Journal - Opinion
As we slowly approach the end of 2021 and do the leap into the new year, I would like to share some of the things I’ve learned in the past year.
First up, I want to tell you that those motivational quotes that you can find out are 100% true. You should never let anyone tell you that it can’t be done. Oh, actually you can let them spell out the words, but the sounds enter one ear and leave on the other, without leaving any trace in your conscious brain and thoughts.
In 2021, I challenged myself to do more exercise. I think this is some sort of popular idea in which many engage when the calendar is reset to a new year. The idea was to run more often and include some cycling sessions.
As you may know or not know, I only talk about things when they are done. I don’t like making new years resolutions, instead, I try to focus on achievements and improvements while planning ahead.
I am wired to never stop and pursue the impossible, so I’ve entered the European Duathlon Championship for 2 sessions, Standard and Sprint, to make the year more interesting. I say, make the year more interesting, as 2021 was going to be a year in which we planned to host 22 virtual conferences and work on several new projects.
Today, on 30 December, I am pleased to say that we managed to host all 22 virtual conferences and have managed to launch HIPTHER TV, the HIPTHER Android App, and worked on improving our social networking platform, WireUp (Android App is in testing, you can help us by giving feedback here).
Overall, it was one of our best years at HIPTHER and we have also managed to further grow the number of the #hipthers working in our team. In 2022 we celebrate 15 years of the company’s activities and I am pleased to say that we have huge plans for further growth and we will bring many ideas to life.
Alright, so back to the not giving up part. You can imagine what it’s like to juggle so many projects and give 110% to all of them while trying to maintain your mental health. Now comes the fun part, the training. I decided to train on my own and created a training plan based on information pulled out from different running articles and happy to say that I’ve seen the results of vigorous training.
The reason I’m sharing this with you is that I found an interesting parallel between training for a Duathlon and running a business in such periods. The hard work you put in day by day can go a long way and there is no reason to stop and turn back. Once you go enter grind mode, you only exit when you are done. And, you are never the done.
If you are working in online media and doing conferences, this is the perfect way to put it. You always have to be in the game, be in your best shape and even if things get really really hard, you must never stop and you need to keep going.
This is similar to my experience this year with the European Duathlon Championship. Even if I was considered an underdog in my category or overall in the contest, I’ve still fought hard and finished both races. All I can say is that I’ve applied some of the things I’ve learned in 2020 about running a business and projected it to my struggle during the race.
I’ve deliberately used the featured image from the finish list in the Standard Duathlon as this was one hell of a fight. During the race, I’ve been to the depths of hell and came back much stronger than ever. You can see it on my face, it’s been a hard fight for me, and ready for more action. It’s similar to the end of 2021. A hard year where we learned a lot and put in a lot of work to fight our way up among the large international brands who always have an advantage over us. One thing is certain, we will never stop and there is no giving up.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, I don’t like making new years resolutions, but I can reveal that in 2022 we are adding a weekly podcast to our activities and slowly relaunching our in-person conferences in Prague, the Baltics, Budapest, and Milan while adding more features such as virtual conference viewing in the metaverse. The #hipthers will have even more surprises by Q2.
On a personal level, I am now training for the 2022 World Duathlon Championships in the Standard, Sprint, and Cross sessions.
So, whenever you are reading this, I wish you all an awesome 2022, and don’t forget this one thing, never let anyone tell you that it can’t be done!
In the end, here is a great quote I’ve found which embed both doing sports and running a business:
“It’s very hard at the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually, you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit.” — George Sheehan, M.D., author of Going the Distance
