Lesson Learned from a Lumberjack: Stop Hacking it with a Dull Blade

“The sharpest tools in the shed are worthless if you don’t have a handle on them.”

— Bill Watkins, Founder of The Lions Pride

How often do you find yourself too busy to sharpen your ax because you’re furiously chopping wood with a dull blade?

Literally, probably not often. 

But if you’re working harder, slower, and sweatier than you need to because your tools (or your team) aren’t up to the job...then it’s probably more often than you’d like to admit.

It’s the most common problem I find with low-functioning high performers. 

• “I’m too busy to take your Productivity course” which is obviously the first sign that your butt should be in class.
• “I can’t afford a virtual assistant” yet you pay yourself $300/hour to schedule appointments, send invoices, and wrangle emails. 
• “My company is taking all of my focus. I can’t invest in myself right now” yet without your health, attention, happiness, and clarity of focus, your company ceases to exist.

Dull axes aren’t just ineffective; they’re dangerous. They have a horrible habit of rebounding and glancing off the wood, hitting things you never intended. They wear you down faster than the surface they hit. And they take the fun out of a job that could be purposeful and even therapeutic. 

The choice is simple. You can either hack away with a blade that just doesn’t cut it or you can take time to sharpen, reset your stance, and finally break through. 

Either way, the stress, lack of results, and overwhelm you are feeling will eventually end. You’ll either drop the ax (and everything else) and burn out—or you’ll master a way to keep the fires going all winter long.

Let me know if you need a grinder.

P.S. If you’ve never chopped wood, try it. Here’s a fantastic video from Michael Kearney on the proper technique.

Check out the full blog post here for next steps to sharpen your ax.