Thoughts on the Run

1:49:00 – 10 miles

Tim Tebow. I told myself I wouldn’t write about him but I have to. This is our famed quarterback of the Denver Broncos. He’s famed for letting people know about his faith. He takes 5 seconds at the end of a game to drop to a knee and say a prayer. That apparently is not football-like. It makes people uncomfortable and they can’t see what he’s talking about. When you watch a music awards show and who’s the first one thanked in the acceptance speech? God. But that’s okay.

In football and sports, the scoreboard provides the final verdict to determine the winner. Along the way you can point to what got them there: strong defense, solid passing game, protection in the pocket. There are full time people that have sole responsibility of crunching the numbers and analyzing why the game went one way or another.

You watch Tim Tebow play and you see very little of that. He’s not a consistent passer, the defense are aware he can run, and his throwing looks like my 8 year old’s. Granted, a quarterback can look better if his team would catch the ball.

What he does have consistency in is what he believes. He believes he can win and he believes in a higher power. Whether you have the same religious views as him or not, that type of consistent positive energy and excitement is contagious. His team will follow the guy off the side of a cliff right now. They might not be able to explain it, but they know it’s something good.

Much can be said in the world of business. It all comes back to having a consistent message and driving force. Whatever decisions or projects you decide for your team to work on, they should all support that message. In my work, my team focuses on enhancing the user experience when buying online. Every project and task we have is about making buying from us better then everyone else. Making the site faster, moving buttons, using colors that allow people to know where to go, and creating tools that keeps them coming back … all projects that support our goal.

In running, the way to be successful is to run often. It allows your body to get used to the rhythm and adapt to the feeling. Find a goal and create training plans, diet, and sleeping all pieces to achieving that goal. My goal is to run the Leadville 100 Mile Trail Run and the pieces to support that include running 30-50 miles a week, not eating processed foods or sugar, and sleeping at least 6 hours a night. I can make each even more specific and breakdown a timeline for them. All of it drives towards the goal.

So whether you win football games by saying a prayer or are aiming to complete a race, keep the goal consistent. More focus, in sports or business, will allow you to be more successful.