Take Time to Sharpen Your Saw
To be successful, we need quiet time. We need to disconnect from the world. This is where I disconnected because I needed to get my mind straight. I needed to get my mind off all the problems and all the people telling me I was going to die, this wouldn’t work, that wouldn’t work, or this or that, until I was almost going crazy with it! I knew I had to get someplace where it was quiet, to think, and to sharpen my saw. And this was where that could happen.
There was a great feeling out there in the cold wilderness with the dogs. I developed such a relationship and companionship with them. I thought, “If we could do this with the people in our organizations, wow, what a powerful company we would be.” And if we took time to step back and reflect, be quiet, listen to the unspoken words, and sharpen our saw, how much more productive we could be, how much more help we could be to others.
Here I was getting ready to get back on the trail after a three-hour stop to feed and rest the dogs again.
Planning is the compass for success. There were times when I didn’t plan well, so I understand and know the pitfalls of that. But to be a successful person at anything, we need to learn how to plan and plan efficiently.
So, I was miles and miles from nowhere, and I opened my sleigh. I said to myself, “if I don’t have the right things in there, I’m in big trouble. If I don’t have the right amount of food for my dogs, my dogs are in trouble. If they’re in trouble, I’m really in trouble. If I don’t have an axe, if I don’t have fire starter, if I don’t have a sleeping bag, if I don’t have snowshoes and a snowstorm moves in, what’s going to happen? I won’t be able to put them on and break trail for my dogs if I have to.”
Planning is the key for everything. Take time to plan how you’re going to build your business and how you’re going to be successful.
