3 Lessons For Success in Running and Business

Have you ever attended an event that just left you on a high for days?! I had this feeling after attending Oiselle‘s first “Bird Camp,” a five day running camp in Bend, Oregon in 2014. The camp impacted me so intensely that it was all I could think about. There’s something about being fully immersed in a culture of growth and learning that creates a shift in mindset. I’ve had that same feeling since leaving Beachbody Summit (our yearly national coaching conference) in New Orleans on Sunday. The three day weekend was jam-packed with inspiring speakers, events and workouts. There’s really nothing like being surrounded by your teammates as well as 20,000+ other people who are motivated to make positive change the lives of others, as well as their own.

I won’t go into the details of Summit. I’m going to be creating a separate blog for my coaching, as I want to educate and help coaches succeed in this business. Sharing my journey as a coach and what has helped me become successful is something I’m passionate about, but I also know that most of you came to this blog to read about running and fitness! If you’re interested in hearing more about the business side of all of this, look for that blog coming soon! In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning about how you can join my growing team as a coach, please reach out! 

Instead, I want to share with you some of the lessons I learned from the speakers. We heard from top Beachbody coaches (top coaches earn over $1M a year), top trainer and social media marketing strategist Chalene Johnson, and renowned motivational speakers Darren Hardy and Brendon Burchard, among others. These lessons can be applied to various aspect of life – your running, your overall fitness and health, your job, your business.

1. Success Begins with a Decision. I kept joking throughout the weekend, “All I have to do is decide and I’ll be a top coach!” It sounds SO unrealistic right? I’m just going to use The Secret and achieve all my wildest dreams! Or, I’m going to decide to qualify for Boston and I will! Honestly, this was the theme of the weekend and probably the one that is truly hardest to grasp. But literally every speaker (and I heard at least 40 people speak) mentioned this concept in some way. What it comes down to is BELIEF that you can do it. First and foremost, you need to push those doubts of your mind “I’m not fit enough,” “I’m not organized enough,” “I’m not a morning person,” “I’m too busy,” “I’m not creative enough,” “I don’t know anything about sales,” “I’m not genetically predisposed to being a good runner (pretty sure you’ve heard me say this one!)” and DECIDE that you are going to achieve your goal, whatever it is! Your mindset is the most important predictor of success. We’ve all heard it – Believe you can and you will. Believe you can’t and you won’t.
2. Learn From the Best, but be Yourself. Yes, it makes sense to look up to people who have done well in your area of interest and to learn from them, but you cannot simply copy them and expect to achieve their level of success. It simply does not work. Ever see what a great runner is doing for her workout on Instagram and try do to the same one? Top athletes are coached individually for a reason – we all have our own strengths, weaknesses, backgrounds and natural talents. We cannot simply copy someone else. If you’re a runner, this is a sure way to get injured or to end up burnt out, overwhelmed or confused. If you’re in business, this is a sure way to repel people as no one like inauthenticity. Your story is what draws people in. Listen to the advice your mom gave you growing up and BE YOURSELF.
3. Success is Earned Through Hard Work. There’s no secret. There’s no magic pill. There’s no quick fix. If you want success, you need to show up every day, when it’s easy and fun, and more importantly, when it’s really, really hard. Anyone can go out for a run on a cool, yet sunny day, along the coast with friends. But successful people also show up at 5 a.m. in the dark, alone, and do their speed workout when they really, really would rather be in their warm bed. Top coaches show up every day and do the work they know they need to do, even when it scares them. You can still be a runner and you can definitely still be a coach if you don’t show up every day and you do the work when it’s easy, but you won’t ever come close to your potential this way. As Darren Hardy said, “Success is earned one day at a time.”

I’m still reeling a bit from everything I learned, and honestly when I went through my notes to write this post, I could have come up with 10 lessons! But these were the ones that stuck out to me the most. I’m looking forward to making some changes and tackling both my running and my business with revived enthusiasm.

Which of these lessons is hardest for you to implement? What do you think is the #1 indicator of success?