OntheGoAthlete #2 — The Process
OntheGoAthlete #2 — The Process
The framework behind achieving sustainable success in any field.
Hey — Edgar here.
Welcome to the second edition of the OntheGoAthlete Newsletter, where we share actionable insights on startups, productivity and personal development — so you can approach your career and life like an athlete.
One week after launch, we’re now 70 members strong💪. I truly appreciate each one of you for signing up and showing your support.
This week, we’ll break down “the process”, the framework behind achieving sustainable success in any field.
What is the process?
There’s a saying in sports that champions aren’t made on game day. They’re made in the quiet hours. When no one is watching.
Hours spent working on your moves so they become second nature.
Hours spent watching film so you can identify where you need to improve and know your opponents plays inside and out.
Hours spent in the weight room and recovery sessions, working on your body so you can outlast the competition.
This is the process. Waking up every single day and investing in your craft.
But the process isn’t just working hard.
I define the process as the natural cycle of growth.
Growth in any field involves setting goals, executing on them, facing challenges and overcoming them, all while continuously increasing the limits on what you can achieve.
Whether you’re striving to win a championship, raise money for your startup or build an impactful career as an operator in tech, “the process” is what will get you from where you’re at now to where you want to go.
Putting it into practice
Let’s break it down into its 4 key steps:
Execute
Reflect
Plan
Grow
Execute
Executing is getting the job done. Shipping code, launching a marketing campaign or making a pitch to investors. Every time you execute, you face challenges. Maybe a process broke, a marketing/feature launch fell flat, or things just didn’t go the way they were supposed to. That brings us to the next step.
Reflect
Reflecting is diagnosing problems and getting to their root causes. This can mean gathering data, getting customer feedback or auditing the past month to see where things went wrong and where you/your company can improve.
Plan
Planning takes reflections and transforms them into an actionable list of steps. This can include brainstorming ideas, scoping out new processes, or identifying areas you need to personally work on to make the next step.
Grow
This is the most important step. Reaching any goal comes from personal growth. Exposing yourself to new resources, coaching or ways of doing things allows you to increase your skill level and intangibles while continuously setting your sights on larger goals.
Then rinse and repeat.
Analogies of the process
Analogies of the process exist in all fields.
In startups and product management, we have the Eric Reis’ Lean startup method (Build -> Measure -> Learn) to find out what product to build that will solve real problems for your users.
And in growth marketing, we have Sean Ellis’ growth hacking cycle (Analyze -> Ideate -> Prioritize -> Test) to identify the best marketing channels and experiments to drive sustainable customer acquisition, activation, retention and monetization.
Regardless of your field, the underlying principles remain the same.
The following table summarizes a few different applications of the methodology.
Next Steps
In summary, the process can be thought of in one simple equation quoted by billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio.
Pain + Reflection = Progress.
Reaching your goals isn’t easy. The obstacles you face may feel overwhelming at times. But each time you go through the cycle, you’ll reflect, identify ways to improve, and execute with renewed energy, smoothing the bumps you face into a path that trends up and to the right.
If you want to reference the methodology in future, I also published this piece as a post on my blog. If you found it helpful, feel free to share it on social media and tag me with any examples of how you’ve seen of the process implemented in your own life.
Tools & Resources
The process is a timeless principle with applications in all areas of life. Principles by Ray Dalio shares how the author designed and implemented principles like “pain + reflection = progress” to build one of the most successful companies in history.
Tweet of the week
After our last issue on morning routines, a few of you asked if I also have an evening routine. This twitter thread covers my thoughts on evening routines and why they go hand in hand with morning ones.
Quote of the Week
The public praises us for what we practice in private.
- Russ
That’s it for this week! Your feedback is always welcome, and if there’s a topic you want to see, just let me know! Hit reply or shoot me a DM on Twitter @iamedgarbrown to get in touch.
Trust the process,
Edgar