5 Similarities between freelancing and weight lifting

Before you begin this article, please know that I am NOT saying that you need to exercise! I know there are tons of articles out there that says freelancers don’t get enough exercise or that exercise gives you better productivity. That is not whats going to be in this article today.

I want to discuss the similarities between building your business and building your physique. Maybe it will give you more drive to hit the gym or maybe it will give you more energy when sitting at your desk because you know your business is benefiting from it. Regardless, I hope the article opens your eyes a bit and sheds some light on freelancing and the art of hustling to get to where you want to be.

Success doesn’t come overnight

Just like weight lifting for a day won’t turn you into a gigantic size monster in the morning (see pictures at the end of this article for examples), blogging for a day, contacting 4 potential leads or only designing for 1 hour will not turn you into a mega company with clients banging down your door. It’s a process – get used to it, because in the long run it will definitely be worth it.

Both require small, consistent steps

You won’t jump into the gym and be able to bench press 400+ pounds your first go, but you can get to that point if you take the small steps required. I’ve been digging into a workout program called Stronglifts 5×5 and in it, you start with a specific weight and add 5 pounds every day that you work out in order to grow your strength.

In your business, take those small steps and build your business by building the foundation under it – contact 3 new potential clients each day, design 1 icon/wallpaper for release each week, sketch 1 new layout wireframe each day. No matter what it is, just do something and do it consistently.

The longer you do it, the easier it gets

If you’re lifting weights for the first time, it will be hard. The weight seems heavier than it actually is and the re cooperation time afterwards will feel like torture. But the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Lifting twice as much as you started with during month three will feel easier than the weight did in month one. So remember when you first dive into freelancing that it may seem rough and hard to get a grip on, but in the long run, your business will become a smooth running machine.

A support system will always help

One of the main reasons I am so on and off when it comes to weight training is the fact that literally no one I know does it and I don’t go to gyms (anxiety issues keep me in my house on most days). I have no support system around me and I get bored with it very easy. The same will happen with your freelance business. You will talk the ears off of everyone around you and undoubtedly, they’ll get annoyed and not want to listen to how you just rewrote 40 lines of css code which helped your website load times drop by 50%.

One way of combating this is to join forums where you can chat with others in your niche. Freelance Switch’s forums is a great place to check into because there are people there with massive amounts of advice and they’re all downright cool to talk with – plus, they actually like listening to people talk about codes and designs and apps and social media

No pain, No gain!

In the gym, you won’t become a healthy, strong and have a bodybuilder physique if you don’t put the time in. You have to know beforehand that it will be hard and you will have to sacrifice things like free time, fast food and soda (soda pop being the one thing I can’t seem to kick yet – I’m addicted to Mountain Dew).

Your business will be no different. If you’re trying to start a freelance business while working a regular 9-5, prepare yourself to have zero free time because from 6-12 every night, you’ll be building the most kick ass business possible. Make sure your friends and family know that you won’t be there at their every call. There’s work to do in order to make it to where you want to go – but in the end, I promise you that it is all worth it.

and now, to show you how the two look meshed together in picture format

If Gary Vaynerchuk were a bodybuilder…

If Chris Brogan were a bodybuilder…