What an eating contest taught me about business
Recently I took part in an eating contest near me in hopes of winning the ultimate prize, a t-shirt. It’s crazy to think, but there were a lot of lessons I learned in through this eating contest, I also experienced while building home businesses over the years. In this post I’ll reveal what I learned at an eating contest that can help you build a successful business.
It’s going to sound easier than it really is
One thing I think a lot of people don’t anticipate when they start a home business, is they think that it will be much easier to build than it really is. The same holds true when I recently attempted an eating contest near me.
I was pretty hungry and hadn’t eaten much all day and for a few dollars more than a normal burger I had the option to win a t-shirt. All I had to do was finish it along with the pile of chili cheese fries. In my head this sounded like it would be incredibly easy, as I’m kind of a big eater.
Typically most people run into a similar scenario when they start a home business. They have a lottery ticket mentality and think that their business will explode overnight. Often most people think they’ll be able to quit their job after a few months of work.
Unfortunately there is typically a learning curve involved with starting a home business. And you’ll face many challenges you didn’t anticipate. The same ended up being true when I decided to take part in this eating contest near me. I had dreams of winning a t-shirt and thought it would be a walk in the park.
Hopefully your goal with your home business successes is bigger than a t-shirt, but you’ll still face some of the same challenges as in an eating contest.
You’ll have to deal with negativity in business and in an eating challenge
Yet another common thread between winning an eating contest and building your business is you might have to deal with negativity. In your business you’re going to have haters. People that don’t believe in you because they don’t think you can succeed.
People that think you’re crazy and many other things. This sort of thing will happen with eating challenges as well.
You might have people that are supportive and cheering you on, but don’t expect everyone to be like that. Same thing with an eating contest, you might have people on your side cheering you on. You also know there’s a few people in the crowd wanting you to give up.
You’ll have people that think you’re crazy for eating 30 hot dogs in 10 minutes, or for eating a two pound burger. Just like you have people that think you’re crazy for starting your own business.
One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of the people that are negative or skeptical just don’t think they could do it. This causes them to get jealous seeing you succeed at something they’re afraid to attempt.
On top of that, one question to ask yourself is, do they have the results that you want? If they don’t, you might not want to listen to their advice and opinions. A lot of people will tell you why you can’t be successful in something they’ve never even attempted.
The same is true for both building your business and in an eating contest.
Focus on the prize not the pain in an eating contest and for building a successful business
Another universal principle I applied to both building my business and the eating contest, was you need to focus on the prize not the pain. All too often I find people focus on the struggle and the pain while building their business, versus the goal they are after.
It also happens in an eating contest. It might start off easy, but if you lose sight of your goal and the prize you are shooting for, you’ll often quit too soon. This is why it’s important to develop your “why” or big reason for doing the business.
Most people get started because they want to make more money, or achieve a general goal. More money or a general goal isn’t going to keep you motivated when times get tough. When times got hard in the eating contest near me I took part in, I decided to focus on the T-shirt and the victory. Instead of the struggle.
Often the pain you go through while building your business or in an eating contest is really only temporary. This is why it’s important to have a big goal and a major focus. Focus on the prize to strive for in your business to keep up your motivation.
Don’t quit 3 feet from gold or three bites from gold in an eating challenge
Another reason I find a lot of people fail in their business, or in an eating contest is that they quit three feet from gold. Basically they quit right at the finish line, and end up giving up before they succeed.
At least with an eating contest you can see the end, maybe you have a couple bites left to go and you can power through it. The downside with building your business is, often you don’t know where that finish line is.
It might be one more skill set to learn, one more presentation, one more email campaign, or maybe even just one more sales funnel that creates your breakthrough. Speaking of sales funnels, if you haven’t set those up yet for your business, you can get a free 14 day trial of Clickfunnels to start creating them for your business here.
Like I mentioned earlier, most people look at their business with a lottery ticket mindset. That they just need to get started and magically things will happen and you’re going to get rich.
I wish that were true, but it’s really not the case. It’s going to take time, effort, and going through learning curve. As well as consistent action to create success. Building your business is, yet again like an eating contest. You just got to keep moving forward one bite at a time.
You gotta be mentally tough to succeed in business or an eating challenge
Do you want to succeed in business or an eating contest you’re going to need to be mentally tough. Whether it’s facing rejection, people quitting your business, or hitting that wall where you don’t think you can eat any more, you’re going to have to be mentally tough to succeed.
You might be wondering how to develop this mental toughness? The one thing that’s helped me over the years is personal development. Your business will only grow to the point that you do. So continuing to develop your skills, work on your mindset, and building your belief is essential.
It’s funny, I felt like I tapped into this while eating that giant burger as well. Giving myself mental pep talks along the way.
When it comes your business there’s a couple of great ways to work on personal development. Two of my favorites are reading good books and listening to audio training.
One resource I found to be very useful for doing this is Audible. It’s basically a service where you can get a huge variety of audio books right on your phone.
What’s cool with audio books as you can listen to them while doing other things like driving or working out. Or if you happen to be a nerd, like in my case, while playing video games. This is a great way to multitask develop your mental toughness at the same time.
If you’d like to check out more information on giving an audible membership a try click here. If you’d like to learn more about my top recommended personal development books check out my post about it here.
Pain is temporary, Victory is forever
The 6th thing I learned attempting an eating contest near me that helped with my business, was understanding pain is temporary. I mentioned it briefly before, but you’re going to face challenges, and setbacks on building your business.
If growing a business was easy everyone would do it. Same thing with taking on an eating contest. If it was easy and everyone could do it it, there wouldn’t be a prize. Jst like building a successful business.
However, just like in an eating contest, building your business will have temporary pain. When you do you work through the pain it can be worth it, and last for years to come.
Same thing with an eating contest. Eating a two pound burger, might cause some temporary pain and discomfort, but the joy of winning and getting a t-shirt can last for years to come.
Implement these six lessons I learned in an eating contest near me and watch your business start to grow!
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