What Sports Taught Me About Running a Business

Discipline, splits, and why the work you do before anyone’s watching is the work that matters most 

There’s a moment in every sport that never makes the highlight reel. 

It’s not the game-winning shot, the final sprint, or the trophy lift. It’s the quiet but relentless repetition—the early morning practice, the extra lap, the drill you’ve done a thousand times when no one is keeping score. That’s where the real work happens. 

Years after retiring from a 16-year swimming career, I’ve realized that running a business isn’t so different. As an athlete, I’ve always felt that the effects of being deeply involved in athletics spread well beyond physical well-being. If you are doing it right, the benefits last a lifetime. The first part of my life was spent in the pool training, on the block competing, and on the podium, but I learned more from being coached and from coaching than I did from winning. 

The second half of my life has been dedicated to applying what I learned in the first half of my life to the world of business: how to work as a team, how to lead, when to follow, how to build, how to grow, how to evolve, how to stand out.  

Discipline Isn’t Loud 

In sports, discipline isn’t about motivation. Motivation comes and goes. Discipline is what gets you to practice when you’re tired, when it’s cold, when progress feels invisible. 

Business works the same way. 

It’s easy to show up when things are going well—when sales are strong, when customers are praising your work, when momentum is on your side. But discipline is what carries you through the slow seasons. It’s what keeps you refining your systems, improving your product, and doing the small, necessary tasks that don’t feel glamorous. No one applauds consistency in the moment. But over time, it compounds into something undeniable. 

Splits Tell the Truth 

Athletes live by splits.  

Whether you’re running a mile, swimming laps, or cycling long distances, your splits don’t lie. They tell you if you started too fast, faded too early, or held your pace. They’re objective, unemotional, and brutally honest. 

In business, your “splits” are your metrics. 

Revenue, conversion rates, customer retention, time spent on key activities—these are your performance indicators. They reveal patterns you might otherwise ignore. They show you where you’re strong, where you’re inconsistent, and where you’re losing momentum. The key lesson? Don’t just look at outcomes—study the pace. Study the process. 

A single good month can hide inefficiencies. A bad week can mask long-term progress. But consistent tracking, like consistent splits, gives you clarity. It helps you adjust before small problems become big ones. 

The Work Before Anyone’s Watching 

In sports, the most important work happens before the crowd shows up. It’s the offseason training, the conditioning, the drills that build muscle memory. By the time the game starts, the outcome has already been heavily influenced by what happened in private. 

Business is no different. 

Customers see the polished product, the marketing, the final delivery. They don’t see the hours spent refining your offer, testing ideas, fixing mistakes, or learning skills that never get publicly recognized. But that invisible work is what creates visible results. It’s tempting to focus on what’s outward-facing—social media, branding, appearances. Those things matter. But they only work if they’re supported by substance built behind the scenes. 

Endurance Over Excitement 

Sports teach you that winning isn’t about a single burst of effort—it’s about sustained performance. Anyone can sprint for a short distance. Fewer people can maintain a steady pace over time. 

In business, the same principle applies.

Quick wins are exciting, but they’re not the foundation of long-term success. Endurance is. Can you keep showing up? Can you keep improving? Can you keep going when progress feels slow? The businesses that last aren’t always the flashiest—they’re the ones that stay in the race. 

Feedback Is Fuel 

In sports, feedback is constant. Coaches correct you. Teammates challenge you. Your own performance gives you immediate signals about what’s working and what’s not. In business, feedback can be quieter—but it’s just as important. Customer reviews, sales data, engagement, even silence—all of it is feedback. The key is to listen without ego. To adjust without overreacting. To treat feedback not as criticism, but as information. 

Athletes don’t take correction personally—they use it to get better. The same mindset can transform how you run a business. 

The Long Game 

Sports teach patience. You don’t get stronger overnight. You don’t master a skill in a week. Progress is incremental, often invisible, and sometimes frustratingly slow. But if you stay consistent, results come. Business follows the same timeline. There are no real shortcuts—only processes that, when repeated over time, produce growth. 

The challenge is trusting that the work you’re doing today—even if it doesn’t show immediate results—is building something meaningful. 

Trust the Process 

The biggest lesson sports teach isn’t how to win—it’s how to prepare. When the moment comes—when the opportunity appears, when the pressure is on—you don’t rise to the occasion, you trust your training. You trust the process. 

In business, that training is the quiet work. 

The systems you build, the habits you maintain, the discipline you practice when no one is watching. That’s the work that matters most. And just like in sports, it’s what ultimately separates those who show up… from those who endure.  

About Jodi 

Jodi has robust experience running her own businesses and also help others grow theirs. She was an in-house Chief Marketing Officer for some of the fastest growing companies in the world for 15 years prior to starting Varsity Time. Jodi earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, where she was captain of the women’s swim team, earning Academic All-American and NCAA finalist status four years in a row. Jodi also has a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Go Blue! Go Cats!