This morning I was listening to John Assaraf’s “The Inner Game of Money” and on that audio he recounted a story of how a man was walking through the desert. He was tired and thirsty and wanted to turn back as he could not see a clear way forward. I think we have all been in that position at some point in our lives. However as he looked skywards he suddenly fell over a cactus. Well we all know that cactus’ are a source of water in the desert so the man ripped open the plant and quenched this thirst. He then looked back over the pathway he had just trodden and noticed that he had passed a number of cacti already on his journey and as he looked forward there were even more on his path. The reason I love this story is that opportunities surround us throughout our life and yet we often fail to see them, or if we do, we fail to act. In many instances too the more we look for the opportunities the less likely we are to find them. I know this has been so true in my own life. So why is that?
I believe that one of the reasons we miss the myriad of opportunities that are out there is because as a society we generally live in the past. We dwell on what happened and why. Sometimes we dream of the future and what it might bring. Yet few of us live in the present – in the here and now. Horses are masters at living in the present. As prey animals they cannot afford to not be on guard to what is going on around them right now or they might get attacked and injured. Being present means they are in tune with nature and acutely aware of the slightest change in their environment. They see opportunities all around them.
From my own personal experience I know that I am more grounded and present when I am with my horses. Partly, I guess I have to be for my own safety. If I’m not focused and aware of what is happening around me I could end up with half a ton of horse on top of me. I also typically find that lots of my inspiration comes during the time I spend with my horses when my brain is not working at lightening speed analysing everything that has happened and might happen. I’m an extreme left brain thinker so quieting my mind is challenging, yet when I do I realise that there are loads opportunities surrounding me, I’d just been blinded to them up to that moment.
So for today, take time out and get grounded and present. Be like a horse and focus on the here and now, and see what wonderful opportunities might be staring you right in the face.
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower. Business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives hire her to accelerate their business performance by harnessing the energy of their people to work more collaboratively together. By aligning purpose with actions the team achieves exponential results as everyone starts pulling in the same direction.
Julia believes that business is a force for good and through designing purpose-driven businesses that leverage the laws of nature, and the herd, you can create businesses founded on the principles of connection, collaboration and community that make a significant impact in the world.
