No One Told You to Use the Axe

Today, I was chatting with a friend. And it reminded me of the countless times I have met people who are always sharpening the axe! We all have heard about the analogy that a woodcutter who does not sharpen the axe spends more energy and time getting the work done as compared to the one who regularly sharpens it.

And I cannot stop wondering ‘What happened to the rest of the story?’ No one mentions that you ALSO got to get the work done. If one only keeps sharpening the axe without any actual work, it might even become brittle enough to break.

Are you jumping from one seminar to another? One degree to another? One training to another? If so, you may want to ask yourself these questions today: ‘Am I using all the skills and competencies that I am gifted with to the fullest?’ ‘How can I leverage the maximum potential of every ability that I am gifted and trained for?

‘Every individual has all the resources necessary to get the life they want’ – NLP Presupposition

The question is not whether you have the skills. The question is – ‘Are you putting your skills to good, effective and purposeful use?’ My participants after six days of intense NLP training ask me, ‘How can we take these skills to the next level?’ And I tell them, ‘Now that you have learned a variety of skills and tools, there is just one thing remaining: to Go and Live your Life to the Fullest. I call this ‘Road Time’. And that is where the learning actually comes from. Getting something done with what you already have is better than practicing in isolation, as it also attaches a context, purpose and meaning to the activity. That is why learning at the last minute before an exam makes it so effective. That is why people learn on the job so quickly.

During the early days of my training with Dr. John Grinder (co-founder of NLP)  on modeling, I remember writing to him, after practicing compulsively and obsessively, and asking him if I am ready to be a NLP Modeler. And John responded, ‘The only thing that is missing is the Road Time’. And I went back and did just that. I gave myself the opportunity to create circumstances where these skills become useful and also a necessity. And I fully used every opportunity to hone them. To me, this summarizes NLP.

‘NLP is the magic of being ready, always, to use fully all the opportunities every moment! The Obvious, the Elusive and the Un-Explored.’ — Antano Solar John