s still dark outside, not much traffic, and most of all, “normal” people are still sleeping. The temperature is affordable at 22ºC (71.6ºF).

We are passionate marathon runners. We are burning for our running, and we are not out running that early for any other reason; more than a couple of hours later, the temperature will easily hit 30ºC (86ºF). So, let’s change the intro word “odd” to passion. Pure and true passion. Nothing can stop us, and when a hurdle is in our way, we find the best way to get around it.

In a couple of seconds, I´ll give you the formula for how to dedicate the necessary attention to such a time-consuming and mileage-demanding activity as marathon running and, at the same time, take care of family, work, and normal social life.

I published a blog post on June 9th as an “appetizer” to this one. You can view it here.

 

What It Takes And Why

To run marathons, you need to have a serious training program in place. Otherwise, you will never make it, and it can even be dangerous. When I was running the Chicago Marathon for the first time in 2010, the temperature hit 26ºC (76.6ºF), and more than 40 people needed medical attention. It was not due to the heat, even if it influenced me a lot, but due to a lack of proper training.

One of the reasons I am so passionate about marathon running is that you need to challenge yourself, your discipline, and your character.

“You don’t need to be crazy, but it helps”

This is a statement we use among running fellows, partly as an ironic joke about ourselves but also with a serious bottom line to emphasize the strength of our passion.

So far, I have done all the majors (Chicago, New York, Boston, Berlin, London) except Tokyo. The most thrilling one was the Boston Marathon for two reasons.

To qualify…

First, you need to qualify, and in my age category, I had to make below 3:55:00 in a race valid for qualification. My whole training that year was focused on 3:55:00. The moment of truth came to its peak, and the qualification race was to begin. I must admit that I had good luck with the conditions. A temperature around 10ºC (50ºF) and light rain. It couldn´t be better. My finish time was 3:49:16, and I qualified for the Boston Marathon. The goal for that year was achieved.

The second thrilling part and, unfortunately, a very sad one was the end of this magnificent sports event, which the Boston Marathon represents. The year was 2013, and I had to watch very closely how two young guys destroyed their lives and the lives of other innocent people by blasting the famous bomb.

I put together the training program for a full year at the end of December each year. The marathon races to run during the year to come, normally 2 to 3, are the peak events, and all the training is based on these races. In between, there are 10k and half-marathon races to keep the race experience at the top level.

The program is done by a professional trainer and will bring me toward the main races of the year in optimized condition. Every month, when a new edition is published in Runners World, I consume every page of the magazine in speed as if it were a race in search of the latest news. That little extra to add to my training program helped me to cut a couple of seconds in the next race.

Get tips from the best

We try our very best to absorb insider tips from personalities like Rayan Hall and my personal idol Meb Kefleizighi. Of course, we do not forget to watch the giants from Keya and Ethiopia. But they play in another division and seem to come from another planet.

As part of your passion, it is important to have an idol, a good example, a person to admire, and who you would like to imitate when trying to improve your skills in your special hobby or passion.

Some days, especially when long runs are on the “menu,” a lot of hours are spent on training. How do you balance family, job, and social life?

 

Your Necessary Alliances

To be able to enter the club of “odd fanatics” as we passionate marathon runners sometimes are labeled, you need your family support. They need to support you completely. Otherwise, it will be pretty hard to manage it all in the long run.

The trickiest part is balancing work and duties. Combining work with my running passion was tough when I was still in the corporate world. I had to make compromises all the time, and the two activities performed were like oil and water—they seldom fit well together.

The breaking point came when I joined the Six-Figure Mentors. Being an independent entrepreneur gives you, by default, the freedom you need to leverage life with your passion.

Now, the Six Figure Mentors not only gives you that freedom, but the business model itself, with digital marketing as the core, allows you to be extremely flexible with your time schedule. Best of all, you only need your laptop and internet connection, and you are ready to rock’ n roll.

So, when I head for Tokyo to do the remaining major marathon, I will bring the work with me, always connected and always attending to customers, colleagues, and friends.

 

Live Your Passion In Full

During my many years in the corporate world, I created an artificial image of how life was divided into work on one side and the rest on another. With the start-up as an independent digital marketer, I have been forced to re-construct that image.

The joy of helping other people succeed the same way I had the opportunity to join the Six Figure Mentors has now popped up as a second passion in my life.

Could it be nicer than having two passions at the same time? I am now focusing on finding out how to leverage these two passions in the best possible way, and this is part of my daily work.

This blog post aims to open up all reader´s minds and recognize that work doesn´t have to be necessary, but it can be transformed into a passion you wake up every day to, and you just love what you are doing. It´s a big difference between what you have to do and what you love to do.

Secondly, we all have different interests in life. I am burning for marathon running, but you all have different passions, from cooking food to animal care, climbing the mountains, or collecting old cars.

No matter what it is, make it a passion and let your passion dominate your life for one very simple reason:

It will make you happy, and that is what life is all about.

 

The Formula To Leverage Your Passion

    • Secure full support from your family.
    • Have a plan on how to improve and transform your hobby into a true passion constantly.
    • All real passions are time-consuming. Look after that your passion fits in with your work scheme.
    • Consider a labor change if necessary. Ask yourself: “What is more important, spending my time on what I love to do (my passion) or dedicating time to what I need to do and not necessarily like (my job, for example)?”
    • Optimize happiness in life by converting your work into a passion.

Five quite provoking topics, but try to be honest and answer yourself how often you have failed to really materialize an interest you might have because some of the above points were not in place.

Personally, the two last points have always been my main obstacles. However, I was lucky to find the Six Figure Mentors, not only because of a very flexible way of making my living.

Indeed, you can earn a lot of money! But money is not all in life.

I have a second passion I would like to share with you.

Leverage Your Passions
 

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