Sharpen Your Axe

Once upon a time, a timber trader recruited a worker to cut timber on his land.

With good compensations and good working conditions the worker determined to work hard.

On the first day of work the trader was given an axe and went to work. That day he managed to cut down eight trees. The trader was impressed and complemented the worker for the job done well.

Motivated by compliments and kind words of the trader, on the next day, the worker worked harder. Yet, he only managed seven trees that day. Although the worker had doubled his effort and time, he cut even lesser on the next day.
As days gone by, did not matter how much harder he worked he could not cut more than five trees a day. The worker became despondent, embarrassed and worried about keeping his job. With his head down, he went to see the trader to resign and apologize for such lousy performance.

The wise trader listened and asked when was the last time the worker sharpen his axe. The worker thought he should not waste time to sharpen his axe since that would be time taken from chopping down trees.

The trader insisted that the worker sharpen his axe before going work the next day. The worker did what he was told to do and that next morning he managed to cut down eight trees.

When was the last time you take the time to step back and sharpen your axe?

As we live a busy life, we are too focus on our busy-ness. We often excuse ourselves from having the time to learn and grow. Beware, we might not maximize our potential productivity as our axes become dull.

The worker only get to improve his performance and productivity by sharpening his blade and he might as well learn some new woodcutting techniques and learn from the trader or fellow workers.

Learn from the worker!

Make time to learn and grow.

Reshape your attitude.

Expand your knowledge by…

… reading books and articles,

… learning something new,

… getting a new hobby,

… meeting new interesting people.

Apply and sharpen your skills!