Blog: Time to Sharpen the Saw
Summer is more than halfway over and, for me, that’s disappointing. I love the warmer weather, gardening, daylight into the evening, and simply being outside more.
So, considering the idea that Summer is moving quickly, for this Blog I’m taking a break from discussing investments and current events and, instead, reminding you that it’s time to take a break.
Even if you can’t go “away” somewhere, simply taking some time off to relax is good for your mental and physical health and can help you become more productive when you get back.
Consider the story of the two lumberjacks.
As the story goes, there was a competition between two lumberjacks over who could fell more trees. One was an older, more experienced lumberjack and the other was a strong young man about twenty years younger. The rules were simple: the two lumberjacks would be sent into the woods and the one who could cut the most trees in eight hours would be the winner.
The younger lumberjack was full of enthusiasm and went off into the woods and started cutting trees immediately. He worked all through the day, barely taking time to catch his breath or to grab some food and water. He knew he had superior youth and stamina than the older lumberjack and felt sure he would win, since he could hear the older man working in another part of the woods. He could hear that the older man was taking many more breaks. The younger lumberjack naturally assumed the older guy was taking more frequent breaks because of his age and lesser strength. He was confident his youth and stamina would win him the competition.
When the final whistle blew, the older lumberjack had felled many more trees than the younger man. The younger man turned to the older man and asked, “How can this be? I heard you taking breaks every hour while I worked continuously. How could you possibly have beaten me?”
The older man smiled and said, “Son, I was not stopping to rest. I was stopping to sharpen my saw.”
August is a great month to “sharpen your saw.” I hope you’ll take time to enjoy yourself!
Happy Summer!
Joe