118. Why going the extra mile will always be worth it.

Hi everyone and welcome to Project Mindset. This channel is for all those who know that with the right mindset, anything is possible. I think I mentioned it in the last few podcast episodes. I’m in the middle of preparations for my upcoming event, Dinner at the Castle. If you don’t know what it’s about, just check out dinnerimschloss.de or my website, projectmindset.de. I’ve linked it there again. The event focuses on sustainability. There will be various panel discussions, including e-commerce and sustainability, and artificial intelligence and sustainability.

This is a really exciting and interesting event. Who would like to come along to Heidelberg Castle on April 23rd? And the funny thing is, before I get to today’s actual topic, about two years ago—I think it was at an event—I met someone completely randomly. It was a huge event, so big and with so many people. And maybe you know how it is when something is too big and there are too many people—it all becomes kind of anonymous again.

One of the few people I met there was a certain gentleman who works in the editorial department at Haufe Sustainability. And funnily enough, he was one of the very few people I met there, completely by chance. He recently posted about my event on the Haufe Sustainability channel. And as a result, a lot of other people contacted me, eager to attend. Some even came from Munich, which I’m very happy about, because Heidelberg is quite a distance from Munich.

Chance encounters and valuable contacts

And what I always find funny in life is these random things that happen, things you couldn’t possibly plan for. And then you meet someone who helps you in some way. In this case, my colleague simply made a kind post on the Haufe Sustainability channel announcing that the event was taking place in Heidelberg Castle. And that’s how other people came from all over Germany. I’m incredibly honored, of course. But what I’m trying to say is, it’s so funny how completely new paths can be forged with such random, individual things.

And new things can happen. Actually, it’s really funny, but that’s what I want to talk about in today’s podcast. You’ve probably heard of the famous extra mile. People often say that in work or something, it’s worth going the extra mile every now and then. And my point today is, I actually believe it’s 100,000 percent worth it. Why all this? Maybe you know how it is: at work, sometimes you get these additional tasks suggested. Hey, you could also do this and that.

Carefully weigh up the additional effort required.

Then the boss comes along and says, “We’ll take care of it.” Yeah, sometimes you might not be so keen. You’re not sure whether you should do the extra work or just say, “This isn’t working at all.” So how are you supposed to decide? Going the extra mile can also apply to relationships, for example, in the sense of saying, “Okay, am I going to invest the extra energy to keep my relationship stable?” or “I’m not feeling so great right now, so I’m just going to chill out a bit.”

As a freelancer, you’re constantly faced with the decision: where do I invest my time right now? Should I put in extra effort for an existing client, or should I just leave things as they are? Should they only get what they paid for, or should I go the extra mile? There are so many different things in life where you can constantly question yourself. Is it worth going the extra mile? In my experience, whenever I’ve gone the extra mile full throttle, it’s been worth it.

Let me give you a few examples, they’re really just random, taken from real life. Now, also in the context of podcasting. I once had the chance to interview the entrepreneur Saigin Yalcin. That was from an earlier podcast episode of mine. He had agreed to it, or rather, it was through his secretary at the time. I was told, “Come to Dubai, we can do a podcast there.” That works out perfectly, let’s do it. And I thought to myself, wow, amazing, I’d really love to talk to him.

Conducting an interview in person

And there’s also the option of doing a remote interview. But this is a pretty cool guest, someone I’d really like to meet in person. So I’m willing to go to all the trouble. I mean, it’s not a short trip between Heidelberg and Dubai. I also knew it would definitely take more than three days, because he’d be flying there soon. He’d spend one night acclimatizing, record the podcast the next day, and then fly back the day after that. The effort is enormous, and the costs are high.

Continued

And how do I even do that? Is it worth it? Or should I just record a remote podcast, for example using Zoom, and then publish it? Anyone who knows me knows that networking is extremely important to me. And after a while, it became clear to me. Yes, I’m going to the trouble just to get to know this person personally. Because you can have a much better conversation on a personal level. A little background information in a moment. If I’m doing a podcast via Zoom, it typically goes like this.

We start a podcast, record the questions, and that’s it. But if you’re there in person, you have a few more minutes up front. You can ask a few questions. Hey, how are you doing? What are you up to? How was your day? And so on and so forth. This means you have a better introduction to the podcast. You establish a personal connection before you even start the actual podcast. And that makes the conversation so much easier. So I went to the trouble. I told my wife I’d be away for a few days and would be back on such and such a date.

What the trip to Dubai achieved

It was, of course, incredibly time-consuming, expensive, and so on and so forth. And lo and behold, it was my most successful podcast to date, in terms of click count. That means if that were extremely important to me, it would be a KPI—a Key Performance Indicator. It shows that this was a good decision on my part. Aside from the click count, I was incredibly happy to finally meet the person in person. So, in retrospect, I’m super glad I made those extra runs.

In a different context, this also has to do with travel. I’m organizing this event in April, and this is the third time it’s been held. And I’m not an event organizer by trade. As you know, I’m involved in everything but organizing events. So, there are a lot of things I have to do or administer. Whether it’s clarifying certain things with the local catering, or getting the panelists on board in some way—getting them on the topic, communicating with all the other guests, preparing the ticketing, and so on and so forth.

It’s especially important to clarify the topic, as this is all new territory for me. A while ago, I had the opportunity to meet someone from Hamburg who’s organizing a fairly large event. He told me we could talk on the phone or I could come by, whichever I preferred. Then I could ask him all the questions I wanted, and he’d answer them. I’m so incredibly grateful for his time. And of course, I’d love to come to Hamburg.

A day trip to Hamburg

You need to know this. Heidelberg to Hamburg is quite a distance. You don’t just drive that far; I think the train journey took about six hours each way, as far as I can remember. Of course, the train was delayed—what else could it be? But six hours each way, so I stayed overnight. The next day we met up, and I was actually able to get a lot of questions answered. It was a completely different atmosphere, of course, instead of talking on the phone or meeting online, being able to ask all my questions in person.

You naturally build mutual rapport. I already liked him before, and now I like him even more. I was able to ask all my questions. And from my perspective, it was totally worth it because I gained completely new insights, because I was able to ask completely different questions, because we interacted with each other in a completely different way than you would on the phone. You have to understand, I’d never even met the person in real life before.

It was always just through LinkedIn, email, and so on. But when you finally meet in person, you build a completely different level of communication. So, going the extra mile is important here too. While the event itself is still to come, from my perspective, it was worth the investment—going there, talking to the person, all the organizational effort, the travel, and so on. It was definitely 100 percent worth it.

The photo with Torch in the castle

I have one last example of going the extra mile. It’s also in the context of podcasts. One of my favorite podcasts is the episode with Torch. You absolutely have to listen to it. It’s truly one of my favorite episodes. I think Torch, the musician, the hip-hop artist, the rapper, is a kind of icon for me. His album has been with me since early childhood. I still listen to it regularly to this day. So he’s a really great artist for me.

Continued

And I remember Torch and I talking on the phone, arranging where to meet, how to do it, and so on. He lives in Zurich now, too. And I said, Torch, it would be so awesome if we could meet at Heidelberg Castle. Because I think you, as someone from Heidelberg, talking about hip-hop at Heidelberg Castle, which has such a beautiful backdrop, would be absolutely amazing. Torch just said, hey, yeah, okay, but we can also make it easier somehow.

We’ll do it online, or we’ll meet somewhere else in person, and so on. I was like, no, that would be really, really great if we could meet there. I’d already arranged it with the restaurant owner at the castle. We did it in his establishment. He asked me, too. So, why all this effort for a podcast? Well, because it’s a perfect fit thematically. And look, after the podcast by Zeiggenialchen, who was in Dubai, this is the second most elaborate podcast, with everything that goes with it.

So, carrying things into the castle and so on and so forth. You can’t park right in front. Lots of construction and so on and so forth. But after the podcast with Zeiggenialchen, this is my second most successful podcast in terms of click count. I really like the content, too. So, interestingly enough, I really believed in it. This effort is worthwhile in some way, getting to know the person personally, for example, choosing the setting. In this case, it will definitely be worth it.

Your own decision to go the extra mile

What I want to tell you today is, if you’re currently considering whether it’s worth investing energy in this one thing you have in mind—be it a new project, a new relationship, or whatever—then, in my view, if you invest energy, you can only gain. Either you achieve your goal, which would be fantastic anyway, or—this might sound a bit cliché—you gain experience. So either way, it’s an absolute win.

And the most important thing for me in this context is that I’m the kind of guy who, in ten years, would say, “Oh man, if only I had… if only… you know how it is. If only I had invested more back then.” Knowing what I know now, I’d be really pissed off at myself if I hadn’t done that podcast with Saige Nyalching or that whole thing with Torch at Heidelberg Castle. Knowing now, of course, that it’s the most successful podcast of all time in terms of click counts, I would have kicked myself, to be honest, if I hadn’t done it.

So, guys, if you’re currently considering putting your energy into something you’ve been pondering for a long time, then do it, definitely do it, go the extra mile, go all in, it can only pay off in the end. Great, guys, that was my little story for today, talk to you again soon, and until then, don’t forget, my Zett is everything.