Have a think about the building you are sitting in, or near, as you read this blog. It’s an impressive structure that has been constructed by human hands, mostly. I look at buildings and structures all the time, amazed at the ingenuity and talent of the architects, builders and tradies who brought them to life. What amazes me even more, are structures like; the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, the Colosseum and the many other historic structures that were built thousands of years ago, with very primitive tools and a lot of grunt work. These days, buildings can go up in weeks and months, as opposed to, back in the primitive days, when it took years, decades and even centuries. What’s the difference? The tools!
Can you imagine how much quicker the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal and the Colosseum would’ve been built if there were; bulldozers, cranes, hoists, power tools, semi-trailers, computers and all the other amazing tools that we have today? It would’ve taken months, instead of centuries. They certainly wouldn’t be as impressive a display of human vision, capacity and endurance, but they would’ve been there much quicker. I dare say the men who did all the heavy lifting would’ve welcomed tools to make their job easier, and, help them to leverage and multiply their efforts.
Let’s face it, these days, can you imagine any type of construction happening without tools? Would a carpenter turn up to build the framework of a house without a hammer or hammer-gun, power drill or an electric screwdriver? Have you ever knocked a nail into a piece of wood? Have you ever decided to save money, not buy a hammer and do it with your bare hand. If you did, it would have taken a long time, and, been painful and very bloody! Crazy idea, isn’t it? Well then, if that is a crazy idea, why is it, when we have so many amazing tools at our disposal to help us do more, be more and create more in our life, we choose not to use them?
From a young age, and with a professional sport and small business background, I developed a strong work ethic. Now, you may be thinking this is a good thing. Well, it is and it isn’t. Have you ever have heard the statement; it’s better to work smarter than work harder? I had heard it, I just didn’t pay too much attention to it. I wore my work-ethic as a badge of honor, and was proud to say I was working seven days and over 100 hours per week. What I wasn’t so happy with, was that within two years of this I was in a lot of pain and very bloodied! I was in close to $100,000 debt and on the verse of physical and mental destruction. I was trying to hammer in the nail with my hand!
Up until that point, I had tried to use all my own effort and all my own knowledge to create significant and abundant change in my life. All I created was; financial, physical, emotional, and relational pain. What I knew and what I could do was never going to get me out of my circumstances. I needed to humble myself and use the many tools that were available for me at that time, I just wasn’t aware of them, or more accurately, I wasn’t open to them. I didn’t know, what I didn’t know, and honestly, I had no idea about the amazing leveraging power of tools.
Learning to leverage…
So, how does a hammer work? I don’t totally understand the science, but the length of the handle and the weight of the head allows you to leverage and multiply your effort, so with just a few strikes on the head of a nail, it is submerged into the wood. What about a crane? Again, something to do with the length of the levers, the smoothness of the pulleys and the power of the motor, means that incredibly heavy objects can be lifted easily. The key word to understand and apply here is… leverage. It was John D. Rockefeller who, in today’s terms was a billionaire, said, ‘I would rather earn 1% off the efforts of 100 people, rather than 100% off my own efforts.’ He is talking about leverage.
When I was at my lowest point and knew things needed to change, I met some people who helped me understand leverage, and, apply it in my own life. I started to get the idea when I decided to write my first book. I knew that, rather than me telling everyone what I knew, if I could write it and get it out to the world, I could leverage and multiple my message. I have now written nine books and sold around 200,000 copies to many people I will never meet. It is absolutely allowing me to leverage my efforts.
As I opened my mind, I started to learn about, and apply, the many tools that were at my disposal. Tools like; a mentor who could help me see things I couldn’t, books that could teach me things I didn’t know, audios I could listen to and get inspired by when I was driving and technology that could help me get my message out. I decided to overcome my ego and became humble enough to ask for help when I needed it. I started to tap into and utilise the powerful tools that I held inside me, tools like, faith, certainty, belief and gratitude. The second I started allowing myself to be led, opening myself to learn and choosing positive thoughts and emotions, my life transformed… fast. Within 2 years, not only was I out of debt, I was retired from an 80-hour a week personal training career and was a full-time author and speaker. It was my dream come true.
Do you know what amazing tools you have access to? Do you know where to find them? Do you know how to use them? Do you understand the power and transformation that will occur when you do? There are people who want to help you, if you would just ask. There are systems already in place to help you get what you want, so you don’t have to re-invent the wheel. You can collaborate with people and share the load. There are apps, online platforms and technological breakthroughs happening on a daily basis that can help you leverage your time. There are many tools available to you, and, just as it’s crazy to try and force a nail into wood with your hand, it’s equally as crazy to aspire to great things in life without using the tools available.
The most incredible tool, that you own, rests between your two ears and, if you use it correctly will open doors to a life you have no idea ever existed. Use your mind to help you, not harm you. Why not have more faith that things will work out? Why not start working on the belief that you are good enough to achieve what you want, one step at a time? Why not expect you will be successful, instead of unsuccessful? It takes no more effort. Why not chose to focus on what you want and what you are grateful for? All of these mental choices are tools that will powerfully leverage and propel you on to amazing things in your life.
If you’re at this stage of the blog, I may be preaching to the converted, as you already understand the tool of reading, learning and leveraging the experience of others. If you’re not effectively utilising the tools that are available to you, I want to challenge you to start thinking how you can introduce them into your life. The next time you are slogging away, trying to do something all by yourself, I want you to think about how stupid it is to try and drive a nail into a piece of wood with your bare hand, because that’s effectively what you are doing. Ouch! You have got them, so please for your own sake, use the tools available.