I've got this thing when I'm training called "Headlamp Miles" – it's the miles I knock out in before the sun comes up.
This morning, I hit *start* on my Garmin at 4:16am today for a 10-miler.
It's not so much that I have to practice #running in the dark (though it does help come race day...).
It's more about making the time to train.
I'm a husband and a dad. I want to have breakfast with my son and take him to camp. I like hanging out with my wife on the patio in the evening or taking our dog to the park, then watching Mythbusters together before bed.
If I don't get in the Headlamp Miles, I won't get in the training I want to do or spend the time with the two most important people in my life.
Plus, there's magic in putting those miles...
I hear owls in the trees and the first birdsong of the morning. On one stretch through an olive grove, there's a white owl that swoops down over my head through the trees from time to time.
I've seen deer, skunks, coyotes, and rabbits because I'm out in nature before the sun rises.
On a clear morning, I can see the black night turn gray, then watch the orange morning emerge over the Sierra Nevadas.
What are your Headlamp Miles?
In our #StartupSelling coaching program, we're running the August #Sales Activity Challenge – clients commit to doing at least 20 touches a day to leads and prospects.
Some days are a tough slog if you're a #startup CEO with everything else to do every day. But these become their Headlamp Miles in their growth.
I've been doing this myself this week – starting at 4:30 in the afternoon and wrapping up around 6pm. It's a time window when my son has his time playing Minecraft and I can jam on doing my 20 touches – my Headlamp Miles for the business, to lead by example.
What magic can you create for business when you make the time and put your Headlamp Miles?
Do More, Be Happy, Surprise Yourself.
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I don't know about you, but whenever I've got something that seems hard in front of me, I get a little anxious...
😳 I worry that I'm not ready...
😳 I worry that I won't do well...
😳 I worry the thing in front of me will be even tougher than I thought...
This past week was like that EVERY DAY as I looked at my training regimen and work schedule.
After taking a week off from training, I spent two weeks slowly ramping up my mileage to get to a "peak week" this week – the hardest week of training going into my next race in mid-August – a 100k (62-mile) trek with 15,000' of elevation climb in the Sierra Nevadas.
Last week was also my first week back in the office after a couple of weeks of downtime visiting family and hanging out in Portland.
While my work calendar wasn't overwhelming, I had lots of hard stuff on the schedule –
➡️ Attending a 3-day workshop Monday-Wednesday from 3-7pm to plan out the rest of the year for the business.
➡️ Delivering our Summertime Client Intensive to our Startup Selling Group.
➡️ Working with the team to identify process gaps to fill and systems to build as we continue to grow and scale.
Every night, looking ahead to the next day and week ahead, I felt anxious.
🔔 When the 4am alarm went off, I felt intimidated by the day ahead – miles to run, hills to climb, family time focus, and responsibilities.
How would I do it all?
Then I reminded myself – I've been here a hundred times before, a thousand times before...
It's normal to feel anxious.
Then I told myself – "Dude – you know you'll be fine once you GET STARTED. Just take action. Besides, anxious is GOOD because it means that I CARE."
✅ And I did – day-by-day, meeting by meeting, mile by mile. ✅
Don't let ANXIETY prevent ACTION. Use the anxiety as ENERGY to fuel your focus and win the day.
👊 You got this. 👊
Do More, Be Happy, Surprise Yourself – #GoFarther
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Wednesday means repeats out at Lagoon Valley Park – 1.5 miles and down, three times.
I didn't want to go out there today.
The 4am alarm came early. I took forever to get out of the house then took a wrong turn driving out to the trail.
No power on the uphills. No speed on the downhills.
Just a grind from start to finish. It made me doubt how much I really wanted to do this next race in 3 weeks.
It's just part of the work. I'm sure I'll feel better later today, and my spirits will lift.
It's the same with startups – you're going to have rough patches and bad days and headwinds.
You're going to question why you're doing this in the first place or wonder if you'll ever reach where you want to go.
Just remember that in the big picture – a dip is just a blip. It's just one day, one week, one data point.
It's the way it goes – it's not all puppy dogs and rainbows.
There will be rough patches. There will be tough days. There will be dips along the way.
Just remember -- the dips are usually just blips.
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This is a tough week, a transition week.
As of today, I'm 3.5 weeks since the Western States 100 and 3.5 weeks until my next race – the Castle Peak 100k up in Tahoe. I've been running and training the last two weeks, but this is the real week to get back to race preparation mode – early mornings, getting out on the trail, two-a-day workouts, and a strict diet.
Plus, yesterday was my first day back in the office after a couple of weeks away – I spent two weeks in Portland visiting family, feasting from food trucks, devouring donuts, and pulling down lattes (and an occasional local brew or two..).🙂
It's ALWAYS important to take some downtime after a big win – whether that's landing that big deal you worked for months, nailing down the next funding round, launching your new product, or moving back into the office after a year+ of work-from-home.
And It's equally important to get back to the flow of what got you there in the first place.
Yes, it's going to suck at first.
For me, yesterday was particularly hard – the 4am alarm, two workouts, no carbs in my diet, jumping right into prepping for our Summertime Client Event.
By 7pm, I was exhausted. My wife even told me – "Man you look tired!"
But... I know to do hard things, to accomplish what I want to do with the business and my Self, to get to the next checkpoint in my personal journey, it comes down to the decision to take the necessary actions that will get me there.
Acknowledge that it'll be hard, accept the suck and take small steps along the way – you'll get back in the flow before you know it.
Do More. Be Happy. Surprise Yourself.
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In this episode of the Startup Selling Podcast, I interviewed Jay Webb.
Jay runs a search firm that focuses on helping early to mid-stage companies hire sales leaders and enterprise salespeople throughout North America.
He’s also the host of the Over Quota podcast which features in-depth interviews around vision, strategy, and execution with revenue leaders.
Some of the key topics and questions that we covered in this podcast are:
Links and Resources:
Over Quota: smarturl.it/2d2yqb
Jay Webb on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaydwebb
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Here it is... The 4th and final, installment of my post-race "Startups are Ultramarathons – Lessons from the Trail" from the 2021 Western States 100 Ultramarathon.
In the first three installments, I shared these 8 lessons –
(Be sure to go back and catch the first three post-race installments, as well as 4 pre-race "Startup Lessons from the Trail.")
Today, I talk about:
BTW... If you're a startup founder and want some help with your journey from idea to impact, there's a chance the team and I here at SalesQualia can help.
Shoot me an email to scottsambucci@salesqualia.com with the word "JOURNEY" and we can hop on a call to look at your situation, brainstorm a few ideas and see if or how we can help you ramp up and scale up your sales.
Do More, Be Happy, Surprise Yourself –
Go Farther.
Listen to the full podcast here on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/video/live/urn:li:ugcPost:6821527007537487872/
Listen & subscribe to The Startup Selling Show here:
BluBrry | Deezer | Amazon | Stitcher | Spotify | iTunes | Soundcloud | SalesQualia
Thanks so much for listening! Tell a friend or ten about The Startup Selling Show, and please leave a review wherever you’re listening to the show.