I’m sure you’ve heard it before. “Working out has increased my efficiency so much!” or “I get so much more done when I’m in good shape.” But is there really a link between physical fitness and entrepreneurship?

100% Yes.

Often an overlooked aspect of business, every successful person from Barack Obama to Warren Buffet exercises. This isn’t just for their health, although that’s a big part of it, it’s for their businesses too.

Today, we will be looking at the link between physical fitness and entrepreneurship, specifically game development. Of course the same applies to any type of business, so keep reading. This might just be the most important article of your life.

What Are The Benefits Of Being In Shape?

Very fit man, might be overkill for how you want to look, but impressive nonetheless.

1. Looking Better: Ok, this one’s obvious. People are naturally attracted to people who look healthy. This means men with muscles and a 6-pack, and women with an hourglass figure. Of course, if you’re not fat, you’re still far ahead of the pack.

2. Confidence Booster: It doesn’t matter what people think about you, if you are confident in how you think about yourself. When was the last time you saw someone who could bench 250 lbs be uncertain in themselves?

3. Feel Good: 14% of Americans say they turn to exercise as a stress reliever. Not only that, but regular exercise has been proven to release endorphins and dopamine, the feel good chemical.

4. Increase Sex Drive: Lifting weight and staying active has been proven to increase labido. This is especially true for men, but is also true for women. If you’re lacking a sex drive, then you’re probably lacking in the gym too. Get started in the gym and get started in the bedroom.

5. Productivity Increase: A study from 2011 showed workers who took off 2.5 hours of their weekly schedule, for mandatory physical activity, actually rated their work-ability, quantity of work, and productivity significantly higher.

What Is The Link Between Fitness And Entrepreneurship?

T. Boone Pickens tries out a machine in the new weight room at Oklahoma State, Monday, Aug. 17, 2009, in Stillwater, Okla. Through a series of donations, Pickens provided the bulk of the funding for a $286 million stadium overhaul. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Besides being incredibly similar in work put in and payout received, fitness and entrepreneurship have a lot in common.

For example, both start out by thinking about the end product. If you’re an entrepreneur, you often think months or years ahead, and about how you will manage your company in the future. On the other hand, if you decide to take up lifting, you envision how your body will look in months or years.

This is just one of the many examples I can give you off the top of my head. I found that fitness is an easier concept to grasp than entrepreneurship, so I decided to make this site about the link between the two, specifically game development and fitness.

On that note, I ask you follow my twitter for updates on future articles, and updates on my game dev journey. Also be sure to check out games I’ve made for iOS and Android.

Link Between Fitness And Entrepreneurship #2: Consistency

Always work on what you need to get done. Consistency is key.

It’s a tough concept for many people, especially lazy people, but I think you can do it. You’re here, and that is the first step after all.

I’m sure everyone has heard “consistency is key,” and by this point have blown it off. Don’t be stupid. Consistency is and always will be one of the most powerful tools a human master.

Even back in the caveman days, consistency was one of the biggest factors in survival. If you didn’t consistently hunt, you didn’t eat. Of course, people nowadays get their food from grocery stores.

This means you have to channel your consistency into other activities, in this case, building a business and building your body.

Nobody survived forever on one piece of meat, and nobody got fit after one day in the gym. No businesses were started nor people made wealthy through one day of work.

The key to be successful in any area of life is consistency. I work on my website, games, and physical fitness daily. I also do this all on top of going to school, which I know may be easier than having a “real” job, but that shouldn’t stop you from achieving your dreams.

If you’re consistent, and you have the drive to work on yourself and your company while doing other things in life, than you can accomplish anything. If you’re interested, Mj Demarco also touches on these topics in his business book, The Millionaire Fastlane, which I have a review on here.

These things take time, but that’s not to say you can’t get started right away. For both the gym, and a business venture, I recommend a Ready, Fire, Aim approach.

Link Between Fitness And Entrepreneurship #3: Ready, Fire, Aim.

Not the best photo example, but I like the cartoon.

Like the book written by Michael Masterson, my favorite approach to new challenges is ready, fire, aim. By this I mean you need to start right away, no time to waste.

It doesn’t matter how out of shape you are, go to the gym right now. You don’t need to already be at a certain level of fitness to walk in, and you don’t need a certain level of business knowledge to start a company.

Once you’re in the gym, and get a feel for how things work, you can change and improve your routine to suit you. If you try to walk into the gym with a perfectly crafted routine, odds are you will mess up, get angry, and never come back.

Likewise, if you start a company, and make no sales, than you can just change your marketing strategy or website design. If you try to come with the perfect plan and it doesn’t work out, you will likely be discouraged from ever trying again.

If you want to learn more about Ready, Fire, Aim, I’d recommend you check out my bookshelf. I post summaries of books, along with reviews for any books I’d recommend reading. I also post in depth reviews for books I really enjoy. Expect a Ready, Fire, Aim book review out soon!

Link Between Fitness And Entrepreneurship #4: Non-Linear Results

Exponential Growth

One of the scariest things for some wantrepreneurs, is the worry of not having consistent growth. Let me tell you why non-linear growth is nothing to worry about.

When you start out lifting or dieting, you can expect to see massive results right away, then after a few months, a plateau. This pattern is called beginner gains, and actually works inversely from business growth.

With businesses, growth will usually start out very slow, then after picking up traction become nearly impossible to stop. A very common phrase explaining this is “The first million is the hardest.” This simply means that you can expect exponential growth in your business (up to a certain point), which is a good thing.

For lifting, this is the opposite, but is very similar. While you can expect beginner gains right away, exponentially increasing muscle and muscle mass, it won’t stay forever. Even though you won’t see as clear results, know that you’re still making progress while lifting, and while starting your business.

The Final Link: It’s Always Worth It.

Always Worth It.

This isn’t the last link, no where close to it, but it’s the last one I’m going to bring up today. The best common denominator between working out and starting a company is the fact that it’s always worth it.

I have never met a single person who says (or looks) like they regret going to the gym. In the same sense, I’ve also never met an entrepreneur who regretted making a successful company.

The link between physical fitness and entrepreneurship runs deep, making them good analogies for each other. I truly believe that they are linked, and that it’s always worth it to take both challenges on.

It doesn’t matter how many failed companies or ideas you have, because all you need is one well executed idea. Same with the gym, it doesn’t matter how many obstacles you have, as long as you keep improving the one body you have.

You Can Do It!

You are Unstoppable!

No matter what problems you face, or what obstacles you need to overcome, you can do it. If after reading this article, you decide to move forward with game development or physical development, (hopefully both) I recommend you stick around my site.

Obviously you should bookmark CharlesDev, and you should follow my twitter. After doing that, feel free to check out my more specific pages and articles. My Fitness Articles and My Game Development Articles.

If you’re looking for a Ready, Fire, Aim approach like I suggest, check out “how to install unity“, and “you can’t get fit if you don’t workout“. If you’re interested in checking out books I recommend, I got you covered.

The link between physical fitness and entrepreneurship is one of the most overlooked and powerful concepts in business. If you enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends down below.

Thanks for reading, and don’t put off getting started.

-Charles