“An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.”
Lao Tzu (600-531); philosopher
I love this quote by Lao Tzu. The ox dozing in the sun represents our best intentions. But if you look closely by the hoof of the dozing ox, you’ll spot the tiny ant walking by, carefully carrying its load for the day. That tiny bit the ant carries every day is the little piece we can take action on, however small.
When we’re working in our business, we allow the pace and daily demands to distract us from ever working on our business. Working “on” the business is focusing on the part that grows the business, the part that will fill the funnel with new opportunities.
For most of us, the “work on my business” part of the brain is the ox, dozing in the warmth of the certainty that “one day when I’m well-rested, I’ll spring up and do the heavy work.”
Well, send flowers: That ox isn’t dozing. He’s dead.
All we really have at our disposal is the dedication of the ant. That fantasy month where our calendar gives us wide open space? It ain’t coming.
However, every day, if we do one small thing that represents a genuine effort to work on the business, rather than responding within the business, we’ll eventually accomplish a tremendous amount towards growing our influence, business, and income.
We try to practice this ourselves and teach it to others. The Action Plans contained in the My Real Helper kits contain variable plans to get you started, based on available time (10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, etc.). Even if you only chip in 10 minutes a day, it can add up to 60 hours of business building a year.
By the way, we’re announcing the new My Real Helper collection. If you enjoy Tuesday Tactics, one of the best ways to help support it (if you don’t need signs today!) is to join My Real Helper. (For roughly $2.50/week, you receive quite a bit of quality letter writing, blog ideas, and coaching tips that don’t appear in Tuesday Tactics.)
Thanks again for reading! I hope you enjoy this week’s edition.
Photo credit: treehouse1977
