Once, there was a strong woodcutter who didn’t have a job. He decided to ask for a job as a timber merchant, and he got it. The job paid well, and he was determined to outdo himself. His boss gave him an axe and told him to get started.
On the first day, the woodcutter felled 18 trees. His boss was thrilled at the hard work! “Congratulations,” the boss said. “Go on that way!”
The woodcutter was motivated. The next day, he tried to beat his record. He only managed 15 trees. On the third day, he tried even harder but only managed ten trees.
Every day, he cut fewer trees and was disappointed in himself.
“I must be losing my strength,” the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologised, saying he could not understand what was happening.
“When was the last time you sharpened your axe?” the boss asked.
“Sharpen? I’ve had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been so busy trying to cut trees…”
Lessons to Be Learnt
Sharpening the axe will save you energy. It will save you time. And it will make your job much more polished.
In his book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, Steve Covey writes about the importance of sharpening the axe. He dives into preserving and enhancing our greatest assets. He also mentions that you are the greatest asset you have.
As we move into another new year, it becomes more apparent than ever that to succeed, you must renew the four dimensions of your nature – physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional.
Are You Sharpening Your Axe?
If you’re doing it right, the last few days of the year should be for reflecting on our lives. I’m sharing a few resources I think you’d find very useful.
Here are the five ways to sharpen your axe and start your year on the right foot:
1. Write a Letter to Your Future Self
Where do you see yourself at the end of the year?
If you’re a business owner, I suppose the answers to this will look something like this:
- Making X amount of money per month
- Taking X number of holidays every year
- Employed X amount of people to work for me
I’ve spoken about manifestation here a couple of times. It’s no secret. I’m a big believer. You can only imagine my joy when I found out about the concept of writing to your future self. What do you say in the letter? Anything. Everything.
Doing this gives you perspective on your current situation. It makes you visualise what you want for yourself in the future, and it helps you pursue it.
In your letter, don’t be afraid to dream big. Include everything you need to achieve your goals. Write your loftiest aspirations and even smaller wins.
Write as though it has already happened, describing clearly how they came to fruition.
You can write a physical letter or use websites like Futureme.org or The Self Club. If you choose the latter, you can pick the exact date when you want the letter delivered to your email inbox.
Even if things don’t pan out as you imagined, I can guarantee that you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what you learn about yourself in the process.
2. Plan Well
Planning is an undeniably powerful tool.
In fact, for every minute you spend doing it, you’ll save at least 10 minutes in implementation.
While planning doesn’t guarantee a result, it will give you clarity and focus, arguably the two single most important determinants of success and failure.
At Outside ideas, we’re heavy believers in the ‘12 week year.’
We plan every quarter of the year. We break down SMART goals and what each year will take to achieve them.
In between, we check our KPIs, and at the end of each week, we measure and refocus.
Sharpening the axe is all about planning. And if you do it right, you get the strength to chase your goals. You become more efficient. And ultimately, you succeed.
3. The Year Compass
Writing takes manifestation to the next level, and that’s why The Year Compass seems like a magic trick to me.
The Year Compass is an online booklet that allows you to reflect on the previous year and plan for the next one. It has well-thought-out questions and exercises that help you uncover your patterns.
The Year Compass shows you the tangible changes you must make to succeed. You can complete it online or in person.
If ‘New Year, New Me’ doesn’t work for you, this definitely will. Because rather than a set of dos and don’ts, The Year Compass allows you to meditate and be practical about it.
You can use it as a manifestation guide to visualise what you want in the coming year.
4. Create a Vision Board
Have you watched the documentary or read the book called The Secret? If you haven’t, then I highly recommend that you do!
The film has examples of how the vision board works.
For example, a man, years after making his board, discovers that he is living in the exact house that he had put on it.
I’ve seen it happen to others. And I’ve seen it happen for myself.
The year I wrote this blog post, I won the Networker of the Year award, which has been pinned to my vision board for four years!
As you prepare to start a new year, making a new vision board should be among your top priorities.
- How much money do you want in your account?
- What kind of relationships do you want to have?
- Where do you want to travel?
You can literally put anything on there! Don’t be afraid to dream big. As they say in The Secret, the hows are in the domains of the universe.
Summary
If you want to change your life, you have to make the decision to change your life. Take the time to plan and understand why you want to change, then it will be much easier. It has to start with you. Here are the ways to start your year on the right foot.
- Write a Letter to Your Future Self.
- Plan Well.
- The Year Compass.
- Make a Vision Board.
Onwards and upwards my friend,
Pete
