Pushing Through the Pain

I’ve been thinking about this post a long time.

Thinking about it during every single mile of the 203.12 miles I have walked in the past 30 days. The 334,448 steps. The millions of drops of sweat.

I would have written it sooner, but both of my baby toes are full of blisters and are probably going to fall off. My knees are creaking like I am 150 years old, and I won’t even try and explain the soreness in my ankles and feet as they lug 350 pounds around.

Each time I walk there is a point where I want to just give up. Just stop. It’s easy, the Stop button on the treadmill is less than six inches from my hand. It even is labelled “Pause,” which would mean I wasn’t really quitting, just pausing.

It is the little things after all.

Each time I think to myself that I should quit, that the pain is just not worth it, I remind myself of something my lacrosse coach used to always say:

Micah, are you hurt or are you injured? If you are injured you should rest. If you are hurt, then just push through the pain.

And I push through.

But this post isn’t about my triumphs over my exceedingly large posterior.

Instead, during so many of those miles, one thought that continues to play in my tired, and surprisingly more focused, brain is how does “pushing through the pain” apply to entrepreneurs and startups?

The answer is simple. It does not. Pushing through the pain has been the death of so many startups and the chagrin of disappointed entrepreneurs.

I understand why my feet hurt - I am putting 350 lbs of weight on them and asking them to carry that belly. It makes sense that they bark.

But in a company points of pain are often viewed as something an entrepreneur must just power through via force of will, and by doing so they will be stronger, faster, better.

Yet, the moment a founder powers through the pain, they stop listening to their business. They stop seeing the signs that the pain may be indicative of something systemic and potentially life-threatening.

Pain is a clear indicator that something is wrong. It is imperative that the entrepreneur takes the time to get to the cause of the pain rather than attempt to solve for the symptoms. For example, it may be that slumping sales are seasonal, or it may be that the pricing structure is such that its extending the sales cycle reducing the ability of prospective customers to plan accordingly and budget correctly. Be right in your solution, and the company thrives; be wrong and it dies.

A business’ needs are almost always completely clear. They are like animals or children in that they may not be able to articulate what is wrong, but it is always evident if you just listen. If you just stop for a moment, and really listen.

There is no difference between pain and injury in a business, both can be the warning signs of potential death. Pain in a business is something to deal with; something to prioritize; something to correct.

Don’t push through the pain. Your business will thank you.

As for me, well, I have 34 miles to go to hit my goal for the week, which equates to about 12 episodes of Jericho and a whole lot of apologizing to my feet. My poor, poor feet.