There’s no magic formula

I joined a new gym last week and had my first appointment with a personal trainer since 2004. I haven’t been totally inactive since then, of course; I’ve hit the gym on my own, gone swimming in my backyard, walked a bit (sometimes even long distances), and played with my dogs a lot.  But none of that is the same as a true workout with someone I’m paying to make me work hard.

The assessment made me want to die. That’s an overstatement, but not much.  Not only did it not feel good, but it also reminded me just how far I am from my goals and even from where I was when I quit going to the gym.  I was surprised that I wasn’t in agony the next day.

The first real workout was much harder. I’d paid the trainer by then, so she knew I was committed, and she probed the edges of my abilities.  (Fair point that the edges aren’t a long distance these days!)  I pushed beyond what she asked of me a few times, and I left feeling a little wobbly and tired, but proud.  And I did hurt the next day.

I can already feel differences — none that are objectively observable, of course, but I see them:  the satisfaction of knowing that I’m moving closer to my goals, the relief that my goals are no longer actually getting further away, and the kind of tiredness and soreness that comes with a good workout.  And the externally observable goals?  As long as I keep it up, they’re coming.  Probably nothing dramatic really soon, but they’re on the way.

That’s how it works with business development, too. You start by doing something.  Preferably, you make a commitment to someone who will hold you accountable and you create a plan that you’ll stick to.  You start seeing shifts immediately, even when no one else does, and they add up over time.  Stick to the plan, and those shifts will result in new billable work.

How was your workout today?