Denny Strecker
Helping People Reach Goals They Never Imagined Possible

I really enjoy reading Aesop’s Fables and I just finished “The Swallow and the Other Birds” and wanted to share it with you. The fable teaches us it is important to plan our future and keep an eye out for obstacles before they become a challenge in life. Too often, people spend their life reacting to circumstances and then feeling like a victim when things don’t go their way.

Procrastination is dangerous because it closes doors of opportunity and paints you into a corner.  Here are some examples of what I mean:

• You have a big test tomorrow and forgot to study so now you are staying up all night to cram.

• You have wanted to go college but you did not complete the application until the last day possible and now you cannot get the classes you want.

• You have being meaning to take that vacation but never had “the time” and years have passed and you have not been anywhere.

And the list could go on and on. We are all guilty of procrastination at some point in our lives. The important part is to realize it and stop it!

Here is the Aesop Fable. I hope you enjoy it and more importantly use it to become more proactive in your life.

A Farmer sowing his fields with flax was observed by a Swallow, who, like the rest of her tribe, had traveled a good deal and was very clever. Among other things, she new that of this same flax, when it grew up, nets and snares would be made, to entrap her little friends, the Birds of the country. Hence, she earnestly besought them to help her in picking up and eating the hateful seed, before it had time to spring from the ground. But food of a much nicer kind was then so plentiful, and it was so pleasant to fly about and sing thinking of nothing, that they paid no attention to her entreaties.

By and by the blades of flax appeared above the ground, and the anxiety of the Swallow was renewed.

“It is not too late,” said she, “pull it all up, blade by blade, and you may then escape the fate which is otherwise in store for you. You cannot, like me, fly to other countries when danger threatens you here.”

The little Birds, however, took no notice of the Swallow, except to consider her a very troublesome person, whom silly fears had set beside herself.

In the course of time the flax grew, ripened, and was gathered, spun, and amde into nets, as the Swallow had foretold. When the nets were set, the Birds could scarcely venture forth without some of their number being caught; and many a little captive thought in dying, of the Swallow they held to be so crazy. While the Swallow, in despair at their thoughtless ways, has since preferred the society of men to that of her former companions.

Prevention is better than cure.

In class the other day, I noticed a young student finding ways to get out of doing push-ups with the class. These creative ways include fixing their uniform or belt, pretending to stretch their arms, or just plain lying still while everyone else is working hard. This got me to thinking that this student is looking for a short cut to getting into better shape. I don’t fault that child for looking for a short cut. It is my responsibility as the teacher to guide the student to their desired outcome—and when they stray off course to gently get them back on track.

I took this opportunity to speak to the entire class.

“There are no short cuts to success!” I said.

In this case, if the student continues to miss doing push-ups, they will not get any stronger and will not be able to do more of them. At White Belt this may not be a big deal, as the class generally does around five. The problem begins when the student reaches Green Belt and the class is doing ten to fifteen at a time, and they still are not able to complete five. The problem continues to grow when they reach Brown Belt and the class is now doing fifteen – or even twenty – push-ups and they still are not able to do five. Finally, the problem becomes insurmountable when they are preparing for Black Belt Camp and must complete a fitness test that includes push-ups, and they still are not able to complete five.

The conversation then turned to day-to-day life and how people look for short cuts to get out of doing the things they need to do – people of all ages are guilty of this. Too often, people look to find what the bare minimum that needs to be done is and shoot for that. Unfortunately, we don’t reach our goals all of the time and if you set your goal as the bare minimum required and miss, you will not be very productive in your life. One of the many sayings I like is, “The enemy of excellence is good enough.” Any time I hear myself say, “That’s good enough,” I instantly stop, go back and make it better.

Here is the example I used in class to help illustrate my point for the younger kids. Imagine karate class is over, and your parents are taking you home. Along the way they say, “Hey, I know a short cut.” They begin to turn onto street after street, zigzagging through neighborhood after neighborhood and the trip home ends up taking 20 minutes longer than it normally does. That means dinner is thirty minutes later… and because of that you don’t finish eating until it is dark and it is too late to go outside to play. So the short cut ended up having a domino effect on the rest of your day.

See how the cost of a short cut can add up?

No one has ever gotten to the top of anything with a short cut……Michael Phelps, Bill Gates, Michael Crawford and the list goes on and on! By working hard and focusing on reaching your goals you will learn your Black Belt in karate AND you will be a lot happier in your life.

People are always asking me how they can get more done in their day and I have found that everyone has wasted minutes and hours in their day that prevent them from being as productive as they can be. The challenge is to minimize that wasted time and fill it with “must do” items.

Here is a great article I just read from Early to Rise that teaches 7 Steps to waking up earlier and getting more accomplished in your day.

“The answer is simple. The right approach is the same one I teach my fat loss clients – go slow and steady. Here are 7 steps to waking up earlier, and easier, in the future.

Step #1 – Set your alarm clock to go off 10 minutes earlier for the rest of the week. Don’t try and set it an hour early, that’s too much, too soon.

Step #2 – In the following week, set your alarm to go off 10 minutes earlier again.

Step #3 – Repeat until you are at your desired wake-up time. If you want to be a little more aggressive, change the wake-up every 3-4 days.

Step #4 – In addition, each week you do this, make sure you are going to bed 10 minutes earlier at night.

Step #5 – In order to go to bed earlier each night, look at your day and make sure you are not wasting any time. Perhaps you have an hour for lunch? Well, no one needs an hour to eat, so use every minute wisely. Finish tasks at lunch time that you might otherwise do at after work, such as grocery shopping, exercise, or errands.

Step #6 – Identify all of the obstacles in the way for you getting to bed early, and more importantly, plan TWO solutions for each obstacle. Do you get a lot of phone calls at night interrupting your relaxation time? If so, turn off your phone and have only text messaging available for emergencies. Does TV keep you up at night? If so, make a pact to avoid turning it on and record your favorite shows for the weekend.

Step #7 – Have a clear, positive conversation with your spouse, kids, friends, etc. and everyone else who factors in your final bedtime, and let them know what you are doing and why you are doing it. Focus on the positives that this will bring them and you.

Going to bed and getting up earlier need not be looked upon negatively. Instead, it can be reframed as a positive step forward in your life that benefits everyone. It’s all a matter of perspective.”

Keep pushing, Craig Ballantyne

“Take time to recharge your battery. You won’t get the Golden Egg without first taking care of the Goose.”
- Frank McKinney