Train to finish strong - and reap the rewards

There is a saying in the marathon community that “the race begins at mile 20”.  When you are in competition, or competing for a goal time, mile 20 is a place that represents a start point of a final battle – often where the race is won or lost.  Like a lot of things in running, this is a lesson that can be transferred into everyday life.  As Mike Tyson once eloquently put it, “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”.  Whether running, boxing, or in the office, game-day adjustments are critical to achieving your goals.  The notion that high achievers are strongest and most effective in the final – and toughest - stages of any process is almost always the rule, rather than the exception.

It has taken me several marathons to truly appreciate the value of feeling good at mile 20.  Consider all the factors that are at play in a race.  There are the internal considerations – your training, your fueling/hydration, your mindset – and the external considerations – temperature, wind, terrain, and your competition.  Having the ideal combination of these factors working for you at mile 20 is a gift that provides you the best chance to run your best race.  With a foundation of solid training and preparation, good strategic choices along the way, and having the strength, determination, and momentum to finish strong will often make the difference between good and great.

The same can be said in everyday life.  Everyone at the starting line has put in the training to go the distance.  That’s an achievement in itself, but it’s also the price of entry.  Those who achieve stretch goals have something special to help push them through the last few miles.  As a sales professional, I think back on some of the big sales deals I’ve won in my career.  Deals typically are not won at the start of the process, but rather after an often relentless battle, learning about the competitive landscape, overcoming customer objections, and out maneuvering my competition.  The early part of the process can set the tone, but a price and proposal is simply the price of entry.  The winner usually outlasts the field because they have executed a better plan, they understand the customer and competition, and they have delivered more value in the end.  Perhaps most important – they have time their strategy in such a way where it is most meaningful to the client. Being mentally and physically tough, especially in the last stages of the deal, often separates the best from the rest.

I have learned that the path to success is not a straight line, and it is often a very different journey than what we expect at the onset.  Every marathon is 26.2 miles, but that’s the end of the similarities. I’ve never known one to look and feel like another.  I think of “mile 20” often, and not just in the context of running.  I remind myself that in business and life – most things are process, not an event, and I am prepared to take my game up a gear when the time is right.  Whether you are facing mile 20, getting punched in the mouth, or fine-tuning a final proposal, success is often determined by the final push.  If you prepare to expect and execute that final push, you will dramatically increase your opportunities to find yourself on the right side of success.

 

Find more articles and updates at http://runningatthespeedofbusiness.blogspot.com/ and http://businessaccelerated.blogspot.com/

Sharpen your mental game in 3 easy steps

A good race training program will prepare you physically to get to the start line of your next race. By race day, the hard work is in the bank, and you are ready to go.  Once you step up to the start line, the real challenge is executing the mental part of the event - a critical piece that most programs fail to cover.  Whether it be in a race or at the office, wrapping your mind around goals and tasks is as important as the work you put into complete them.

In running, we spend the majority of our time focusing on preparing our body for a race – and for good reason. I argue that standing at the start line with a 26.2 mile long road in front of you is as mentally challenging as it is physically, and the real challenge on race day has less to do with your body, but more with your mind.

Whether it is the start line of a race, or the beginning of a new fiscal year at work, we are often challenged with wrapping our minds around the sheer size of the tasks ahead of us. At times, trying to figure out how I could hit a sales goal was simply overwhelming.  In hindsight, I was burning a lot of emotional energy before I even got the year started.  That’s where I’ve been able to apply some of the basic lessons of running – specifically endurance running – to everyday life.  How can we better manage seemingly gargantuan tasks?  Here are three tried-and-true methods of mental preparation I’ve learned over the years:

1. Break down your goal into smaller, familiar parts. Whether time or distance, a big number is overwhelming. You can wear yourself out just thinking about it. I’m a big football fan, and I like to break things up into quarters. What do I need to accomplish in the 1st,, 2nd, an 3rd quarters to be in position to win the 4th? Breaking a large goal into manageable, measurable tasks delivers incremental wins, confidence, and mental clarity.
2. Visualize your progress, and remove mental traps. Reaching the half-way point of an 18-mile run on a treadmill isn’t that much fun when you realize you have 9 more miles to go. I often use the mental image of climbing a mountain – up and down. Replacing thoughts of fatigue and pain that I could be associating with later miles are replaced with images of descending down a mountain, and that helps power me through. In my last marathon, I visualized myself as a jet flying over the ocean – fully fueled, fast, and gliding toward the destination.   When my body was begging me to stop, my mind was focused on an entirely different image.
3. Synchronize body and mind.   Don’t worry – I’m not talking about some crazy metaphysical experience here. Rather, I’ve learned to simply focus on breathing. Breathing is a release valve and trigger for our nervous system. Think in terms of our natural fight or flight reactions, and how we often have to take a deep breath to get things under control. A few moments of breathing will help offset our normal physiological reactions. Using our mind to help control our body will allow us use our valuable energy to focus on the task at hand. Whether it is a few moments of clarity before a race, or a big sales presentation, a focused mind and body is a winning combination.

Find more articles and updates at http://runningatthespeedofbusiness.blogspot.com/ and http://businessaccelerated.blogspot.com/