Shifting from Sprint to Marathon: mastering patience allows you to master everything else

Entrepreneurship is not about sprinting but to go for the full marathon. Each one of us at its own pace. What really matters is to take every day at least one step in the right direction. When we achieve that level of consistency, the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. Lingfy is putting its puzzle pieces into place every day and that is a source of great joy.

One of the best ways to enjoy the present moment is to look back and appreciate the journey we went through and appreciate the progress we made. It’s a very enriching experience to place ourselves in the perspective of our own observers and be grateful for all the good things that came in our way. But it’s also good to appreciate what we learned from tough times and from the mistakes we made. “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new”, said Albert Einstein.

One way or another, we all have problems admitting our mistakes or recognizing unhelpful ways of thinking. I am no exception. The Lingfy project has proved to me that we can’t achieve anything meaningful alone. When all of our closest friends encourage us to change our own ways of thinking, it is very likely that they are right. And we can only move forward when we realize that we need each other’s help.

When we finish the sentences of people advising us and reach meaningful conclusions in conversations with friends about the bnest ways to develop a business, we know we are on right track. We’re not trying to please everyone, but we know that we’re going in the right path when those dear to us show their full support, in the good and bad moments.

The idea behind Lingfy

Creating an human translation platform was not the first idea that came to mind when I thought about venturing into entrepreneurship. Before that I considered projects in such diverse areas such as agriculture, catering and even craft beer. There are several reasons why these projects never went ahead. But the main reason was the lack of passion!

Unfortunately, the work I do everyday at Lingfy is not filled with joy and success. There are difficult and frustrating times. Only the unshakable belief in what I do, helps me to to wake up every day fully energized, to roll up the sleeves and get down to work.

Some days are great, most of them are good, some are bad and a few are terrible. But what really matters is to have the courage and motivation to take the necessary step in the right direction. And we can only achieve that when we do something that is meaningful and we believe in.

There are several reasons why I started an online translation platform: the low financial investment with no costs associated to stock products, full-time staff, etc; the flexibility to work anytime anywhere; the positive outlook in the translation industry; and my interest in international affairs and work experience abroad, allowing me to be more open to other people’s mentalities and cultures.

But the most important factor is my passion for writing. I don’t consider myself a great writer, it’s up to you to decide that. But I’m sure I was born to do this. How do I know it? Because like many others, I sometimes hesitate about what I want to do, but I was never doubtful about what comes naturally to me and the things that give me great pleasure.

Finding patience in times of uncertainty

My first idea was to create an online platform with as many features as possible and wait for the customers’ feedback during … a couple of months! If the idea was successful, great! Otherwise, I was determined to give up, go back to a corporate job and get on with my life.

In the meantime, I changed the way I think about entrepreneurship, success and… life. I embraced failure in such a way that I stopped being afraid to try new things and started to focus on the lessons I learn from it.

I’m no longer scared about the possibility of telling people that I was engaged in a project that failed, but I started to focus on being proud to have tried new things and to have learned from what went wrong. This mindset change made me feel more open to new opportunities and less stressed by the risk of failure.

It is unrealistic to evaluate the success of a company after a few months, so this project has shifted from the short to the long term. The financial investment can be measured and recovered.

But more importantly, the time invested cannot be recovered if things do not go as expected. Nevertheless, whether the project is a sucess or a failure, I don’t see it as wasted time, because I really believe in what I do and what I can learn from the journey that lies ahead.

Pursuing our passions

We need to find our passion, what moves us and what makes us jump out of bed every day. This is one of the most shared ideas within the entrepreneurship community and I fully agree with this idea. However the passion I find in my everyday work doesn’t come from thinking about what I enjoy or to write it down on a piece of paper. Instead, passion emerges after I try new things and enjoy them. It’s not the other way around.

Ten years ago, my closest friends would never thought I would be running over 50 miles a month. Even I didn’t think that was possible. I found out my passion for running after I started running. It was a successful experience, among many others that have failed. That’s why I firmly believe we must face life as a scientist doing experiments. Some experiences fail. But it’s such an incredible feeling when they are successful!

The happiness formula

Running is one of my passions and I do it as much as I can. Exercise isn’t a quick temporary fix but something to be done for life. It’s not about acting when we feel bad, it’s about adopting a lifestyle that real improves our lives.

If you ask me if I’m happy, my answer is yes! But I’m not always happy. Happiness comes from the joy of doing what we are passionate about on a daily basis and counting on the support from our loved ones. We don’t achieve a state of happiness when we achieve our goals. We feel happy when we fight for them, when we engage with others and when we share our feelings with the world. Now I feel happy!

Curious how quality translations could help your organization reach new international customers? Get an instant quote at Lingfy.com or drop us a line at hi@lingfy.com