Find your way forward

Are you stuck? Is the future uncertain for your business or the way forward unclear? Do you wonder where to step next in a troubled relationship that feels as if it is full of land mines?

In the early 60s, my Dad—who ranched in Southeastern Montana for more than 50 years—was caught in a whiteout. There are tragic whiteout stories…you hear of people who freeze to death in their front yards because they can’t find the door. Or maybe you read Little House on the Prairie, so you understand.

On this particular winter’s day, Dad had been out feeding cattle in a distant pasture. The wind whipped up as he was headed back toward the road. According to Dad, he could see about a yard in front of his pickup. So, he got a shovel out of the truck bed and took it as far out in front of the truck as he could go and still see the headlights. He’d plant his shovel in the snow, then get in his truck and drive to the shovel. Repeating this process, he could be sure he avoided the edge of any ravines. He did this for hours in the frigid conditions all alone until he got back to the road.

That kind of sheer determination doesn’t earn you many accolades from anyone who doesn’t understand agriculture in the northern Great Plains. “Feeding Cattle” already conjures up images they can’t imagine. Regardless, there are lessons to be learned from that kind of determination. My Dad would probably say, “I just wanted to get home.”

What do you want? What are you willing to work for…slowly, steadily in spite of discomfort, the risks of failure or the fact that you’re all by yourself?

Figure it out. And then start. One step at a time.

0 comments 0 people listening

Sign in

• Comment help
• Get Livefyre

Post comment as

+ Follow conversation Following - Unfollow

Post to

Sort: Newest | Oldest

Trackbacks

1. Wisdom we can gain from our parents to weather life's setbacks. says:

   July 8, 2011 at 12:37 pm

   [...] the post written last year called Find Your Way Forward, a corporate executive with a company in Florida for which I'd dearly love to consult wrote me a [...]