The long, steady effort...

A long, steady effort can take you far in areas where you aren’t particularly good. It’s something I’ve noticed many times in my own life. I don’t have to start at full speed or be the best from day one. If I find a pace I can sustain and keep going, I can still end up doing reasonably well.

It got me thinking about my time in the military. I spent a year in the Royal Life Guards, standing guard for the Queen. Yes, there are pictures of me in a bearskin hat and the lot. You’re bloody well not seeing them here. But there’s something else from back then I’d like to tell you about.

The long, steady effort on a run

I’ve never been good at running. Yet I did quite decently over long distances. When we had to run ten kilometres, for example, I’d found the pace I knew I could maintain all the way.

It was the maximum I could sustain over that distance without making it unnecessarily hard on myself. So I started at that pace. That meant I was near the back at the start while others set off at full speed and pushed one another.

It took some mental strength to watch the pack disappear ahead of me. But I kept going. Around halfway, I’d passed the first third, who had run out of steam after starting too fast and using too much energy.

By the time I’d run around 80 per cent of the route, I’d passed more than half. Over the final stretch, I could often work my way up to finish in roughly the top 35 per cent. Those are my approximate impressions of how it went, but the point is that I did fine even though I wasn’t a good runner and never expected to win.

Three kilometres I actually run

I’ve done something similar with my weight. I could probably stand to lose ten or fifteen kilos. I like food, wine and enjoying myself, and I’m not particularly interested in sport. I don’t even want to watch it on television. I couldn’t care less about football.

So I’ve tried to adjust things gradually. If I felt I was getting a little too fat, I ate a little less. If it got too much, I ran a little more. At the time of the video, I’m running around three kilometres in the morning.

When I tell others, they sometimes laugh and say they can run much further. So can I, if I have to. But three kilometres is an effort I can sustain and actually do without waking up thinking: Oh no, now I have to go out and run ten kilometres.

I find that some people start with a much bigger effort and keep it up for a couple of months. Then they lose motivation, get injured or use the weather as an excuse. To me, the most important thing is getting out of the door. One kilometre can be fine too.

If I don’t run, I have sit-ups, back exercises and other exercises I do instead. That’s my own way of keeping something going. I won’t become Mr Fit, but it helps me avoid letting everything slide.

A pace you can sustain as an entrepreneur

I think it’s a good strategy in areas where you don’t have a particular talent. It might be running, maths tests or something in your life as an entrepreneur. Find a solid effort you can sustain, and let it work over time. Also read Skab din egen succes on finding your own way and continuing to work towards what you want.

Where you’re really good, of course you can shine and go full throttle. But in areas where you aren’t so good, a steady effort can take you further than you might imagine.

Perhaps you can end up in the top 20 to 25 per cent, even though you’d otherwise be in the middle of the pack or further down. It isn’t a precise formula. It’s my experience of what it can mean to keep going instead of starting hard and stopping again.

Keep going and keep going at a pace you can sustain. I’ve often found that a quiet, solid effort has taken me far in areas where I was actually mediocre. Perhaps that thought can be useful to you. Have a fantastic weekend.

If there are things you aren’t so good at, keep plugging away! Best wishes, Martin