Sharpen Your Axe

There’s a parable of two lumberjacks:

Once, two lumberjacks entered a contest to see who could cut down the most trees in a single day. The first lumberjack worked tirelessly, never pausing for a break, chopping tree after tree with fierce determination. The second lumberjack, to the surprise of the first, stopped every hour for about ten minutes.

At the end of the day, the second lumberjack had cut down significantly more trees. Puzzled, the first lumberjack asked, "How could you possibly beat me? You stopped working every hour!"

The second lumberjack smiled and replied, “Because during my breaks I was sharpening my axe.”

This parable reminds me of a formula I stumbled upon from Cameron Herold…

Focus x Faith x Effort = Chance of hitting goals

  • Focus: doing the right things

  • Faith: belief in the process, organization, and future

  • Effort: working hard or hardly working?

The interplay of focus, faith, & effort are critical to reaching goals.

Even if faith and effort are at 100% …without doing the right things (i.e. focus) the chance for success is 0.

0% Focus x 100% Faith x 100% Effort = 0%

As we push through the last couple weeks of 2024, I’m reflecting on the importance of sharpening the axe for the new year to ensure proper focus.

One way I’m sharpening my axe is rereading my favorite business book by Jim Collins BE 2.0 (I’ve re-read it 3 years in a row)

How will you sharpen your axe going into 2025?

Onward,

Matt

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