Business is a sprint until you find an opportunity, then it's

Hear the wisdom of Robert Herjavec, who declared: “Business is a sprint until you find an opportunity, then it's the patience of a marathon runner.” In these words, he unveils a truth that transcends commerce and enters the realm of life itself. For in the beginning, when one seeks to establish a path, the pace must be swift, the energy fierce, and the will unrelenting—a sprint through uncertainty and chaos. But once the path is found, once the opportunity is seized, the journey changes its rhythm. No longer is it about speed alone, but about endurance, discipline, and the patient strength of the marathon runner.

The origin of this teaching flows from Herjavec’s own journey. From a poor immigrant boy to a titan of industry and a voice on Shark Tank, he knew the frantic dash of those early years, when survival demanded swiftness and daring. He also learned that lasting success could not be built upon hurried gains alone. Opportunities, once discovered, require the slow cultivation of trust, strategy, and persistence. His words, therefore, are born of scars and victories, of the blend between urgency and patience that defines true mastery in enterprise.

History gives us many examples of this rhythm between sprint and marathon. Consider the tale of Alexander the Great. His early conquests were swift as lightning, a sprint across the known world that shocked empires. Yet once the lands were taken, the greater challenge was not in conquering but in ruling, in holding together a vast mosaic of peoples. There, speed gave way to patience, and though Alexander himself faltered in this second trial, his story teaches us the eternal difference between winning quickly and sustaining wisely.

So too in the story of Thomas Edison, who sprinted with bold experimentation in search of breakthroughs. But when the electric light was born, the work became one of patience: building networks, educating the public, and convincing investors of its power. Without that slow persistence, the invention might have flickered and vanished. The marathon of patience turned an invention into a revolution that lit the world.

The meaning of this wisdom is profound: life requires both the fire of speed and the calm of endurance. To sprint without ever slowing leads to ruin, exhaustion, and mistakes. To wait without ever daring leads to stagnation and missed chances. The wise leader, the skilled entrepreneur, knows when to dash with ferocity and when to endure with steadfastness. This is not merely a skill of business, but of all human endeavor.

The lesson, then, is clear. When opportunity has not yet been revealed, run with courage and hunger, testing paths, learning swiftly, pushing with vigor. But when the door of opportunity opens, slow your pace. Nurture it as a gardener tends a tree: patiently watering, pruning, and waiting for the fruit. In this balance lies greatness—the ability to shift between the restless urgency of the sprinter and the calm endurance of the marathoner.

Practical action is within reach for all who hear these words. Begin each venture with boldness, never fearing the intensity of the chase. But once your purpose is found, learn to breathe, to pace yourself, to guard your strength for the long road. Celebrate small progress, endure setbacks with patience, and remember that empires, families, and legacies are not built in haste but in steadfast devotion.

Thus, let these words echo to generations yet unborn: in business and in life, sprint until the vision is found, then run the long race with patience. For the world belongs not only to those who start swiftly, but to those who endure until the end. This is the secret of triumph, the union of speed and patience, of fire and calm, of the sprinter and the marathon runner walking as one.