I’m a runner. Not a fast runner, and no longer a distance runner, but every day I get up and I go for a run.
I’m big on making a decision once. As in, I exercise daily. Decision made. I no longer agonize every morning on whether I have the time to squeeze in a workout, or if I FEEL like going for a run. I run. I feel better, I look better, and my headspace is freed up to focus on other decisions that come up.
I realize this is a whole post on “the business of being in business” in and of itself, but this is just the tee up for what I REALLY want to share with you today.
I hate running uphill.
And somehow, our house is situated in such a way that pretty much any route I take ends with me having to run uphill to get back.
The incline varies depending on the route, and in all fairness to the hardcore runners out there, we aren’t talking about anything super steep. But I have caught myself making route choices to avoid the steeper inclines. On Tuesday’s run I actually added almost a quarter of a mile to my distance JUST to avoid running the steepest of the little hills around my house.
Let that sit for a minute. It took me longer to complete my run because I didn’t want to do something hard.
And because running is FULL of great business lessons, and because all my synapses are firing post-run, I got to thinking:
WHAT ARE THE HILLS IN MY BUSINESS?
What is the hard work that by avoiding, I’m actually taking longer to achieve my goals?
For me, the major hill in my business is “busy-ness”- true story! I do email marketing for businesses. Like, soup-to-nuts, I write the copy, build the emails, push send, and provide reporting, analytics and analysis on the performance. I LOVE IT. And I get very caught up in those deliverables, to the detriment of the important work that will ultimately create the impact I’m dreaming of.
For instance, creating an online course to share the knowledge I’ve gained in a decade of doing this work, and empowering small business owners to grow their customer value through email marketing automation.
Or, planning and promoting workshops where I can teach GROUPS of people what I know, impacting a larger number of people than I can with my one-on-one client work.
EVEN, on a more personal mission level, writing the book that is in my heart, sharing the life lessons my kids have taught me and giving working parents tools to help them go all in on their careers AND their kids.
I share these goals with you today because by proclaiming these goals publicly, I’ll be more likely to go harder for them. I’ll make time and create the space for them in my day.
Hills suck, but I haven’t always sucked so bad at running them.
When I was training for my first (and to date, only) marathon, my sister Nikki ran with me almost every weekend. The marathon we were training for had a notorious BEAR of a hill to conquer at mile 20, and we would not arrive unprepared. She made me take the hard routes during training runs even when I didn’t want to. She gave me pointers from her own running experience that had helped her conquer similar obstacles.
And she squirted water in my mouth when I was parched.
WHO IS YOUR NIKKI?
When I was in the altMBA, I had a cohort member drop this term on me:
accountabuddy
The Erica definition: somebody you share your goals and commitments with, who will then hold you accountable to those goals while also being a buddy.
The challenge I’m extending to you today is to take some time to ponder these two questions, because when you connect them you might just achieve your goals faster. There are valuable lessons to uncover for your life and for your business!
What are the hills in your business? And who is your accountabuddy?
Bonus: if you don’t have an accountabuddy, FIND ONE!
If you’re feeling super brave, I’d love for you to share some of your answers in the comments. Or if you’re feeling more private about them, but still want to share, hit me up on Instagram. Send me a DM with your hills! I’ll be so happy to cheer you on, share tips and resources that have helped me if I’ve overcome any similar obstacles, and squirt some water in your mouth if you’re parched.