There are so many worthy (and non-worthy-but-still-interesting) topics I could cover in my post today: from the Grammys to Egypt, the iPhone on Verizon to Donald Trump’s run for the Oval Office in 2012. And these are but a few.
Still, another recent story struck me: Stephaan Engels, who just completed 365 marathons in as many days . His success came down to this: he set a personal challenge, and then set out to reach it. Twice.
What struck me was that this runner – who is asthmatic and had previously been told not to exercise – raises a couple of points we can ponder in business. Engels said that his accomplishment was 80% mental, 20% physical. Does this apply to industry? I think so: the parallel is that execution is 80% creativity, 20% practice. PR practitioners are thrown into new arenas every day (in fact, we thrive on it), so it’s important to remember the role creativity plays.
Yet, Marathon Man admitted he hit some walls – “there were a lot of moments I thought, today, I won’t finish,” he told reporters. He persisted, and eventually hit his goal. Perseverance is one of the most critical characteristics for entrepreneurial success: Steve Case, former AOL chairman lists out a new set of Ps , building on the traditional Ps of marketing, I assume: price, product and promotion. Case claims success is linked to people, passion and perseverance. Eight years that Matter, I couldn’t agree more.
Engels has said he ran his 365 marathons to inspire the rest of us – to get up off the couch, to exercise a little bit each day, and simply, to have a goal.
What’s yours?