No Hurry, No Pause…

Imagine two men biking, one at a rapid pace and the other at a leisurely pace. How long do you think it takes them to bike 25 miles? The answer might surprise you, as it surprised me (Phil Svitek), because the answer is there’s not much of a difference. The biker that sped would only pull ahead by a minute or two. That may sound like an abstract math problem but it’s actually not. It’s a story that entrepreneur Derek Sivers shared on the Tim Ferriss podcast. When I heard this story, I had an epiphany, incidentally much like Tim. For years I’d approached all my work from a knock it out quick standpoint. I’d rush as fast as I could. At times that left me tired and the work somewhat to be desired. Because I was tired, I was slower with my next tasks, and then even more slower with the one after that. Sad to admit, I got angry at times too. At myself, sometimes at others. In terms of the work, I luckily have an insane amount of stamina and determination to accomplish projects. But year after year, it took a toll on me. Upon being told Siver’s story, I realized I was the biker who sped through the 25 miles. All to “just get it done.” More importantly, I realized there was a better way to knock out action steps without exhausting myself. That’s the lesson I share with you today and it can be summarized in four simple words – no hurry, no pause. Discover what that truly means and how it can change your life. Comment below with any questions or comments you have.

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Transcript:

Imagine two men biking, one at a rapid pace and the other at a leisure pace. How long do you think it takes them to bike 25 miles? The answer might surprise you, as it surprised me, because the answer is there’s not much of a difference. The biker that sped would only pull ahead by a minute or two.

That may sound like an abstract math problem but it’s actually not. It’s a story that entrepreneur Derek Sivers shared on the Tim Ferriss podcast. He used to bike near his house at a rapid pace. And it took him 43 minutes. He was exhausted by the end of the ride. Then one day he said to himself that he’s just bike at a normal pace and enjoy the view. When he finished the route he’d done countless times before at the fast pace, he was shocked to find that the entire trip at normal pace took him 45 minutes to complete. Only two minutes slower.

When I heard this story, I had an epiphany, incidentally much like Tim. For years I’d approached all my work from a knock it out quick standpoint. I’d rush as fast as I could. At times that left me tired and the work somewhat to be desired. Because I was tired, I was slower with my next tasks, and then even more slower with the one after that. Sad to admit, I got angry at times too. At myself, sometimes at others. In terms of the work, I luckily have an insane amount of stamina and determination to accomplish projects. But year after year, it took a toll on me. Upon being told Siver’s story, I realized I was the biker who sped through the 25 miles. All to “just get it done.” More importantly, I realized there was a better way to knock out action steps without exhausting myself.

Jenny Sauer-Klein, another guest on the Tim Ferriss podcast who is the co-founder of the acrobatics-yoga hybrid AcroYoga, described this phenomena as “no hurry, no pause”. In case you couldn’t tell, I’m highly recommending Tim’s podcast to you. That phrase though has since become my mantra like it did for Tim. It profoundly altered me in the way I view accomplishment. As a result, not only do I accomplish the things I need to but I find more joy in doing them.

In the last lesson I talked about stressors and masters. To fully understand what I mean by that, revisit the lesson – the link is provided for you in the description. But, simply put, the stressor, rightly named, is someone who is so obsessed with achievement they find no fun in the process.

The master is someone who stays calm and perseveres. In essence, I’ve gone from stressor to master – though trust me, I’m still working on it.

“No hurry, no pause,” as it’s explained by Breema Center director Jon Schreiber means that, “When you rush, time shrinks. When you’re relaxed, time expands. This is true even though it’s very hard for the mind to get. When you’re relaxed and doing something willingly, you’re participating in life.”

I love the last part – “you’re participating in life.” You really are! You’re much more aware of what you’re doing. You’re much more aware of your surroundings. You’re much more open to ideas and therefore can incorporate them into the task at hand. At least that’s what I’ve found from my experience.

What I find humorous is that the idea of no hurry, no pause has been expressed to me my whole life, just worded differently. Remember Aesop’s fable of the tortoise and the hare? What was the message there? Slow and steady wins the race, right?

What about “it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” Have you heard that?

All different ways of saying the same, but important, thing. But I never listened until I heard Tim’s podcast. There’s a lesson in that, which I’ll teach in the future. But I digress. Let’s pause, pun intended, and consider “its not a marathon, it’s a sprint.” Despite being told this my whole life, I didn’t embody this intrinsically. Maybe it took the culmination of 10 years of sprinting to realize that I was indeed sprinting the whole time. I was able to look back on those 10 years and realize how truly exhausted I was. Don’t let that happen to you.

Like always, it’s in large part a mental battle more so than a physical one. In order to keep calm during tasks, you have to quiet the voice in your head that’s yelling “dude, the deadline is fast approaching!”

I’ve found routine, meditation, proper sleep, eating, and exercise helps with combating this for me. It would be a whole lesson in and of itself to go over each, but as a start, I recommend the Simple Habits app to help you begin meditation, a smart alarm clock app to help you with sleep and the Lifesum to help track your diet. Additionally, I’ve been practicing proper breathing techniques so I can have the physical air I need to keep my body going. And drinking water. Drink lots of water. I’ve given up sodas almost entirely. The more you drink water, the less you’ll want other beverages.

And there you have it. Now, keep calm and steady on my friends. Especially you creative people out there. The creative process always takes time so just chip away at it daily at a reasonable pace – no need to conquer the world every time. You’ll find life more enjoyable that way!

As always, here’s some quotes from successful people to help reinforce the lesson.

“The most successful men in the end are those whose success is the result of steady accretion.” -Alexander Graham Bell

“Life, especially the life of an early-stage entrepreneur, is full of gigantic ups and downs. Make sure you don’t let yourself get too high or too low. It’s a marathon, and you just have to keep your legs moving at a steady pace.” -Chieh Huang

“You’ve got to work hard for your success and you’ve got to have a steady presence. That’s the secret.” -Kid Rock

“You shouldn’t rush something you want to last forever.” -Unknown

“There’s no advantage to hurrying through life.” -Shikamaru Nara

Just a few final things before you head off. Leave a comment with any thoughts, opinions and questions you may have so Phil or Juliet Vibert can respond. If you enjoyed this video, please be sure to give it a thumbs up and share it with your friends and family. If you’d like to be notified when future episodes release, be sure to subscribe on either Apple Podcast or YouTube. Lastly, if you’re a new host in the LA area and would like to join AfterBuzz, visit AfterBuzz TV’s contact page. A direct link is provided. Or of course you can Tweet @PhilSvitek or @BonjourJuliet. Thanks for watching. We’ll see you next Monday with another one of Phil’s life lessons.