Sharpen the Ax

Stephen R. Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, contains the story of two woodsmen.

One woodsman was a long, strong, strapping youth with big biceps and huge confidence.

The other was a weathered, wisened old man worn down by years of hard labor.

The young woodsman chopped aggressively all day long, hardly stopping to rest or eat.

The older man worked at a slower pace taking frequent rest breaks between trees.

At the end of the work day, the older man had cut twice as many trees as the younger.

Amazed and puzzled, the younger man asked how he could work so hard while the older man took frequent rests … and yet cut twice the number of trees.

The older man replied, “While I rested under the shade, I sharpened my ax.”

Are you furiously working away wearing yourself out, but using a dull ax? Maybe you need to take a break and sharpen the ax.

~Wayne