Lessons from my first Triathlon

I always enjoyed exercising, but during the past summer I took on additional workouts as I prepared for the 23rd West Point Triathlon. Unlike an Ironman triathlon where the distances are extreme (swim 2.5 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles), this was comparatively “short”. The segments were an 800 meter (.49 mile) swim, 13 kilometer (13.7 mile) bike, and a 5k (3.1 mile) run.

While I was not concerned with winning the event, I did want to test myself. In fact, my first great realization was that I am not well-adjusted. At first, I thought it was about completion, not competition. That is what I told people. But as I started to get better during my training, I realized that I wanted to fight like hell out there. On race day, I was NOT allowing anyone to slow me down.

Many times I would think about the “life lessons” that are analogous to training or really hard work and dedication of any kind. So, here are my ”lessons learned” form my first triathlon:

You have to do the work (miles) yourself – some days during my training, it was rainy and miserable. Other mornings (I train very early), I just felt lazy. However, as with any worthwhile goal, I had to get out there and put in the hard work to get the desired results. If you are trying to make that sale or trying to run 3 miles for the first time, it’s not always easy or pleasant. By being persistent and doing the work or running when you don’t feel like it WILL payoff in the long term.

When it gets hard, put your head down and take it one step at a time –Most training days, I was either running or biking and I would always come across hills of varying magnitudes. There is one hill in particular on my route that begins with a tough grade and gets steeper and steeper over the course of a mile. Invariably, I put my head down and keep telling myself to just keep putting one foot in front of the other and before I knew it, I would be at the top. Have you hit any rough patches in life lately? Even though it is not always the solution sometimes you just have to put your head down, take what comes, and plow ahead one-step at a time.

Find YOUR sources of inspiration – I like to exercise and workout. But there were stages where I felt done. During those times, I would frequently read about people who really had it really tough. Most likely, whatever your goals, there are people out there who have overcome and triumphed in the face of adversity and have done what you would like to be doing. Learn from their stories and lessons when you are feeling overwhelmed.

There are countless other lessons to be taken away from extended periods of hard work, dedication, and commitment. Ultimately, if you are determined, have a clear, well defined goal, and a positive mindset, you can accomplish almost anything that you set your mind to do.

“Chance favors the prepared mind.” - Louis Pasteur

I don’t believe in “luck”. If you care to look closely, you will find that people who are “lucky” are those who are best prepared when opportunities arise. To increase your “luck factor”, there are two things you should do:

1. Prepare yourself for opportunities so that you can take advantage of them when they come.
2. Put yourself in a position that makes it easier for opportunities to come.

While both are important, the first is more important because it is what makes the difference. What’s the use of getting a lot of opportunities if you can’t take advantage of them?

At this point, most of the world knows that U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps broke the all-time record for most medals won by an Olympian. And, there is a very applicable lesson about preparation we can all learn from Phelps. You may recall that in Beijing in 2008, Phelps won one of his medals while swimming with his goggles full of water. He couldn’t see a thing and still won gold. After that race, Phelps said that while he had never competed before with water in his goggles, he had practiced that way. Bob Bowman, Phelps’ coach, made sure he had the water in the goggles experience to prepare for that scenario in Olympic competition.

When it happened in real time, Phelps’ preparation enabled him to stay calm and start counting his strokes. He knew how many strokes he needed to touch the wall and didn’t stop swimming full out until he did.

So, how can you prepare yourself for opportunities? Here are three ways to prepare yourself for future opportunities:

1. Be curious

Curiosity makes you eager to know more about the world out there. If you are curious, you won’t be satisfied with what you already know. You will want to know more. As a result, you will see more potential opportunities. It’s like being in a building with windows. The more windows the building has, the more you can see what’s out there.

2. Educate yourself

When you find something interesting, start educating yourself about it. Don’t worry if you can’t do anything about it right now. Remember, you are preparing for the future. Educate yourself in whatever it is that you find interesting. Read blogs, subscribe to magazines, watch videos, read books. Build a prepared mind that “luck” favors.

3. Build an “opportunity fund”

Warren Buffet makes sure that Berkshire Hathaway has at least $10 billion in cash in reserves. Why? So that when the opportunity comes for an attractive deal, Berkshire can immediately act on it. If they didn’t have the money, the opportunity could be gone forever. Similarly, you should prepare an “opportunity fund.” Prepare a certain amount of money that you can use to take advantage of the opportunities that come your way. Don’t let opportunities slip by just because you don’t have the cash to act on it.

So that’s how you prepare yourself for future opportunities. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Prepare yourself early and years from now people will be amazed at how “lucky” you are.

Everyone is in Sales

Reading this, you might be making some assumptions. You might be thinking, “Wait, I’m not in sales”. Salespeople make “cold calls” and “pound the pavement.” You might think ‘sales’ is a word in a salesperson’s title and believe that “they” are supposed to develop business for the organization.

You may also think that sales is not MY job because “I work in accounting or operations”. If I am even somewhat correct about any of these assumptions, then you might find this article relevant.

No matter what your job title might be,  Everyone Is In Sales! Success in sales is not defined by how much you talk but how well you listen. It’s not about sharing how great your company is but how many solutions you can bring to your customer’s business.

Selling is a part of the fundamental communications process that human beings do each day. Sales is not about gimmicks or shortcuts. It’s not about new techniques, fast talking, or misleading others. The foundation of sales is about honesty, trust, strong communications and building relationships. It is about caring for others.

If you are in accounting, you deal with people to collect money or close the books. YOU are in sales. 

If you are in operations and a problem develops, you must communicate what is going on. YOU are in sales. 

When you are talking to your boss during your review or talking to your child’s principal about their performance in school, you may be trying to communicate a certain message or ‘sell’ your point of view. YOU are in sales.

Follow where I am going with this? Once again, from the break room to the boardroom, everyone Is In Sales.

Personal Innovation

Recently, the “BUZZ” in business literature has been about innovation. However, just as important is innovation for each of us individually. It is not only companies that must innovate, but also individuals must innovate. Here are two reasons:

We are living in changing times. We now compete globally even at an individual level. This is a dramatic departure from eras when only countries and companies were competitors on the global stage. If individuals must now compete globally, then individuals, like countries and companies, must innovate to succeed. Individuals who do not innovate suffer the same fate of companies who don’t innovate: they will be left behind by competition that consistently renews itself.

We must all differentiate ourselves to avoid commoditization. Up until recently, we may have felt “safe and secure” because very few people in our environment had the same skill set. Now, individuals with the same skill set may be hundreds or thousands of miles away. Skills and knowledge can be transferred from all over the world rapidly and easily. This means that we all face the danger of our skill becoming a commodity. People around the world with the same skill set as you are suddenly within easy reach. No matter how far they are, they are actually only seconds away. They can very easily be selected to do your job, especially if they are cheaper than you.

If all this sounds scary, look at it in a different way: instead of only your immediate environment, the world is an opportunity – and what a great opportunity! But the ingredient you need to success is differentiation.

What’s so special about you that other people don’t have?

What makes you different from the others?

To answer these questions we have no choice but to innovate.

It's that time of year for thousands of Seniors across North America. Graduation!

It’s one of the greatest rights of passage and a cause for celebration!  It’s also that time when people we all know and some we have never heard of step to the podium and dispense wisdom and advice. 

 

Without question, some of this advice will be especially meaningful. In particular, consider Steve Jobs’ 2005 commencement speech("Connect the Dots") at Stanford University and Randy Pausch’s 2008 address ("We don't beat the reaper by living longer. We beat the reaper by living well.") at Carnegie Mellon University.

This year, however, my favorite so far is Maria Shriver. Take a look.

While I have never been invited to give a commencement address, I have been asked for advice by both my students and young professionals.  Here is a synopsis of what I say:

1. The real key to success is not smarts. It comes from drive, energy, passion, ambition, enthusiasm, excitement, initiative, discipline, and the confidence to keep trying again and again.

2. Don’t worry about what to do with the rest of your life. Like everyone else, you will be a different person five years from now. Instead, think about what you want to do with the next three years. Most careers are a logical progression and in many cases, a series of unplanned, opportunistic choices.

3. Relationships are important. In a romantic partner, looks are nice, brains are nice and money is nice, but character is essential. Ultimately, the same is true in all our relationships: character is the most important thing you should look for in friends, partners of any kind, employees, clients or bosses.

4. The worst thing you can do if you want to get somebody to listen to you is to criticize. As human beings, when attacked we attack back, even when we are wrong. The goal is not to be “right”, the goal is to build a relationship.