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"You can't break tackles at marathon pace"

Andy Black

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"You can't break tackles at marathon pace."
(Blaise Brosnan)

Yesterday I was on week 2 of Blaise's 10 week Advanced Management Development Programme. He dropped so many nuggets in the three hours. This particular nugget resonated with me as I've always thought business was more like sprinting than running a marathon, where we get into a rhythm of going flat out and then recovering/resting. Yet we keep hearing the adage "It's a marathon not a sprint". Thanks Blaise for clearing that up for me.


It's not a marathon, it's a series of sprints.

Don't feel guilty about changing pace.

You need to stretch, and recover.





TRANSCRIPTION

People say business is a marathon not a sprint.

What they mean by that is that you got to be in it for the long haul, but as Blaise Brosnan said, "You can't break tackles at marathon pace".

You have to go flat out to break a tackle, but you can't go flat out all the time so you're going to have to do a series of sprints.

"Good things happen when you move at pace" but you can't always be moving at pace.

You need to push yourself but then you also need to recover, and those periods of recovery and time off, time-outs, change of pace - don't feel guilty over them.

They prevent burn out but also they allow your brain to catch up with what you've done.
 
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Last edited:

obrian

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"You can't break tackles at marathon pace."
(Blaise Brosnan)

Yesterday I was on week 2 of Blaise's 10 week Advanced Management Development Programme. He dropped so many nuggets in the three hours. This particular nugget resonated with me as I've always thought business was more like sprinting than running a marathon, where we get into a rhythm of going flat out and then recovering/resting. Yet we keep hearing the adage "It's a marathon not a sprint". Thanks Blaise for clearing that up for me.


It's not a marathon, it's a series of sprints.

Don't feel guilty about changing pace.

You need to stretch, and recover.





TRANSCRIPTION

People say business is a marathon not a sprint.

What they mean by that is that you got to be in it for the long haul, but as Blaise Brosnan said, "You can't break tackles at marathon pace".

You have to go flat out to break a tackle, but you can't go flat out all the time so you're going to have to do a series of sprints.

"Good things happen when you move at pace" but you can't always be moving at pace.

You need to push yourself but then you also need to recover, and those periods of recovery and time off, time-outs, change of pace - don't feel guilty over them.

They prevent burn out but also they allow your brain to catch up with what you've done.
This is classic
 

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You need to push yourself but then you also need to recover, and those periods of recovery and time off, time-outs, change of pace - don't feel guilty over them.

They prevent burn out but also they allow your brain to catch up with what you've done.

Thanks for this @Andy Black

I still have lingering guilt when I'm not "working" i.e. doing tasks. It's still leftover from years of 9-to-5.

Sometimes the most important thing to do in my business is to think on what the next move needs to be, to formulate a plan to get there, to do research & development into new things. These are things that don't seem like "work", or things that I can spend a whole day doing and feel like I didn't accomplish anything.

And it's hard to think when you're going balls to the wall all day long.
 

Andy Black

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Sometimes the most important thing to do in my business is to think on what the next move needs to be, to formulate a plan to get there, to do research & development into new things. These are things that don't seem like "work", or things that I can spend a whole day doing and feel like I didn't accomplish anything.

And it's hard to think when you're going balls to the wall all day long.

"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it."
(Henry Ford)
 
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"You can't break tackles at marathon pace."
(Blaise Brosnan)

Yesterday I was on week 2 of Blaise's 10 week Advanced Management Development Programme. He dropped so many nuggets in the three hours. This particular nugget resonated with me as I've always thought business was more like sprinting than running a marathon, where we get into a rhythm of going flat out and then recovering/resting. Yet we keep hearing the adage "It's a marathon not a sprint". Thanks Blaise for clearing that up for me.


It's not a marathon, it's a series of sprints.

Don't feel guilty about changing pace.

You need to stretch, and recover.





TRANSCRIPTION

People say business is a marathon not a sprint.

What they mean by that is that you got to be in it for the long haul, but as Blaise Brosnan said, "You can't break tackles at marathon pace".

You have to go flat out to break a tackle, but you can't go flat out all the time so you're going to have to do a series of sprints.

"Good things happen when you move at pace" but you can't always be moving at pace.

You need to push yourself but then you also need to recover, and those periods of recovery and time off, time-outs, change of pace - don't feel guilty over them.

They prevent burn out but also they allow your brain to catch up with what you've done.
I've been experiencing this sense of guilt for not keeping up a lot. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy, oftenly contrasting your current lacks against your past achievements.

In my case, it's more specifically perceived in the amount of effort that I put in determinate times of the month against other more slow-paced times when I consider myself underproductive. I have no source of capital other than my own, so I have to work on the side to further fund my businesses and learning. When I feel I don't work enough I think something like "how can't I handle it all? I've done much more before, this can't be my maximum output'.

Then I try to go jack of all trades and burn myself out missing important opportunities on the way.

Bottomline advice from what I get: Read the OP again and don't feel guilty for leaving things behind over your important stuff, those that make you reach your goals. Know your limits, and take advantage of your times of strength to break through your hardest most rewarding to do's.

And how to know when is time to sprint? When is time to go all for it? I've been applying the pareto principle to streamline my processes. I believe it can help me discover where is that most of the effort needs to be put. What would be your take on this? How to distribute that limited energy?
 

Andy Black

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I've been experiencing this sense of guilt for not keeping up a lot. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy, oftenly contrasting your current lacks against your past achievements.

In my case, it's more specifically perceived in the amount of effort that I put in determinate times of the month against other more slow-paced times when I consider myself underproductive. I have no source of capital other than my own, so I have to work on the side to further fund my businesses and learning. When I feel I don't work enough I think something like "how can't I handle it all? I've done much more before, this can't be my maximum output'.

Then I try to go jack of all trades and burn myself out missing important opportunities on the way.

Bottomline advice from what I get: Read the OP again and don't feel guilty for leaving things behind over your important stuff, those that make you reach your goals. Know your limits, and take advantage of your times of strength to break through your hardest most rewarding to do's.

And how to know when is time to sprint? When is time to go all for it? I've been applying the pareto principle to streamline my processes. I believe it can help me discover where is that most of the effort needs to be put. What would be your take on this? How to distribute that limited energy?
Yes, and a great book talking about doing the work that gives the best return is "80/20 Sales & Marketing" by Perry Marshall.

"The ONE Thing" is also a great book for helping prioritise.
 

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"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it."
(Henry Ford)
"You can't break tackles at marathon pace."
(Blaise Brosnan)

Yesterday I was on week 2 of Blaise's 10 week Advanced Management Development Programme. He dropped so many nuggets in the three hours. This particular nugget resonated with me as I've always thought business was more like sprinting than running a marathon, where we get into a rhythm of going flat out and then recovering/resting. Yet we keep hearing the adage "It's a marathon not a sprint". Thanks Blaise for clearing that up for me.


It's not a marathon, it's a series of sprints.

Don't feel guilty about changing pace.

You need to stretch, and recover.





TRANSCRIPTION

People say business is a marathon not a sprint.

What they mean by that is that you got to be in it for the long haul, but as Blaise Brosnan said, "You can't break tackles at marathon pace".

You have to go flat out to break a tackle, but you can't go flat out all the time so you're going to have to do a series of sprints.

"Good things happen when you move at pace" but you can't always be moving at pace.

You need to push yourself but then you also need to recover, and those periods of recovery and time off, time-outs, change of pace - don't feel guilty over them.

They prevent burn out but also they allow your brain to catch up with what you've done.
Balance is one of the hardest places to achieve....Either we sprint or don't move no happy middle ground....Achieving balance is key.
 
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Nicoknowsbest

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It's not a marathon, it's a series of sprints.

Don't feel guilty about changing pace.

You need to stretch, and recover.

First off, thanks for the reminder @Andy Black.

This video is a great lesson.

While I get the logic behind it and fully agree, I catch myself week by week doing the opposite.

I am thinking that if I could sprint a marathon, I'd go much further much faster.

This will unavoidably lead to a total crash sooner than later though.

Some days, I have to pay tribute to the pace I am going and only then I realize how much better my brain works if I give it some time to process everything, instead of stashing more into it.

I am currently trying to get this right.

At the end of the day, what's the rush about?


Balance is one of the hardest places to achieve....Either we sprint or don't move no happy middle ground....Achieving balance is key.

100% agreed.

My problem right now is that I am a man of extremes. It's either full speed or no speed.

Wondering what a good way to force myself to step back a little bit is...
 

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First off, thanks for the reminder @Andy Black.

This video is a great lesson.

While I get the logic behind it and fully agree, I catch myself week by week doing the opposite.

I am thinking that if I could sprint a marathon, I'd go much further much faster.

This will unavoidably lead to a total crash sooner than later though.

Some days, I have to pay tribute to the pace I am going and only then I realize how much better my brain works if I give it some time to process everything, instead of stashing more into it.

I am currently trying to get this right.

At the end of the day, what's the rush about?




100% agreed.

My problem right now is that I am a man of extremes. It's either full speed or no speed.

Wondering what a good way to force myself to step back a little bit is...
That is a valid problem, and I catch myself too often doing the same.

If you find a solution or an answer, I would really appreciate you sharing your learnings!

How have others faced this (mindset)problems?
 

Andy Black

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Sprint, then rest. Sprint, then rest. Where rest means moving slowly or fast at something completely different?

Nothing wrong with being completely still every now and then too.

Two years ago I went for a stroll every evening. It really helped me move faster.
 
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Andy Black

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A bump, for the hell of it...
 

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"You can't break tackles at marathon pace."
(Blaise Brosnan)

Yesterday I was on week 2 of Blaise's 10 week Advanced Management Development Programme. He dropped so many nuggets in the three hours. This particular nugget resonated with me as I've always thought business was more like sprinting than running a marathon, where we get into a rhythm of going flat out and then recovering/resting. Yet we keep hearing the adage "It's a marathon not a sprint". Thanks Blaise for clearing that up for me.


It's not a marathon, it's a series of sprints.

Don't feel guilty about changing pace.

You need to stretch, and recover.





TRANSCRIPTION

People say business is a marathon not a sprint.

What they mean by that is that you got to be in it for the long haul, but as Blaise Brosnan said, "You can't break tackles at marathon pace".

You have to go flat out to break a tackle, but you can't go flat out all the time so you're going to have to do a series of sprints.

"Good things happen when you move at pace" but you can't always be moving at pace.

You need to push yourself but then you also need to recover, and those periods of recovery and time off, time-outs, change of pace - don't feel guilty over them.

They prevent burn out but also they allow your brain to catch up with what you've done.

Hi Andy, this is quite interesting indeed.. Would it be possible for you to give us a concrete example? Something like what do your sprints look like in terms of work load, duration and purpose, and the same thing for your rest time. Or any other way to put a real-world example. I think this would be really valuable.

I feel like this approach goes a bit against consistency, but I'm probably looking at the micro consistency (work 6 days a week, non stop) instead of at the macro consistency, which probably benefits better from this.
 

Andy Black

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Curious what your thoughts are @MTF.
Wanna know what I think? Most of the time, I'm the tortoise taking it one step at a time.

But, I sprinted all of 2020 on several fronts. The successes stacked up. Now I'm tired... really tired. So, I'm resting and starting to think about planning for 2021. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the idea of being grateful. I clear up all unfinished business; then I do my next year planning. It takes me from Thanksgiving through New Years to get done with the process.
 

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100% agree. I'd add that sometimes it's difficult to discern between sprinting and moving more slowly. You believe that you're working within your capacity but you've been actually sprinting for so long that the exhausted you feels like your default state.

BTW, I have no idea whatsoever about football and at first, had no idea what breaking tackles was. Still don't know well lol.
 
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Deleted50669

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I'm trying to understand what the "tackle" is that must be broken by sprinting. Beating competition to the market? Having difficult conversations with investors? Sometimes rushing is counterproductive in those scenarios. But it'd be nice for someone more experienced to shed some light on what "breaking a tackle" means in the context of entrepreneurship.
 
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WJK

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100% agree. I'd add that sometimes it's difficult to discern between sprinting and moving more slowly. You believe that you're working within your capacity but you've been actually sprinting for so long that the exhausted you feels like your default state.

BTW, I have no idea whatsoever about football and at first, had no idea what breaking tackles was. Still don't know well lol.
That's me. I couldn't figure out why I was so tired -- until I made a list of all the stuff that we did in 2020. That list sure gave me a clue. If we had finished only one item on that list, it would have been a banner year. It's time to slow down and take stock of where we are.
Also, what are we going to do now? What important issues can we tackle next? Do we have the energy and the will to do more? And why? Do we really want to climb the next mountain? Do we need to do make that climb? It's that classic fork in the road in our lives.
 

Andy Black

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BTW, I have no idea whatsoever about football and at first, had no idea what breaking tackles was. Still don't know well lol.
Ah. That never occurred to me. I imagine a rugby player or American Football player with a ball under one arm trying to get past someone.

Like so:

1605952814195.png


I'm trying to understand what the "tackle" is that must be broken by sprinting. Beating competition to the market? Having difficult conversations with investors? Sometimes rushing is counterproductive in those scenarios. But it'd be nice for someone more experienced to shed some light on what "breaking a tackle" means in the context of entrepreneurship.

An impending deadline. "Ship X by Y date."

And/or this:

What important issues can we tackle next?
 

Andy Black

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WJK

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I've just remembered this thread. You may think it contradicts the thinking that we can’t break tackles at marathon pace. I don’t think it does...
So many times I don't feel the progress. It's like being a brick layer, placing one brick at a time as perfectly as possible. You don't look to the sides, up, or down. Your total concentration is on the one brick you are laying. Then, one day, you look up to find that you've built a castle up into the heavens.

And then comes that old age question -- what do you do then? After a lifetime of laboring at perfectly placing your bricks, the building job of your life is finished. My current idea of the ideal life is totally different from when I was young and starting out. None of my former answers have held up over the years.
 

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