WEBVTT - Save the sprint for the end

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that discipline is as much about restraint as

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<v Speaker 1>it is about persistence. When you've got a big project,

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<v Speaker 1>work in a slow and steady way, you can always

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<v Speaker 1>sprint at the end. I have long loved the section

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<v Speaker 1>in Jim Collins' book Great by Choice where he talks

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<v Speaker 1>about how explorer Rolled Amundsen reached the South Pole ahead

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<v Speaker 1>of his contemporary Robert Falcon Scott. While Scott had his

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<v Speaker 1>men marched to the point of exhaustion and good weather

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<v Speaker 1>and stayed in the tent when it was terrible, Amundson

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<v Speaker 1>pursued a steady pace of fifteen to twenty miles per day.

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<v Speaker 1>On good days they could have gone farther, but by

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<v Speaker 1>leaving something in the tank, they were able to maintain

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<v Speaker 1>that pace on bad days too. By pursuing this strategy,

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<v Speaker 1>they made it to the poll and they made it back.

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<v Speaker 1>Collins likens this steady sustainable strategy to how the best

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<v Speaker 1>companies manage growth. Southwest Airlines expanded carefully over the years.

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<v Speaker 1>During one year in the nineteen nineties, Collins writes, Southwest

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<v Speaker 1>had one hundred cities clamoring for service. Southwest looked at

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<v Speaker 1>that demand and elected to add flights to four new places.

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<v Speaker 1>By leaving something in the tank with growth, Southwest could

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<v Speaker 1>be quite sure that each new city would be a success,

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<v Speaker 1>which was no doubt motivational to the people staffing those

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<v Speaker 1>new routes. You are probably not racing to the south

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<v Speaker 1>Pole or expanding an airline. But I think this policy

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<v Speaker 1>of the twenty mile march, as Collins calls it, has

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<v Speaker 1>a lot going for it. If you want to finish

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<v Speaker 1>any big project, you need to break it down into

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<v Speaker 1>small enough steps that you can reliably do each one.

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<v Speaker 1>Then when you reliably do each one over and over again,

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<v Speaker 1>you will finish on schedule. That makes sense. But where

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<v Speaker 1>people go awry are in those situations where the sun

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<v Speaker 1>is shining in Antarctica, or you really could add a

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<v Speaker 1>fifth city pretty easily. Think about how wasteful it must

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<v Speaker 1>have felt to only walk twenty miles on a beautiful day.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sure plenty of folks felt it would be silly

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<v Speaker 1>to pass up potential airline profits too. But here is

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<v Speaker 1>where we get to the idea that discipline is about restraint.

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<v Speaker 1>If you break the promise to yourself by sprinting when

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<v Speaker 1>times are good, you might break the promise to yourself

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<v Speaker 1>about persisting when times are bad. I mean, you're ahead

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<v Speaker 1>of the game, right, why not take some time off?

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<v Speaker 1>You deserve it. But then all of a sudden the

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<v Speaker 1>schedule is off, and a second bad run of things

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<v Speaker 1>means you are behind and you have to push harder

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<v Speaker 1>than you feel you can, and the whole promise of

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<v Speaker 1>reliability disappears. You no longer know for sure that you

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<v Speaker 1>will make it, and that lack of certainty is demoralizing.

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<v Speaker 1>So if you are undertaking a big project, save the

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<v Speaker 1>sprints for the very end. I have been reading all

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<v Speaker 1>the works of Jane Austen this year at a steady

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<v Speaker 1>pace ten pages per day. I could read more, for sure,

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<v Speaker 1>but keeping at that pace means I stick with some

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<v Speaker 1>of the books when they are a wee bit less exciting. However,

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<v Speaker 1>when I was less than an hour from the end

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<v Speaker 1>of both Sense and Sensibility and Pride and prejudice, I

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<v Speaker 1>decided I would go ahead and finish the books and

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<v Speaker 1>see what happened. By then, I knew I would finish,

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<v Speaker 1>just not before elite marathoners know to stick with their

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<v Speaker 1>pace until close to the end, when they give whatever

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<v Speaker 1>is left. If you give what is left at mile six,

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<v Speaker 1>you aren't going to make it to mile twenty six.

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<v Speaker 1>Around mile twenty six, though, you know that there is

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<v Speaker 1>no mile twenty seven, so you may as well go

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<v Speaker 1>for it. Those who have stuck with their paces probably

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<v Speaker 1>have more to give at that point than others. Use

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<v Speaker 1>restraint to keep a steady pace until you absolutely know

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<v Speaker 1>you will finish. Then anything goes. No need to camp

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<v Speaker 1>two miles from the south Pole, but fifty miles that

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<v Speaker 1>is a different story. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast

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