Vitamin N

The first step to achieve our most ambitious goals

Business and sports are two of my biggest interests, and they share some similarities. I have always been active in sports, and for the past few months, I have consistently dedicated myself to running. At the same time, I have spent the last year working on founding my business. This journey has taught me many lessons, especially about self-discipline.

I learned about "Vitamin N" from Eliud Kipchoge, the world marathon record holder. Vitamin N is the first step towards self-discipline and involves the ability to say "No." The second step is to properly define your priorities, and the third step is to avoid complaining. Self-discipline is crucial because, without it, we are incapable of doing hard things. Our mind will always tire before our body while running, scrolling through Instagram will always be more appealing than learning to code, and pizza will always be more tempting than broccoli.

Self-discipline also applies to business. Developing the skills required for high-performance sports is a great asset in the entrepreneurial environment. Long-term thinking, constant work, and prioritization are essential skills for any founder. However, despite experiencing this in sports, I did not have the success I desired in business. This was mainly because we did not prioritize the most important things to do at the moment, such as talking to customers, building the product, and selling. Instead, we got sidetracked by easier tasks such as designing strategy, filling out CRM, and posting on LinkedIn. We did not eat the broccoli.

Although these mistakes, success comes from the freedom to fail. There will always be the first kilometer or the first customer, but self-discipline is what enables us to run a marathon or build a unicorn. We must trust the exponential, be patient, and never forget to take Vitamin N during the journey.