The Fascination of Long-Term Projects
Most successful people stay committed to one project.
They become the best in their niche.
Each of us has the ability to find meaningful projects.
Meaningfulness is individual.
No one defines meaningfulness for you.
It is your decision. Make your decision.
In the following, I would like to describe what a long-term project or goal is.
For me, it is like searching for and embarking on a journey in our lives:
Feelings of excitement arise.
Your heart beats faster.
You are a little afraid.
For me, it has always been important to observe what successful people do and recommend.
The recommendation is:
“Work on 5 meaningful projects throughout your life.”
This quote is a wall—more than that: a rock.
It is my top quote.
In a world full of short-term thinking, Warren Buffett, one of the most successful people in his field—investing in companies—suggests creating a list of 25 life goals and selecting 5 of them to commit to!
Why only 5 goals? I will clarify that later.
First, we need to define what truly meaningful projects are.
Here are 7 examples:
- Working in a specific niche in your professional career
- Starting your own family and living in your own home
- Completing an endurance event: marathon, Ironman, half marathon, etc.
- Following a training routine
- Starting a business or company
- Achieving financial independence
- Living abroad
They all have one thing in common:
You cannot achieve them in one month.
Try estimating how long they might take.
Why?
Because you develop the ability to estimate the timeframe of long-term projects and begin thinking long-term.
Let’s talk about what defines long-term goals.
Specificity.
For me, it is around 10,000 hours.
If you work on your goals for 2.5 hours per day, you accumulate about 1,000 hours per year. Multiply that by 10, and that makes roughly 10,000 hours. You master your project or achieve your long-term goal in about 10 years.
But it doesn’t have to end after 10 years.
It could fill your entire life.
I believe this is the ultimate fulfillment.
Here is my long-term project example:
My endurance journey started at the end of 2012 with running.
- First 5 km
- After achieving that, 10 km
- Half marathon
- And in 2015 my first marathon in Munich
Today I have completed several marathons (personal best 3:15 hours) and triathlons (long and middle distance).
You may notice: it took 10 years to reach a goal that places you in the top 10% of runners.
My effort was around 6–8 hours per week in endurance sports.
I believe I am not finished yet.
But the most difficult question is finding your long-term projects with specific goals.
You might now be asking yourself: How do I find my long-term goals?
My first suggestion is:
Become aware of what you loved as a child.
Most long-term goals have been hidden behind many distractions.
Write down everything you love.
Now look at it more closely.
My example: As a child I loved hiking and running in nature and riding around on my mountain bike.
Now you can see the bridge to running a marathon or completing an Ironman.
Try it in the same way.
Then you will be close to discovering your new long-term project.
Now let’s talk about the success factors of long-term projects.
Your potential is your superpower.
We all have sleeping abilities.
Your life offers you more than you think.
The meaning of this is that you are currently in your comfort zone.
Search for your potential. Your potential could lie in any area.
Visualization
My key to success is creating a vision board.
In December I sit down:
I write down my goals and commit to them.
Then the new year begins.
And I stay committed to them for the entire year.
A tip from me: make your goals crystal clear.
“By the end of 2024 I will complete a marathon.”
“By the end of the year I will have completed this project at work.”
Think about your goals as if you have already achieved them in your visualization. Sit quietly and think about them.
Your mind works like a computer.
See a problem = find a solution.
Now your vision has reached both your subconscious and conscious mind, and you can begin.
Focus
You become better through focus.
No distractions.
It is a fundamental truth that you should lose track of time. When this happens, every small step leads to a big gain. You must be fully present.
For me, focus means being clear:
No drinking alcohol.
Eating healthy.
Writing down my success every day.
And finding positive words for myself.
Realistic words.
Now we come back to the Buffett 5/25 rule:
Life is short.
Five long-term goals fit perfectly into a lifetime.
This is my understanding of a good life.
You should think about minimalism and reduce your projects in order to truly succeed in your field.
If you have a large number of projects or goals, you cannot truly become successful in your area.
Your information becomes overloaded.
And you do not have the energy to handle more than five projects.
For me, the danger of short-term thinking is that with too many projects or goals you cannot think long-term.
You become trapped in minimal thinking. Wanting to be perfect is the number-one focus killer.
There will be highs and lows.
One thing I know: you must embrace the pain.
Pain stands for passion.
You must be willing to suffer in everything you do—hence the name.
Sometimes it is hard to stick to your routine.
Sometimes it is hard to work.
Sometimes you face setbacks.
The rule is not to give up too early.
It is not the end of your project.
My experience was also painful.
Before I completed my first Ironman in the Netherlands, I had to quit three Ironman distance races.
Everyone around me probably thought:
“He is crazy!”
But I made it.
At the same time, it was a mental game.
It was a lot of fun to challenge myself.
You will have fears, and that is completely normal.
You are stepping outside your comfort zone.
My trick for dealing with fear is to face it.
Think about your wildest fears.
Write them down as if they were actually going to happen.
Your breathing will immediately relax.
Your mind, your body, and your environment all call for long-term goals.
Become aware of them.
Work on them.
Life depends on long-term projects.
They are the essence of life and make you fulfilled.
Create your 5 out of 25 list.