Starting either a fitness journey or company comes with its obvious set of challenges. Doing both together only heightens these inherent challenges even more. In this article, I explore some parallel themes I encountered with both!
I have always considered myself an active person. Whether it was playing basketball or simply going for a run, I have always been out and about. As I got older and closer to turning 30, my interest in fitness changed from being just active and towards achieving a particular body type. I wanted to get leaner and add more muscle. Hence, I needed to change my fitness routine.
Around the same time, my brother and I decided to start our own software business. This resulted in me quitting my job, moving back to Dallas and launching into a life of long days and nights. After more than a year, I have actually found a weirdly symbiotic relationship between these two journeys.
The Long & Short Race 🔗
Achieving a fitness goal or stabilizing a new business are both long term efforts. Both are daunting tasks, where the payoff always seems so far away. A strategy that helped lower my anxiety with both is to set short-term, highly achievable goals.
Instead of agonizing over what is in front of me for the month, I more often focus on what I need to do just tomorrow. Get a lift session in the morning. Send ten customer emails in the afternoon. This helps me focus on actual work and not be drained by the mountain of other tasks ahead of me. I find myself more productive and consistent with my work, getting me closer to the bigger goals each day!
Mistakes will Happen 🔗
Not only will they happen, mistakes are sometimes very helpful! They shed light on what will work and what should be done away with immediately. Both with the start-up and fitness tasks, mistakes happened over the last year! We faced them and, more importantly, learned from them.
When I pulled my back doing deadlifts, I spent time really mastering the form. When a customer pitch didn’t work, we evaluated our approach and came at it differently for the next meeting. Mistakes and setbacks gave us an opportunity to take a breath and reflect. We were better off for it in the long-run every time.
A Partner is Always Welcome 🔗
I have been lucky to have my brother be part of both journeys over the last year. He’s my co-founder in the start-up and my spotter at the gym. Our breaks at work are more than often spent discussing proper weight lifting form or the correct diet to retain muscle while losing fat. Having him by my side has helped getting through the tough parts of the journeys. It’s definitely not mandatory, but sharing the journey with someone is always a plus.
Details, Details, Details 🔗
Just like any other endeavor in life, attention to details is a must! Whether counting your macros or double checking for errors in a business document, missing small details can be costly. I preach this to myself almost everyday. It’s a small effort that can pay major dividends. Many times it’s the difference between someone succeeding or not. In both fitness and start-up life, the little things are what make the difference. Never lose focus on them.
Be Flexible 🔗
If something is not working, reevaluate and pivot if needed! One of the worst things to do in both a start-up or fitness journey is to keep trying something that is not working. Instead, tackle these roadblocks with a critical approach and don’t be afraid to be flexible. Remove the emotions and motivate yourself to get better rather than prove you were right all along. Inflexibility is usually the first step towards failure in any endeavor.