How does the “checkpoint mentality” help entrepreneurs achieve long-term success without burnout?

What can running a marathon teach you about setting realistic goals and overcoming business failure?

Sahil Bloom reveals why life is a marathon, not a sprint, in 8 Lessons from a Marathon. Discover how to embrace adversity, set “A, B, and C goals,” and master the art of delayed gratification to unlock sustainable growth in business and life. Stop sprinting toward burnout—learn how to pace your success by exploring Bloom’s 8 transformational lessons below, and start running your own race today.

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In 490 BCE, Pheidippides, a Greek soldier, ran from the plain of Marathon to the city of Athens to deliver a message announcing the defeat of an invading Persian army. Upon completing his mission, he collapsed and died. Indeed, Pheidippides’s feat offers a useful metaphor: Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Entrepreneur, writer, and fitness enthusiast Sahil Bloom examines the lessons a marathon road race — a 26-mile [42-km] test of stamina and endurance — can impart.

Take-Aways

• Your goal is not the finish line.
• Before starting any new project, set yourself an A, B, and C goal.
• Embrace adversity.
• Tackle every project one baby step at a time.
• Prepare by familiarizing yourself with as many unknown factors as possible.
• With the right preparation, your performance on D-Day could surpass your expectations.
• If your goals don’t seem overly ambitious, you’re not stepping out of your comfort zone.
• Run your own race.

Summary

Your goal is not the finish line.

When entrepreneur Sahil Bloom finished a marathon road race in a time of 2:53:38, he was initially disappointed. Although he had run four minutes faster than his previous time, he had been hoping to shave a further four minutes off his personal best. Nevertheless, he learned to appreciate the result, because he realized that his time was “just a checkpoint, not the destination.”

“When you embrace…checkpoint mentality, missed goals can be a blessing, rather than a curse.”

To succeed in life, play the long game. Achieving a goal isn’t a conclusion; the goal is merely a touchstone that lets you know how you’re performing. Often, falling short of a goal provides deeper enlightenment than surpassing a goal.

Before starting any new project, set yourself an A, B, and C goal.

As Bloom began his race, he hoped to run a time of 2:45. Alas, he was running into a strong headwind. As the race progressed and his body grew weary, he realized his A goal was overly ambitious. Bloom shifted his mindset and focused on his B goal of 2:49. But by the 20th mile, cramp had set in. If he continued to shoot for his B goal, he risked a long-term injury. Instead, he aimed for his C goal — to set a new personal best (sub 2:57:31). He ran more conservatively with shorter strides, and ultimately beat his C goal by four minutes.

Embrace adversity.

“Happiness is a byproduct of struggle.” It springs from the delayed gratification of working hard to achieve a difficult feat. People who experience the most joy relish the hard work of overcoming challenges. When you postpone gratification and embrace adversity, you’ll discover happiness as you make progress.

Tackle every project one baby step at a time.

A project might seem daunting at the outset, but the only way to make headway is simply to begin, take one step at a time, and build a strong foundation upon which to flourish.

“Extraordinary results are simply the macro result of tens, hundreds, or thousands of tiny daily actions. Small things become big things.”

When training for a marathon, you must start with the basics and build from there. In the three months leading up to his marathon, Bloom ran 163 miles, 263 miles, and 296 miles, respectively. Such training wasn’t stellar or exceptional, but each run was a necessary step on the journey.

Prepare by familiarizing yourself with as many unknown factors as possible.

At the beginning of any project, you’ll face countless unknowns. If you’re training to run a marathon, you have no way to ascertain what the weather conditions will be like on race day, how you will handle the mental and physical fatigue as the race progresses, and so on.

“The goal for your training and preparation is to cross off as many unknowns as possible. Make the unknowns, known.”

The best way to prepare yourself is to eliminate as many unknowns as possible. Train in all weather conditions, get familiar with the route, and run in an environment that replicates the reality of race day as closely as possible. If you prepare for all eventualities, you won’t be perturbed by any surprises.

With the right preparation, your performance on D-Day could surpass your expectations.

Achieving any feat takes months of preparation, but until you actually launch your project or run your race, you’ll never know what you are capable of. You might even exceed your expectations. If you have ever toyed with the idea of doing something hard, commit to doing it: Register or enroll, even if the idea scares you. Once you’ve signed on, your motivation to train and prepare will soar.

If your goals don’t seem overly ambitious, you’re not stepping out of your comfort zone.

Big goals might overwhelm you. Maybe you fear failure or the work involved in preparing. However, if you don’t feel daunted by your goals, you are thinking too small. So reset your goals and shoot for the stars. Because when you fall short of your big goals, you learn more than when you achieve small goals.

Run your own race.

When you’re working toward a goal, you might find yourself comparing your progress to others around you. If you don’t measure up to their standards, you’ll feel disheartened and consider quitting. Don’t be tempted to compare your lot against others’. The only way to find fulfillment is to run your own race and be your own rival. Consistently aim to beat your personal best.

About the Author

Author and entrepreneur Sahil Bloom is the creator and writer of The Curiosity Chronicle newsletter.