A phrase my high school cross country and track coach used over and over again is, “Don’t worry about the results. Focus on the process and the result will take care of itself.” He would say this when I’d stress about shaving ten seconds to qualify for State Finals. Instead, he made me focus on running my goal amount of miles every week and hitting the right times during interval workouts. After six months of focused training, I was dramatically faster without unnecessary stress.
This message has been playing in my head like a broken record for a decade, because there’s a dozen ways it plays into other parts of life, including working on a startup.
If you’re working on a startup, then you’ve probably asked yourself these questions:
- Will I get X amount of funding?
- When will I hit X amount of users?
- What’s my app store ranking?
The list continues for a while, which can drive you crazy. While being goal-oriented and data-driven is helpful, it’s beneficial to stop worrying about the results. Instead, focus on making the product, creating the marketing, and making new connections. Ask yourself what your process looks like and how you’ll stay on task.
Make a road map
Making my road map involved plotting out how many miles needed to be run every week. Yours could be the amount of code you need to write every week or how many leads you need to contact.
Reinforce the positive habits
As a runner, eating healthy and sleeping well make a world of difference. As a writer, I focus on writing every night before bed, even if it’s just word vomit. Figure out what makes you good at what you do, and then repeat it.
Stay driven
Staying driven means trusting the process. After ten miles of a twelve mile workout, I’ve wondered, “Do these last two miles really matter?” The answer is yes. If you’ve planned to practice pitching once a week, then don’t skip your weekly pitching practice. The results won’t be apparent immediately, but you’ll get there. Just have a bit of faith in the process.