Don’t throw in that towel! Not yet! You’ve got more work to do!
I need to hear this encouragement as much as anyone else on a lot of days. Most things worth doing are going to take hard work over a long period of time.
If accomplishing amazing things was easy, then everyone would be doing it.
Many of you have been pushing hard for a long time. You feel like you need a rest, or worse, like just giving up.
Fortunately for you and me, there is a better way if you have the endurance for it.
Be a crockpot, not a microwave
We live in a culture that wants everything right now.
Microwaves are great… for food. If you’re building a business, though, do you really want a hot pocket? If you want something more substantial, it’s going to take some time!
In a world of complainers, short-term thinkers, and virality-starved fools, all it takes is a few years of repetition to outperform 99% of people at whatever thing you choose.
— Justin Welsh (@thejustinwelsh) August 26, 2023
So settle into a pace you can maintain. You cannot run a marathon at a sprint pace. You’ll burn out early, and then conclude that you’re not a marathoner.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your business be.
Patience and perseverance will pay
There will come a tipping point when your persistence pays off. It may be a while from now, but it will come. So, keep going.
Think of an ice cube: until it gets warm enough, it looks exactly the same. Once ice hits that magic melting point, you can begin to see change.
You may not have been able to see any change with all of the energy that went into the ice cube leading up to the melting point, but once the temperature has risen enough, a puddle starts to form.
Your business will function the same way. You’ll eventually see change if you steadily invest your energy in the right places.
I have worked my butt off for 25 years…. now I am ‘An Overnight Success’. ~
Progress requires action
In order to make forward progress, you’ll need to identify some of the tasks you need to do repeatedly and doggedly. Here are two practical things you should do today, and they’ll only take you 15-20 minutes total.
Before you start: set a timer for 20 minutes and turn off all other distractions so you can focus deeply.
- Take time to think about this question: “What step(s) can you take every single day (or week) that would take you one step closer to building the business you want?”
- Pick one or two of the things you come up with and commit right now to do them. Every. Single. Day (or week).
I’ll share two of my own.
- Every single week, I’m committed to writing content like what you’re currently reading to encourage and challenge my readers to grow their businesses.
- Every day, I’m committed to exercising my coaching skills by helping new and struggling business owners in some small business forums I’m a member of. I don’t get to end the day without helping someone else.
How this will make you money
If you’re going to build a business that is going to last, then you need to settle in for the long haul.
Most of you are hard chargers and high achievers. You’re no stranger to hard work.
But if you want to stay in the game and not burn out, then you’ve got to find your marathon pace. Your family, your health, and even the longevity and profitability of your business depend on it.
Yes, you are going to have to do hard work over a long period. Over time, however, you will build momentum in your business, and that will begin go show itself in increasing revenues and profits.
Keep showing up! Lay a new brick every day. There is no easy button.
But every time you read the fable of the tortoise and the hare, who wins?
To thriving,
Zach
