In 2012 I wired every penny I had, and more, to China on a product that had no sales history.

It was reckless. It was probably a bit stupid. Everyone told me not to. Everyone thought I’d lost the plot and would lose all of my money. But it worked out, and looking back, that moment set the tone for everything that came after.

For years after that, I had people around me asking, “are you still just selling stuff online?” or words like “When are you going to get a proper job?” I heard it constantly.

I remember the first time I showed my father-in-law a video of the warehouse on Black Friday. Stock absolutely crammed in. He couldn’t believe it. After moments like that people start taking you seriously. But until you have solid proof, everyone will doubt you, and nobody more than yourself.

From 2013 to 2018 I struggled financially. Massively. Five years before I started to see any real money. Five years of everyone thinking I was wasting my time. But I was committed. I had made a bond with myself that come rain or storm, I would make it work.

That same thing runs through everything I do now. Including my fitness.

Last week I was in China for 8 days for work. A packed schedule. A massive sports and fitness show with over 1,800 manufacturers. Heavy rain. Jet lag. Food that was ridiculously oily. One of the team I was with said anyone else would have used China as an excuse to let off the gas. He didn’t understand why I was still getting up to run.

I ended up doing my longest ever running week. 45 miles. On top of nearly 100 miles of walking.

Because in September I’m running the Berlin Marathon. I said I would. And my word to myself means something.

This blog isn’t about running. It isn’t about business or fitness or any one thing in particular. All of those things are just outputs. The real thing underneath all of it is this: keeping your word to yourself.

I learnt a long time ago, through mistakes, books, and mentors, that integrity with yourself is the most important thing of all. Not in a hustle-hustle-hustle social media speech kind of way. What I mean is this: every time you say you’re going to do something and you don’t follow through, your subconscious loses a little bit of trust in you. You lose trust in yourself. Admit it or not, you will like yourself a little less.

And over time that compounds. In the wrong direction.

When I was doing my Ironman, my son was still a baby. Some nights I’d had two hours sleep. I still got up at 6am to swim. Because I said I would.

I’m not saying you need to be as extreme as I am overnight. That would be impossible for most people and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t something I’ve built over years. But you can build towards it. And the way you start is simple.

Set a goal. Put a date on it. Lock it in.

Then focus on winning each day.

In my bodybuilding days there were times I was dieting really hard. Genuinely starving at points. But I didn’t think about the whole diet. I just focused on following it to the letter today. Wake up tomorrow. Stack another day. Days become weeks, weeks become months, months become results.

Business is exactly the same. There are days I don’t want to sit in front of a computer all day. Back-to-back calls I’m not excited about. But the principle doesn’t change. You master one day at a time. The more consistently you commit, the faster and better it comes.

Now, an important caveat.

I’m not saying no days off. That’s nonsense. Anyone who says “no days off” is either lying or burning themselves out. Rest is essential. The difference is this: most of your rest days should be planned rest days, not just days because you didn’t feel like it.

And you’re human, not a robot. If your goal is fitness, remember you’re not a professional athlete. Life will get in the way. Family will need you. Work will need you. That’s okay.

Set your values. Be clear about what actually matters most. For me, family is first, always. If they need me, everything else stops. But I’m not going to set your values for you. What I will say is, once you’ve set them, don’t then use them as a blanket excuse not to go after your goal.

Always try to fit the run in. Always try to make the work happen. There will be times you genuinely can’t. But if you know you tried, it won’t damage your self-belief the same way not trying will.

The difference between people who reach their goals and people who don’t usually isn’t talent, time, or circumstances.

It’s whether or not they kept the promise they made to themselves.