Does Crossfit make you a better Entrepreneur?

Well it's that time of year again when Crossfitters around the world participate in a global challenge of the Crossfit Games. For me personally it's a way of challenging myself and measure any improvements over the previous year. Like they say, "If you can measure it, you can improve it."

So what are the comparables between Crossfit and running a start up?

1. Data driven, in crossfit we measure everything, times, weight, distance and how many sessions per week we attend. All of this helps you track progress; this also helps an entrepreneur when dealing with data for projections, predictions and analysis.

2. Healthy competition, crossfit allows you to compete against everyone in the gym and yourself. You train with amazingly fit athletes who make you better. As an entrepreneur you are fueled by competition that drives a sense of accomplishment, success and victory in your business.

3. Increase work ethics, like martial arts, there is never an end to learning, it’s just a continuous pursuit of perfection (if that exists?) With crossfit there is so much to learn and many techniques to perfect, raw strength doesn’t just cut it in the gym. Therefore, time is needed to refine each technique repeatedly. Only then will you start to see improvements. Just like a start up, you work and work, making small adjustments and before you know it you start to see progress, you just need to keep working away.

4. It helps you disconnect, life as a start up entrepreneur is challenging and often lonely. You spend time solving problems, dealing with cash flow and staff, you work crazy long hours and sometimes there never seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Having a time out to disconnect is important to staying healthy and focused as an entrepreneur. It gives you time to breath, smell the roses, enjoy the moment and often gives you clarity of purpose.

5. Mental strength, to me this is the most important lesson I take away from my crossfit training, every day. Crossfit never gets easier and neither does running a start up. Running a start up is serious work, it can be fun but most of the time it’s bloody hard work. Stress, instability and uncertainty creates pressure that requires mental focus to avoid failure. At crossfit, everyday and every workout is different, this is no place to be complacent, you may feel tired or stressed but you will never not try your best in every movement or workout. You learn to push yourself to levels you never thought possible, establishing new personal bests, challenging yourself to things you have never tried before, all of this makes you mentally stronger which helps you overcome tough obstacles as an entrepreneur.

As with crossfit and running a start up, there is always room for improvement. When you hit your goals, you establish a new one and you work towards accomplishing it. To me this is about constantly learning about how far I can push myself in crossfit and business. If it’s easy then maybe we are not pushing ourselves hard enough?

“The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory.” – Les Brown