Keep running.

When I was in high school I ran track – the 800 to be more specific.  I wasn't the best but I was consistently okay.  And by consistently, I mean I ran the 800 in two minutes and forty-four seconds five races in a row. 

I trained hard.  I did every work out that my coach gave me and I gave each one my all.  When spring break rolled around, I headed to Florida with my girlfriends with a list of workouts from my coach in my suitcase.  I got up each morning and ran while my friends were all still asleep.

When I returned from spring break, I was sure that I would start knocking the time off but instead I ran the 800 in two minutes and forty-four seconds, again!  I was frustrated but instead of giving up, I kept running and kept training.

I hit the start line for my last race of the season with more butterflies in my stomach than ever and I crossed the finish line feeling like I left everything I had on the track.  As I walked toward my coach, I could hear him yelling “two forty-four” which stopped me in my track.   To my surprise, what he was yelling at me was not two minutes and forty-four seconds but rather two minutes and forty POINT four seconds. 

So, what does this triumphant story have to do with marketing?  Well, maybe it has more to do with all careers.  We all inevitably go through 2:44 ruts but it’s the people who can persevere through this that eventually achieve success.  And it doesn’t hurt that all the training makes the 2:40.4 feel that much better!