Business is like a marathon. It would be best to run it and do it in a way that can be sustained for a very long time.
In fact, building a valuable business will take 5-10 years, a massive effort, and most of your waking hours.
There is no shortcut there!
My whole life I've always loved sport.
And in a way, that helped me a lot when it comes to business.
While we all love strategy, to me, business is 5% strategy and 95% execution.
The execution part requires a lot of hard work, willingness to overcome obstacles, and consistent ups and downs.
That requires a lot of internal motivation, which goes beyond external stimuli.
While a good result occasionally motivates you, managing your motivation is critical if you're starting from scratch.
And just like in sports, you hit plateaus, and there is often a lot of noise, as external results do not align with internal struggles.
Thus, to cut a long story short, I have practiced various sports my whole life. Yet during the pandemic, I became very sedentary, gaining a lot of weight.
Until I hit the wall at the beginning of 2021 and decided I needed to get back in shape. This came from the fact that I was highly stressed as I started to juggle multiple projects at once.
But that stress, instead of making me grow, only made me more miserable!
As I started over again, I did it with no competitive effort. It only works out to stay well in the long run.
So I started to practice a sport that I've consistently practiced for twenty years, calisthenics.
As I changed my diet, worked out, and changed my lifestyle, I lost 50 pounds. I'm in shape now. I have been not even when I was in my teen years.
But there is another discovery that changed my lifestyle; it was Zone 2 training.
I found out as I researched the work of various people, particularly Howard Luks, MD.
He made me realize that a great sustainable workout leaves no pain and all gain. You can do it every day and feel better while doing it. And yet have no soreness.
This is what zone 2 training does to you.
And I thought, can we apply a zone 2 training to business?
As I think about it, and I found a working pace in the last two years, that nonetheless, the adversity keeps me going, I'm thinking more and more about applying this concept to business.
In short, thinking about a pace that, even if fast, keeps you going, makes you recover, and makes you better at what you do.
Most of all, it makes you stronger regardless of external conditions. This is, to me, what we can call "real business strength."
The ability to keep going even if there is no reward (yet) from the external world for the effort you're putting into the entrepreneurial or business endeavor.
The business world is non-linear.
You work hard for years and suddenly rip all the rewards together as if you had only been successful at the end of that period.
The best way to describe it is "success is an asynchronous and asymmetric outcome."
It's asynchronous because input/effort and outcome do not follow a linear timeline. You might struggle for years, only to succeed in a last random act.
It's asymmetric, meaning there is no linear connection between the effort you put in and the success you achieve.
External success might come much, much later, and be much larger (or smaller) than the amount of effort devoted to it!
To me, this concept (Zone 2 for Business) is still new and crystallized in my mind.
But at this point, a few principles have become clear to me to keep pushing my business while juggling multiple projects.
Build your "entrepreneurial fitness base"
Start with simpler things before you can take more risks or build more complex products.
What matters is that you get going. Over time, starting with launching a simple product or project as a solopreneur will allow you to build your "fitness base" as an entrepreneur.
You will be able to handle more complex situations for your business as it scales, giving you the confidence to take on - potentially - larger and larger entrepreneurial projects.
The great thing is that once you start building your fitness base, you'll have options to take your projects to the next level.
So unless you're content with what you have, you can always scale things up.
Start with simple things and learn to execute them well
In business, execution is critical.
Thus, you become a valuable business person if you learn to execute well. You can learn execution by working for someone else or launching your product.
In both cases, risks are limited; upsides are unbounded.
In order to do that, you need to understand what's eustress!
What is Eustress?
Eustress occurs when we experience challenges or situations that push us to grow and develop in some way.
It can be motivating and inspiring, helping us reach our goals or achieve something important.
Examples of eustress include taking on new responsibilities at work, learning a new skill, starting an exercise program, or making changes to improve your life in some way.
Eustress is a type of stress that can be beneficial and motivating. It is often caused by positive life events, such as getting married or having a baby.
Other causes include achieving goals, taking on new challenges, and feeling rewarded for hard work.
Environmental factors like good weather or being in nature can also create eustress.
Eustress is a positive form of stress that can be beneficial to individuals.
It is characterized by feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, and motivation. Common physical symptoms associated with eustress include increased energy levels, improved concentration, and enhanced performance.
Emotionally, people may experience an elevated mood or sense of optimism.
Behaviourally, they may become more productive and confidently take on new challenges.
This will enable you to:
Achieving a challenging goal
Setting and reaching ambitious goals can be an energizing experience that leads to feelings of accomplishment and pride.
Taking on new responsibilities
Accepting additional responsibility at work or in life can bring a sense of purpose, challenge, and excitement as you strive to do your best.
Learning something new
Gaining knowledge or skills through study or practice can be rewarding as it provides opportunities for personal growth and development.
Overcoming obstacles
Successfully navigating difficult situations or tasks can provide a sense of satisfaction from overcoming adversity and achieving success despite the odds being against you.
Enjoying recognition for hard work
Receiving praise from colleagues, friends, family members, or even strangers for making an extra effort to complete a task is often accompanied by positive emotions such as joy and contentment.
How do you find this sweet spot to achieve eustress?
Start with the Bud Caddel Diagram!
I wrote this a few years back and updated it in 2019 as I was transitioning my blog into a business, and it's incredibly relevant today.
Recap: In This Issue!
Business and Sports Analogy:
Running a business is akin to running a marathon; it requires sustained effort over a long period.
Building a valuable business takes time, often 5-10 years of dedicated hard work.
While strategy is important, execution constitutes the majority (95%) of business success.
Internal Motivation and Resilience:
Similar to sports, business demands internal motivation to overcome obstacles and navigate ups and downs.
External results might not immediately align with internal struggles; managing motivation is crucial.
Personal Transformation and Discovery:
Personal experiences, like overcoming weight gain and regaining fitness, led to insights about sustainable fitness practices.
Zone 2 training's sustainable workout approach translates to Zone 2 for Business in your mind.
Applying Zone 2 Training to Business:
Zone 2 training focuses on a pace that keeps you going, aids recovery, and enhances performance.
Applying this concept to business involves maintaining a pace that strengthens you regardless of external conditions.
Asynchronous and Asymmetric Success:
Business success is asynchronous and asymmetric, where input/effort doesn't correlate linearly with outcomes.
Success can be delayed, seemingly random, and disproportionate to the effort invested.
Principles for Business Success:
Build Entrepreneurial Fitness Base:
Start with simpler projects to build confidence and experience as an entrepreneur.
Progressively handle more complex situations as you build your "fitness base."
Learn to Execute Well:
Strong execution is vital for business success; it can be learned through work experience or launching your own product.
Limited risks, unlimited upsides in both scenarios.
Understanding Eustress in Business:
Eustress is beneficial stress that results from positive challenges and growth opportunities.
Examples include setting ambitious goals, taking on responsibilities, learning new skills, and overcoming obstacles.
Finding the Eustress Sweet Spot:
The Bud Caddel Diagram provides a framework to identify the balance between stress levels and performance.
Properly managed stress can lead to eustress, driving personal and business growth.
As a reminder, I wrote this a few years back and updated it in 2019 as I was transitioning my blog into a business, and it's incredibly relevant today.
Real World Case Studies
Eustress in Entrepreneurial Fitness Building:
Case: An aspiring entrepreneur decides to start a small online business selling handmade jewelry. Initially, there's a sense of excitement and motivation. She sets ambitious goals to expand her product line and reach a wider audience.
Outcome: The challenges and workload associated with running the business lead to stress, but it's eustress. She learns new skills, takes on responsibilities, and successfully grows her business over time.
Distress from Overwhelm:
Case: A seasoned business owner takes on multiple complex projects simultaneously without considering her current capacity. She is constantly overwhelmed by the workload, causing sleepless nights and anxiety.
Outcome: The overwhelming workload and constant anxiety result in distress. The entrepreneur struggles to execute effectively, leading to burnout and potential setbacks in her projects.
Eustress in Personal Transformation:
Case: An executive in a tech startup faces the stress of unhealthy weight gain during the pandemic. Motivated by a desire to regain fitness, he adopts a sustainable workout and diet plan.
Outcome: The stress of getting back in shape is eustress. The executive's journey of weight loss and improved fitness leads to personal growth and a healthier lifestyle.
Distress in Unmanaged Motivation:
Case: A startup founder begins a new venture with high expectations, expecting immediate success. When external results don't meet her expectations, she becomes demotivated and stressed.
Outcome: The founder's unrealistic expectations and reliance on external validation result in distress. Her business suffers as she loses motivation and fails to adapt to challenges.
Eustress in Strategic Execution:
Case: A young entrepreneur starts a digital marketing agency. He begins with simple client projects, gradually taking on more complex campaigns. The challenges of managing larger accounts drive him to improve his skills and processes.
Outcome: The stress associated with managing increasingly complex campaigns is eustress. It propels the entrepreneur to execute well, leading to the growth and success of his agency.
Distress in Asynchronous Success:
Case: A small business owner works tirelessly for years, investing substantial effort, but doesn't see significant external success. Frustration and financial strain build up.
Outcome: The asynchronous and asymmetric nature of business success leads to distress. The owner's inability to see immediate rewards causes stress and can even lead to business closure.
Eustress in Challenging Goals:
Case: A startup founder sets a challenging revenue target for the year. Achieving this goal would require innovative strategies and hard work.
Outcome: The stress of pursuing a challenging goal is eustress. It motivates the founder to think creatively, push boundaries, and ultimately achieve the target.
Distress in Overwhelming Complexity:
Case: A business owner takes on a project that is beyond the company's current capabilities and resources. The project becomes unmanageable, leading to chaos and missed deadlines.
Outcome: The distress caused by overwhelming complexity results in poor execution and project failure. The business owner should have initially focused on simpler tasks to build capacity gradually.
Ciao!
With ♥️ Gennaro, FourWeekMBA