Working on your health and building a start-up are similar in many ways

In 2020, I was new to both - my pursuit of health & fitness and working with hyper-growth venture backed start-ups. Two completely unrelated worlds. But as I continued my immersion in both worlds, I noticed many similarities in mindset needed for both journeys. 2021 was key for me on both fronts. I consistently worked out 360 days in 2021 and saw mindset and health changing results. I now feel better than I was 22. I was also fortunate in 2020/2021 to scale some amazing founders on their journeys and gain life changing perspectives. Here's how I found both adventures to be similar. TLDR, in my opinion, it is all about mindset and people (ofcourse!).?What do you think?

1) Both need Showing Up and Iterative Patience: You have to show up daily. Showing up consistently is key, especially on days when you don't feel like it. For a really long time, you are just working towards a vision of a perfect health or your idea coming to reality. But it only exists in your mind, not in reality yet. The only thing you have going for you on a day to day basis is how much you feel good after that sweaty workout each day. OR finding that band-aid solution to the hairy problem at your start-up that ends up keeping things together. Only consistent action on your ideas or training plan will move you forward. If you need both a founder and health/fitness inspiration in one, check-out Okta CEO, Todd McKinnon. He posts his daily workout each day on Instagram (talk about building (health) in public!)

?2) Statistically you will fail: > 80% of the start-ups fail. Also >80% of the people who sign-up for gym memberships or any workout plan in January drop out. The few that succeed are the ones who are intrinsically (and not externally) motivated to solve the problem. Those who are successful don't give up on the first of many signs of fatigue or failure. Also, consistency of effort with ability to pivot approach is key. Pivots are talked about much in start-ups already. Consistent health results also need many data backed pivots in training formats/duration and nutrition.??

3) One must enjoy the process: There is a certain joyous high even in the middle of your hardest HIIT. That joy makes you want to come back day after day to sweat. After a while you can't imagine not having it as part of your day. Start-ups are challenging but for truth seekers, they provide the highest intellectual stimulation (intellectual joy!) that makes you want to follow your curiosity of solving a world/customer problem each day when you wake up.?

?4) Doing it with the right people >> having the perfect business plan/ workout plan: Surrounding yourself with the right people is key, way more important than that perfect equipment, workout plan or business idea or plan. Because guess what, you will need to adjust along the way regardless of how awesome your original plan is. Your odds of success become much higher with people who level you up, hold you accountable (when you need that), and who are committed to where you are going (or want to be/are have been on the same path). Both in fitness and entrepreneurship, together we go far. I first hand benefited from amazing communities in fitness and startups in 2021 and none of it would have been possible without the right people in those communities supporting each others’ journey.??

?5) Rest and Recovery during both journeys is key: Rest and recovery is where the most formative work happens in both journeys. Rest days are a key part of any exercise program that aims to create results, and vital for positive results and a reduction in injury risk. Physiological stress that is not followed by adequate recovery (can be active recovery) can, over time, compromise immune function, increasing the probability of injury, illness and the onset of overtraining that slows down results. Taking periodic rest to zoom-out on your start-up journey is exactly like that. Zooming out gives you the ability to see the forest from the trees and gives you the energy to shoot for that next peak or envision that next “much-needed” pivot.?

If either your health and/or a start-up journey are a key theme of progress for you in 2022, know that there are transferable muscles that you can leverage from one journey to another. I wish you great consistency, effort, health and growth-filled success in 2022.

Akanksha Talya