Studies show that passionate people are different. They’re more likely to achieve success quicker versus those who feel less passionate. Recent trends also show that people who are passionate about something other than work are happier, healthier and less stressed. Additionally, those who exercise their passions daily are more confident and are can maintain laser focus throughout the day. So how does all of this information translate into attaining success in business? One Atlanta-based entrepreneur believes practicing your passion outside of the office ignites your ability to succeed. His happens to be running.

Paul Masters is the Master Franchise Owner of Anago of Atlanta. Prior to joining Anago, Paul co-founded a successful telecommunication and IT firm called Ernest Communications which was then acquired by a large IP-based communications firm out of Atlanta. There’s no doubt Paul has attained a great deal of success throughout his career, but there’s one commonality he believes he shares with other fellow entrepreneurs – passion.

“Running is my passion. It has helped me in a multitude of areas of my life, especially in business,” says Paul.

So we sat down with Paul to ask him about running and why he thinks exercising that passion outside of the office has helped him achieve so much success in his professional life.

Q: Running isn’t a team sport, per say, but what about it has helped you understand the nature of competition?

P: It’s a competitive outlet for me, mostly against myself. It’s a constant race against my own clock. Can I beat my time from last week? To do this, I have to push myself to run faster, better and stronger. In business, it works the same way. You have to push yourself to reach benchmarks, exceed last month’s goals and last year’s numbers, etc.

Q: One study shows that people who practice their passion, specifically exercise, are more disciplined.  How does that translate into business?

P: It takes discipline to stick to a workout routine day after day, year after year, especially when you’re training for a marathon. Many times I force myself to go outside my comfort zone even though I may not feel like the risk is worth the reward. It’s the same in business. When I trained for my triathlon and ultramarathon, I learned how to shape my mental fortitude. It takes mental strength to deal with issues such as lost customers, under performance, etc. It’s about going the distance and surviving.

 Q: Is there anything else unique about running that benefits your business?

P: Running allows my mind to wander. Some people say it helps them generate ideas, whereas I use the time to just mentally relax. I realized running was really the only time I was able to think about nothing and be okay with it. We all need moments in our day to shut down and recoup. Running is that time for me.

For more information on trends that highlight the above topic, check out the following Forbes article on how creative exercise leads to better performance. https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissathompson/2017/01/23/why-creative-exercise-leads-to-better-entrepreneurial-performance/&refURL=https://www.google.com/&referrer=https://www.google.com/