Issue 054: Do You Have What it Takes?
Have you ever imagined running 26 miles in a matter of hours? Or maybe you have accomplished this impressive feat.
Over the weekend, I watched my son Josh finish his first marathon, the Gettysburg North-South Marathon. Before the race started, you could feel the runners’ anxiety, tension, and excitement in the air. Over 400 marathoners bounced up and down, sprinted, and stretched while their pit crew (supporters) offered words of encouragement. And a round of shouts and cheers erupted when the race started.
Although there were small reminders that the pandemic was still lingering, excitement overshadowed it. The crowd showered shouts of hope, goodwill, and encouragement on every runner as they passed the halfway loop onto the second half of the race. As I snapped photos of the first three runners crossing the finish line, inspiration for this week’s Bounce-Up Chronicles hit me. A runner’s strategic plan can be helpful in any business.
Marathon Basics for Business
Prep. Business and life are unpredictable. How can we prepare today for the unexpected events life will throw your way? Have we taken preventive steps to makes your business resilient? Are you prepping today for tomorrow’s success? We can’t hack our way to sustainable success. You can only get there through the prep work.
Stretch. Runners stretch their muscles as far as they can for flexibility and to gain more range of motion (not that I know--this is what I’ve heard). How can you stretch your brainstorming power, skills, and business endeavors?
Mindset. Mindset determines the outcome. The first-place runner crossed the finished line and fell to his knees, rubbing his legs. The second-place marathoner crossed and ran to the water table to hold himself upright. Number three got violently ill right after crossing the line. Mindset matters the most. Before the race, Josh shared he wanted to keep around a 7-minute mile pace. Tracking his progress with the RaceJoy app, he held to that pace until mile 19. As the minutes ticked by, I knew he hit an obstacle. One of the spectators I met called it the “20-mile wall.” When he ran across that finish line, I saw flickers of pain, relief, and joy etched in his face. My sunglasses hid the tears of concern, love, and gratitude. If you’ve read my book, you know Josh spent seven years of his childhood not being able to run due to a bone disease.
Community. Being part of the running community during the marathon cheering for other runners and watching them reach their goals was pure inspiration. When I posted on social that Josh had leg cramps, the replies and DMs from my community of friends and colleagues were overwhelming and heartwarming. As a community, we can do so much more. Thank you for being part of my community.
Recently, I felt like I was treading water and getting nowhere. Business nor life is about a sprint. It’s a marathon.
Bounce-Up Momentum Builders
What are you willing to do today to reach tomorrow’s goal?
How are you preparing for unpredictable events life will throw your way?
What do you need to do to build a community of supporters?
Mj Happenings
Honored to be a guest on the Change Your Mindset Podcast with Peter Margaritis, CSP. How fun that my episode Bouncing Up Instead of Bouncing Back was released this week.
Twenty Won book update: Hit #1 in three categories and #10 in Women in Business.
Bounce-Up book update: Hit its first anniversary on Saturday!
Until next time, Power-Up, Play-Up, and Bounce-Up!
Mj
P.S. For my website makeover, I need photos (taken with a camera) of you holding one of my books, please. TIA
