Well , you're right. I knew better.

You heard it snap.

I felt it give way, the structural integrity acquiesce to the persistent pressure. 

And you can see it. And you see why.

The dark, proud charcoal color across the top had previously given way, bleached and beat down by the sun. And it was right there. Right in the middle of the lightest streak where it happened. A crack in the fiberglass.

“Shit.”

There I was, 47 minutes into fighting with an established fern bush and now without use of my main tool.

I had spent the last 47 minutes alternating between the shovel and dragging my fingers through the dirt to discover and disengage the shallow root system. The roots that spread more than six feet in every direction, under the dirt and through the grout between red bricks.  

And that was the problem.

This silly little bush had been preparing for this war for more than 16 years. I am completely unprepared, attempting to chop through the veteran root system with an aged and enfeebled flat head shovel. And that’s the real problem.

I was using the wrong tool for the job. And I knew it. And I kept doing it. And (brace yourself for this shocker), I broke it.

Which led me on a journey. A pilgrimage into the next door neighbors back yard, into their shed, and back into my yard. Which led me to success over nature’s valiant representative in less than 47 seconds.

After spending three quarters of an hour on that bush, I conquered it in three quarters of a minute.

The first attempt included gloving up and grabbing the spiky bush to rip it sword-in-the-stone style.

The second technique involved raking my fingers through the surrounding dirt, pulling up some roots while filling my fingernails with soil.

Third I broke my flat head shovel.

Then, finally, after all else failed, I walked 47 feet to get the right tool for the job. And it made the job easy. The spade head shovel chopped through the remaining roots and popped the bush out in less than a minute.

And that’s why I’m a dumb-ass.

I knew which tool I needed, and I knew where it was, and I chose to struggle and fight and break stuff instead.

And that epiphany led to self reflection, which led to this email.

It’s your turn to answer the questions that I asked myself.

Where in your life are you making something harder than it needs to be? Where are you struggling unnecessarily?

Are you struggling to lose that last 15 lbs, but won’t stop consuming things with added sugar? You know what tool to use, but you aren’t willing to do it. Instead you keep trying to workout harder and out-train your diet.

Are you struggling to get up early and make it to the gym, but you won’t stop going to bed at 11 pm at night? Instead, you force yourself up a few days in a row, and then fall off because you “need the sleep.”

Where in your life are you struggling?

Stop being a soft, lazy dumb ass like I was, and start using the right tool.

Success doesn’t have to be hard! It can be easy if you use the right tools.

Be great,

Danny Lehr

P.S. If you don’t know how to make something easy, ask your spouse and actually listen to their answer. If that doesn’t work, hire a coach!