Build your business one step at a time

Choose a problem to solve

My wife had decided to join our village running club. Whenever she makes this kind of commitment, she acts immediately and sticks to it, as steady as a metronome and as tenacious as a wrestler. An iron will in a velvet glove...

For my part, I wasn't particularly eager to follow suit: years had slipped by, and I had abandoned regular sports. Moreover, I had launched my own company a few months earlier—a digital guide specializing in tourism in France. I was working twelve hours a day and dedicating virtually no time to physical exercise. I was mistaken...

Time warped. My children grew older, my wife continued running further each day, and my business expanded while I gradually sank into a state of brooding melancholy without really understanding why. Then came the persistent anxiety of falling ill, an obsessive dread that refused to leave me.

One day, I decided that things could not go on this way. Unable to live with that continual knot in my stomach, I determined to solve the problem. I understood that my body was sending an urgent warning, and I could no longer pretend not to hear it. Confidently, I told my family that I was taking up running to cure my funk. Naturally, nobody believed me...

I resolved to dedicate two evenings a week to running in the surrounding scrubland, accepting the loss of a few working hours to safeguard my health.

Take immediate action

The very next Saturday, my wife decided to accompany me for my first run. As you can imagine, the session was grueling. All the more humbling because, having been very athletic in my youth, I had boldly bragged to everyone that I would be running like a hare after just a few outings...

Reality proved otherwise. It was a path of physical discipline and struggle for months before regaining endurance, a healthy weight, and a vitality I had not felt in years. Even today, running twenty kilometers a week alongside my wife remains both a treasured ritual I wouldn't trade for anything in the world, and an ongoing, demanding journey.

Find joy in the journey

A moment of deep satisfaction because we run through the Provençal garrigue, nestled between the Luberon and Aix-en-Provence. In winter, soft afternoon sunlight warms our shoulders; bare trees let us gaze upon Mont Sainte-Victoire glittering in its prehistoric grandeur. In spring, we weave among blossoming cherry orchards and the sweet scent of wild broom. In summer, we set off at dawn and pause in the middle of an orchard to savor sun-ripened apricots, velvety and sweet. It is our quiet sanctuary, running together away from the world's clamor, often without saying a word...

We climb across rolling hills. At times the incline is steep; while my partner cruises through the kilometers effortlessly, I still exert myself on the rocky, uneven trails of Provence. It isn't unendurable, but it is deeply demanding.

Don't try to know everything in advance

I developed mental strategies to overcome fatigue. I noticed that whenever I look too far ahead to gauge the length of a hill, the steepness of a staircase, or the miles remaining, the soreness feels sharper and more overwhelming.

Constantly measuring the road ahead and anticipating every obstacle robs my legs of energy. I now have the stamina to keep moving, but anxiety drains the pleasure and diminishes my performance.

Conversely, when I focus solely on the next stride, letting the steady rhythm of my cadence carry me forward, my mind wanders freely. Fatigue dissolves into daydreaming. Frequently, I find myself kilometers down the trail without even realizing how far I've traveled. Time and distance compress into a moment of pure enjoyment, running effortlessly alongside my wife through the hills...

Nothing is inevitable, nothing is written in stone

In uncertain times when we seek answers to questions that have none yet, looking too far ahead to tally upcoming hurdles only breeds needless discouragement. Taking immediate action, moving forward step by step, and trusting yourself to resolve challenges as they arise helps you navigate the journey with confidence and satisfaction all the way to your destination.

In an effectuation mindset, entrepreneurship and management are endurance trails that must be traveled step by step, grounded in concrete action—relying on courage and pragmatic creativity to untangle challenges sequentially...

And if you happen to walk that path in company as wonderful as mine, the journey becomes extraordinary...

Happy running, and happy business building to everyone!