Hey there!

So today's all about Rule 3: Always be sharping the axe

During the retreat I just came out off..

I shared a story with a client that I think might be useful for us...

Hernan Cortez was a General who set out to conquer some distant land by boat.

Unfortunately when he landed..

He found that they were outnumbered big time!

Given their condition...

His soldiers decided they’d already lost and started preparing the ships for a quick and easy retreat. 

Now...

The way it’s told...

Cortez did something brilliant...

He burned the boats and any hope of retreat.

Message: We win or we die! You have to fight at 100%

Question: What lesson are we being taught when people share this story?

"Burn the boats!"

"Destroy every possible excuse"

“It’s not over until I win!”

“Never give up, no matter how many times it takes!”

Smh

Here is what they forget to tell you:

Cortez was told before embarking on the journey:

"If you come back without conquering the island, you and your crew will be put to death"

#evillaugh

#plottwist

That gives you more context doesn't it?

Burning the boats was risky...

But if he didn't burn them...

He and his crew would definitely be put to death.

He opted for the LEAST risky path.

Leave it to humans to use his story to do the exact opposite.

There are 10 unhelpful thinking patterns (10 cognitive distortions) that have been identified.

The most dangerous is probably the one fueled by motivational crap like "It's not over until I win"...

Apologies to the ever wonderful Les Brown.

But...

All Or Nothing Thinking is stupid and dangerous!

In my experience, the 1% are NOT gamblers.

They do not “burn the boats”

Why?

Because they know one thing is more important to their long-term success than anything else...

What's that thing?

It's...

Avoiding ruin. 

They set up scenarios where no matter what happens, they’re okay with the outcome.

When there are two unfavorable options...

They take the one with the least downside.

You can chop down a bigger tree with less effort if you have a sharper axe.

And you can deliver better results....

To bigger clients that are paying exponentially more...

If you have the clearest thinking...

The sharpest tools...

And the most consistent frameworks.

Tomorrow I'll share with you to do that...

You're gonna love it.

Till then...

Get out of your own way

CTM