A few months ago, I laced up my running shoes and headed out for a quick 3K. Nothing special – just a short jog around the neighborhood before dinner. The run itself was unremarkable. I didn’t break any personal records or have any profound revelations while huffing up that annoying hill in Lisbon’s Monsanto forest park.
But looking back, that mundane Thursday run was actually the first domino in a sequence that completely transformed my life.
That’s the thing about small beginnings – they rarely feel significant in the moment. Yet these modest first steps often contain all the DNA necessary for massive change. I call this the Marathon Method: the understanding that tiny, consistent actions can trigger a cascade of confidence that eventually transforms your entire existence.
The First Step Feels Tiny, But It Matters
Remember how it felt the first time you went for a run? Three kilometers might as well have been a marathon. Your lungs burned, your legs ached, and that little voice in your head questioned every life decision that led to this voluntary suffering.
Starting a business feels eerily similar. That first attempt at building a website, pitching a client, or creating a prototype comes with the same breathless uncertainty. “Am I doing this right? Should this be this hard? Am I cut out for this at all?”
For me, those early 3K runs were humbling. I’d return home red-faced and exhausted, wondering how anyone could possibly run a marathon. Similarly, when I started working on my first business plan, I found myself overwhelmed by the sheer complexity of what lay ahead. How could I possibly build something from nothing when I could barely draft a simple financial projection?
But here’s the secret: you don’t have to see the entire staircase to take the first step. You just need to believe in the process.
The Compounding Effect of Small Wins
After a few weeks of running, something magical happened. Those brutal 3K runs became manageable. Then they became easy. Soon, I was running 5K without much trouble, then 10K, and eventually half-marathon distance. I’m now on track to run my first marathon in October.
The same progression unfolded in my professional life. What started as a clumsy side project grew into a viable business concept. The first client led to a second, which led to a team, which led to funding, which eventually led to an acquisition that I couldn’t have imagined when I was struggling through those initial business plans.
Small wins compound. Each victory, no matter how modest, builds a foundation for the next challenge. The confidence gained from running your first 5K doesn’t just help you run 10K – it gives you the mental framework to tackle challenges in completely different areas of your life.
When you prove to yourself that you can do hard things in one domain, you develop what psychologists call “self-efficacy” – the belief in your ability to succeed. And this belief is transferable.
Mental and Physical Transformation
As my running improved, my body changed. I developed stronger legs, increased lung capacity, and better cardiovascular health. But the physical changes were just the visible manifestation of something deeper: my mind was transforming too.
Running taught me to embrace discomfort. It showed me that temporary pain leads to lasting growth. Most importantly, it trained me to keep going when everything inside me wanted to stop.
In business, this mental fortitude became my superpower. When our company faced a cash flow crisis that would have previously sent me into a panic, I approached it with the same measured breathing I used during difficult runs. When a critical deal fell through at the last minute, I recovered with the resilience I’d built through countless training sessions in bad weather.
The physical act of running rewired my brain to view challenges as temporary hurdles rather than insurmountable obstacles. My energy levels soared, my focus sharpened, and my decision-making improved because I was physically and mentally stronger. How to Master the Exercise Habit complements this mindset perfectly.
Confidence as a Tool for Risk
Perhaps the most valuable gift from my running journey was the confidence to take calculated risks. Before I became a runner, I was risk-averse in almost every area of my life. I played it safe, stayed in my comfort zone, and avoided situations with uncertain outcomes.
But running a marathon forces you to venture into the unknown. You can’t fully prepare for what happens after the 30K mark – you just have to trust your training and adapt when you hit the wall.
This newfound comfort with uncertainty translated directly to my business approach. I found myself making bolder moves: approaching high-value clients I previously thought were out of reach, pursuing investment opportunities that seemed ambitious, and eventually, navigating the complex process of being acquired by a larger company.
The confidence I gained from physical achievement lowered the psychological barrier to risk-taking in my professional life. I knew that even if I failed, I could endure the discomfort and try again – just like I did every time a training run went poorly.
Small Beginnings, Massive Potential
That unremarkable Thursday run I mentioned? It wasn’t actually just a run. It was a declaration that I could commit to something and follow through. It was proof that I could push through discomfort for a greater goal. And it was the beginning of a journey that would eventually give me the confidence to build and sell a successful business.
So often, we discount small actions because we can’t immediately see how they connect to our grandest ambitions. We want to leap from zero to hero without the messy middle. But transformation rarely works that way. Instead, it happens through the accumulation of seemingly insignificant moments – one foot in front of the other, one small win at a time.
The marathon method is about trusting that process. It’s about understanding that today’s 3K run might be laying the groundwork for next year’s business breakthrough. It’s about believing that small wins create big outcomes, often in ways we can’t predict.
Your First Domino
Today, I invite you to take one small action – even if it feels insignificant. Go for a short run. Draft the first paragraph of your business plan. Send that email you’ve been putting off. Let it be your first domino.
Don’t worry about how far away the finish line appears or how massive your dreams might seem in comparison to today’s modest step. Trust that small wins compound in mysterious ways, building not just skills but the confidence that makes everything else possible.
Remember: every marathon begins with a single step, and every success story starts with one small win. What will yours be today?