I like to run. Well, actually that’s not entirely true. I run because it seems to be the best and easiest way for me to get cardio-vascular exercise now that I’ve hit an age where getting hurt playing sports becomes increasingly feasible!

If you’ve ever run any distance, you know that just like a car guzzling fuel, your body guzzles energy. I’ve found that if you keep a pretty steady pace, it’s easy to get into a good rhythm and you’re able to manage your energy level and even increase it, as you get better.

There is a danger, however. You can easily be lulled into a false sense of success. I should know because it happened to me! I got into a consistent habit of running on the treadmill at the gym. It was an expected environment free of speeding cars, muddy roads, and angry, chasing dogs. I cruised at a fearless pace watching ESPN and listening to my iPod blare the Black Eyed Peas to train to. I had reached success.

Then, I went on the road. A client who likes to run marathons asked if we could hold our meeting while we ran. No problem. Not long into the run, it turned into a problem. The challenges of running outside on uneven surfaces, wind in your face, more volatile inclines, and even the sun beating down on you, sapped my energy. My pace was sluggish and my confidence shaken. I was running on empty because I had entered the “Success Trap.”

In my case, I had become successful at one aspect of training. I was lulled into a false sense of security that all I had to do was continue doing what I was doing and I would see ongoing growth and success. When my world changed, I found that Marshall Goldsmith’s admonition of “What got you here won’t get you there” is certainly true.

In business, it’s easy to get ensnared in the success trap. My professional mentor and author of Million Dollar Consulting, Alan Weiss has explained the success trap as this way — “To continue doing what brought you to this point but not attempting to innovate, reinvent, or improve — in other words, resting on the plateau.”

So how can you tell if you’re in the success trap? Here are a five signs…

• You stop learning. Confident people continue to learn. Arrogant people think they know it all. When you reach a point in your career where you think you’re “all that,” and can rest on your laurels, you’ve got problems.
• You stop trying new things because you’ve “always done it this way.” I refer you back to the Marshall Goldsmith quote.
• You become bored. Even things you are passionate about can become stale without nurturing. This leads to apathy.
• Your revenues flatten out and/or start declining.
• You have nothing new to offer.

So how do you get out of this conundrum? Here are 5 simple steps.

1. Seek help. Find colleagues, peers, support groups, mastermind groups, or coaches to help you remove the blinders. Fresh perspectives, new ideas, and accountability are what you need.
2. Take bold risks. Try something new in your business. Be innovative. That thing you were afraid to try; try it. Business is not for the faint of heart or tired and exhausted.
3. Commit to learning. I don’t care how long you’ve been in your industry, you can still learn more. You can learn new skills, or enhance ones that need enhancing. When you’re learning, you’re growing.
4. Add a new product or service. Be creative. Develop new intellectual property; discover new ways to improve someone’s life or business; find new ways to generate revenue. Talk to your customers about where they need help and then find a way to solve their problems.
5. Take time for life. Life balance is critical for success. The morphing of professional and personal lives due to technology highlights the need for mastering your time and priorities even more. The better your life balance, the better your attitude. And attitude is everything in business!

So now my training has changed. I still run on the treadmill the majority of the time due to convenience. But now, I mix in outside runs to add variety and balance to my regimen. The things I once did to become successful are the foundation. The new things challenge me and allow me to grow and discover new opportunities. I’m no longer running on empty!

What about you? Are you confined to the success trap? If so, or if you see yourself headed down that path, then challenge yourself with the easy and painless solutions I’ve outlined. You’ll find a new reality where you are running at the head of the pack.