Running a Race & Running an Online Business Are Kind of the Same
Happy Sunday everyone! (At least it's still Sunday in my little corner of the world.)
Today I ran a 5-mile race around our beautiful Valley Forge National Historical Park. (Some of you may have heard of this park from U.S. history class, as it has some significance in the birth of our nation.) It's a beautiful park, and I am grateful to live just a couple of miles from it.
As I was doing the race, it made me realize how similar it is to running an online business. (Get it? Running an online business? Running? Get it???)
Training
The first thing I noticed today is that many people sign up to run the race, but you can immediately tell the ones who didn't actually train for it.
They are so excited, and they think it's going to be really easy, but they realize about 1/4 of a mile in that this might be a little harder than they thought.
Oh, they'll still finish. (Usually)
But it might take them a little longer.
This reminds me of the people that come into Wealthy Affiliate expecting to make money right away, before doing any of the training.
They just want to go from point A to point B without all the work in between.
(By the way, this wouldn't actually be that fun. Think about it.)
Obstacles
Another similarity is the obstacles that you face along the way.
Obstacles slow you down, but they do not have to take you down.
When you're running and you have this big hill to climb, you generally can't run as fast. (I even walk some of them because I can walk them faster than I can run them.)
Or, you might get a side cramp. (OUCH. That happened to me today.)
In online business, you might get a Google slap. Or your email might get shut down. Or your traffic slows down.
There are tons of things that can happen.
That's OK.
It's a part of the journey.
Slow down, breathe, and then pick back up again when things are settled.
The Finish Line
Once you get closer to the Finish Line, it's exciting! You've finally reached your goal!
All the time and effort you put in to get there...
(Well, kind of. I've been a little lazy about running lately. lol)
Once you cross, you are excited for about 1.2 seconds.
Then you know what happens?
You say to yourself, "Wow! That was HARD! When can I do it again??"
You see, there is never a finish.
When you have a goal that you accomplish, there will be another one right behind it.
That's true for online businesses too.
You reach a goal, and a new one will be right behind it. Will it be difficult with obstacles? Hell yea! And you better be happy about that.
Do you know why?
If everything was easy...
It. Would. Be. So. Boring.
Stop to Smell the Roses
Whenever I'm in a race, I love taking pictures. I want to capture the most important moments.
I'll even stop running to take pictures.
I know it messes up my time, but I don't care. (I'm not fast enough to care anyway.)
Because I think it's important to appreciate where you are and how far you've come.
Always make sure you take time to stop and smell the roses.
When I'm running, I appreciate the fact that my body is able to run.
When I'm working on my online business, I appreciate the fact that we have incredible technology and tools right at our fingertips.
I appreciate so much that Kyle and Carson create this site for us to help us create our own online businesses. If you just think about everything we have, it's almost unbelievable.
Before you go on a complaining rampage about this or that not working, really stop and see all that you have. We live in incredible times.
Of course, you want to fix your issues, but keep them in perspective. This goes for your body too.
Step By Step
The biggest comparison between running a race and running an online business (or doing any worthy goal, really) is that it gets done step by step.
You put one foot in front of the other.
Then you put one foot in front of the other again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
Until you cross the finish line.
And then you find a new race and do it all again.
That's the journey that we're on.
Have fun with it.
- Christina
(P.S. It's not easy to take pictures while running, which is why sometimes they're a little crooked. ;) )
Recent Comments
24
The London Marathon was ran yesterday.
I admire the participants. Everyone had a story to tell and a reason why they were running.
Your analogy of an online business and running a race is spot on.
Though there were record timings to be broken, many participants were just happy to be part of the race (not everyone qualified) and, to cross the finishing line no matter what.
There were setbacks as with an online business however, they kept on pressing forward to the finishing line.
Thanks for this timely post Christina!
The London Marathon would be such an awesome thing to run! (Kind of. Also torturous. haha)
Thanks for your comment. You got it exactly right!
- Christina
It does not matter if the pictures are perfect as long as you keep taking them for all to see your progress.
You finished the run, another success.
The online run is similar.
Have a break and smell the roses is a must.
When you continue the online run again you will be refreshed with an open mind to success while others will become tunnel blind and lose their way on the internet.
Tom.
I like your analogy. I so agree with making our way ‘step by step’ No matter what our journey entails or where it takes us.
Looks like it was a beautiful day for a run!
One foot in front of the other, little by little...
It was chilly and cloudy, but it was perfect weather for running!
- Christina
Super analogies! Running an actual race is very much like building an online business. Definitely, training is important to run a race, go hiking or anything requiring knowledge of a course to do that, yet our business needs learning also to finish correctly and profitable.
Thanks for the great post Christina.
Bill
Great post, Christina! Your comparison is bang on.. :) Your post is a reminder that if we do the training at WA and really focus on building out our site properly, that our websites will become seasoned "athletes" in the long run..
Good analogy Christina.
It took me a long time to appreciate the length of time this takes. Feel I'm on the right track this time. 9 months in with 130 posts. I'll stop and small the roses, then get back to work for another 9 months and see where it takes me.
It does take a good deal of time. So does anything worthy.
I also like to compare an online business to weight loss. That's another area where we want to go from Point A to Point B without all the work in between. But it just doesn't work that way. You have to put the work in, and be patient because it takes time.
But, isn't it worth it in the end?
- Christina
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Good for you! Thanks for sharing this great accomplishment with us.
C & P
Thanks so much!
- Christina