YOU MANIAC!

It’s actually a compliment

Sure, I get accused of being a maniac about growth, about improving, about wanting to make things better! That's a good thing and here’s why: Improvement won't happen until you go into maniac mode.

The status quo has a powerful pull. Change requires massive effort. So when accused of going overboard, of working too hard, winners sometimes feel like they need to dial it back. Wrong! You are on the right track but when the lazy see your pace it scares them. Compared to them, you ARE a maniac. 

That’s why so many people are stuck in life.
They want better things, but they don’t want to be bothered about all that it takes to get them. They don’t want to upset their lives. They don’t want to be bothered. They are dissatisfied but not enough to give up their small comforts. They don’t want to go to the trouble of working up a sweat or making any changes in their lives.

But they live in denial.
They won’t admit it to themselves. They profess to anyone who’ll listen how miserable they are and how desperately they want a better life. They’ll tell you what hard workers they are. They’ll tell you they don’t want something for nothing. But when it comes down to actually doing what it takes to make a change in their life, they fade away, full of excuses. When they see someone working hard they are offended.

The pretenders are ALWAYS annoyed by the maniacs—because they want an easier way. 

It’s crazy for you to slow yourself down to their pace.
Can you show me ANYONE who did anything spectacular in sports, business or anything else who WASN'T a maniac for a period of time? Even some parents are accused about being maniacs about their kids doing homework, jobs around the house, having curfews for teenagers because they want their kids to grow up right. I guess they are just a bunch of unreasonable maniacs too! Losers hover just below the spectacular and manic level... and never make their breakthrough. You can’t be casual about things you care about and expect great results.

If you can't inspire and drive yourself and your team to spectacular activity you'll NEVER have spectacular results!

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Feedback: Can you see why being a “maniac” for a period of time is necessary for success?

Who Chops the Most Wood?

My hunting buddy Mike Tuttle of Dallas told me this one many years ago.

It seems there were 2 men out cutting wood.

They were very competitive. It mattered who cut the most wood. But they were strong minded and had different ideas about how to go about getting the job done. There was no reason to argue about it, the results would show who was right.

One was relentless.

He never took a break. From 8 in the morning until 5 at night chopped steadily. An occasional drink of water and at lunch a few bites of food were his only interruptions. All day long he attacked with singleminded intensity.

The other worked in shifts.

He took a 5 minute break every hour.  During his break he took out his file and sharpened his axe.

He felt that while working hard was necessary you also needed to be sure it was effective. He didn’t mind working but he wanted to get the most out of his work.

Who do you think cut the most wood? Right. The one who took the breaks and regularly sharpened his axe. It proved that just flailing away at the job would only get you so far. So next time you are wrapped up in a project, take some breaks, keep yourself sharp.

It's one thing to work hard. It’s another to do it in a way that insures your hard work is going to get the most possible results.