Excited about entrepreneurship? Listen to the advice of a 12-year consultant — Slow the hell down.
There’s no rush.
I know we’ve been taught that the grind never stops. I know you’ve heard someone tell you to “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” or some variation of this cliche too many times …
But contrary to what we’ve been conditioned to believe, being busy is not a badge of honor.
Hustle culture as a whole is morphing into something extremely toxic. I’ve seen so many startup founders burn out because of how quickly they’re trying to grow.
- Tell me, is ‘success’ really ‘success” if every other aspect of your life suffers?
Whatever your goals are, what’s the point of achieving them if everything else suffers in the process?
Here are some unconventional truths:
- You can start a business while still managing to spend time with your loved ones.
- You can grow your startup while taking care of your health.
- You can become an entrepreneur without rushing and sacrificing everything in the process.
What if I told you that taking it slow is the best path to success?
This might seem counterintuitive, but you’ll probably achieve your goals faster if you slow down.
Let me put it this way: You’ll most likely see success BECAUSE of taking it slow, not despite it.
Take it from me — someone who has been a business consultant for 12 years — your career, your goals, your life: they’re a marathon, not a sprint. You’re not racing against anyone.
No one is expecting you to be Lightning McQueen.
Just try picturing a startup founder repeating the “I am speed.” mantra and tell me that’s not ridiculous!
Here’s what can happen if you resist the impulse to work at a lightning-fast pace
- You’ll mindfully take it slow.
- You’ll think more clearly.
- You’ll make more thoughtful decisions that are actually intentional.
- Your output will improve.
And you’ll get all that without your work taking a toll on your mental health.
Taking it slow allows for sustainable growth.
People who focus on consistently putting one foot in front of the other go much further than people who try to push their limits and sprint the whole way. If you don’t unplug to give yourself space to reflect & recharge, you’re not going to be doing your best work.
If your goal is to succeed in the long-term, isn’t it even more important to ensure you’ll have a long-term in the first place?!
Think of a farmer. Yes, they work very hard, but they can only do so much at one time.
- They can’t force their crops to grow faster. Before they even dream of planting crops that they’ll harvest in a few seasons, they have to go through the slow process of preparing the soil, which is best done year in advance!
A problem with hustle culture is that it uses speed as a performance:
Your value is determined by how many clients you call in an hour (How many tasks you finish in a certain time, How fast you ship new features.)
If you’re not being fast, are you even being productive?
But there’s a 10000% chance that this mindset will burn you out, your decision-making will become flawed, and your performance will suffer.
And it goes far beyond work…
Taking it slow can benefit nearly every single aspect of your life.
Take learning to play an instrument, for instance:
Imagine two people learning to play guitar. They both practiced for 20 hours, but while the first person did an hour a day for 20 days, the second person did four rounds of 5 hours each.
Who will be the better player once the 20 hours are up?
Not only will the first player be a much better guitarist than the second one. The second guitarist probably has some very blistered fingers after those sessions.
Here’s an often-ignored secret when it comes to almost anything:
We grow when we rest, too.
Ask any committed athlete, and they’d tell you the keys to their success were:
- Consistency — Doing something, no matter how small, over and over for a long period of time.
- Nutrition — Fuelling your body with the right food to help support your performance and growth.
- Rest — Getting enough sleep and recovery to perform optimally
And then, when it comes to the actual workouts, lots of new science is coming up about the merits of ‘Slow & Controlled’ movements — forcing you to be more mindful during the workout and netting you better gains given all that extra ‘time under tension.’
I digress… We went way off track there, but I think you get my point.
The Slow Work movement
I’m seeing more and more people embracing the ‘Slow Work’ lifestyle these days.
In fact, I think a lot of the channels I read are starting to share some positive content about taking it slow, and I’m happy we’re starting to see beyond the deluded ‘need for speed’ fallacy.
Here’s another bonus to taking it slow: Not only will you increase the quality of your output, you’ll increase the quality of the experience!
In fact, a large contributor to experiencing a flow state and getting “in the zone,” comes down to mindfulness. When you just focus on what you’re doing and make sure you’re taking your time, you’ll find yourself entranced in whatever it is you’re doing and getting a much better result.
When you’re working mindfully, you’ll be more attuned to your mind and body, and you’ll actually be able to hear them tell you when they need to rest. If you ignore that in the pursuit of speed, you’ll see yourself quickly fizzle and burn out, leaving you unable to actually continue the journey.
Be real with yourself for a second. Maybe sit down and meditate. Try to actually enjoy the food you’re eating instead of hoovering it all up for the sake of “nutrition,” and really live your life.
Don’t get so caught up in the destination that you forget to enjoy the journey.
And that’s all from my commentator’s box, but let’s make this an interactive article, shall we? Do you think there are any situations where someone actually should rush and focus on speed?
Let’s start a discussion in the comments.
I’m AL, a business consultant in Zurich, Switzerland. I believe in the power of delivering value to you, the reader. Follow me on various social media platforms if you’re interested in the value of my content.