People say I tell lots of stories. I do this because, for me – a lesson is better remembered (and sometimes learned) if there is a story or anecdote attached to it.
This brings me to a couple of motorcycle stories that upon reflection taught me some valuable lessons about my business.
Let me begin by saying that I have been terrified of dropping my motorcycle. At a whopping 857 pounds, I know that it is impossible for one person to pick up alone. I knew though that at one point the inevitability of losing control of such a large bike is a given.
For those of you who have not seen my bike, it is a big one – but more than big it is just plain too tall for me. I can ride and control it well, however I can only touch the ground with the balls of my feet – which makes maneuvering it in and out of small spaces like garages and parking spots a bit of a dance on my tip-toes! I have been so afraid of dropping the bike that I rarely ride it alone. Usually my husband drives and I ride behind. (it is set up for his height not mine)
About a month ago we were on an extended ride. At the end of a long and exhausting day we came off the highway and stopped for the red light on the top of a hill on an exit ramp. Tired legs and uneven pavement contributed to a ‘lean to the right’ where the weight of the motorcycle outweighed the strength of the driver and a smooth and comically slow movement resulted in the driver literally laying the bike down on its side. As the driver laid the bike gently down – I tried to get off the back seat which resulted in me hopping on one foot and trying to get my leg over the back rest.
After several hops up and down I realized I was also attached to the bike via my helmet cord that was attached to the receptacle on the other side of the bike. (It looks much like a curly telephone cord) I continued to hop backwards trying to release myself only to realize that now the back aerial was caught between my legs.
All I could think of was what it must look like! What a spectacle!
In the end after hopping several more times on one foot, I fell on my bum in the middle of the lane we occupied. In the meantime – the light had turned green and red again.
After a deep breath I got up off my bum, brushed off my pride and between the two of us we managed to lift the bike up, get back on and head home. We were lucky. There was no damage to the bike (it rolled on a roll bar) so there was no damage to anything except our confidence and pride.
For me this event was a defining moment – and I know I will never forget it. It took about a week to sort out how I felt about all of it. I realized that I had learned several great lessons from the event – so I thought I would pass them on to you.
Lesson #1. Anyone can make a mistake. I had been terrified of dropping the bike – so I rarely rode it alone. In the end, I realized that dropping the bike was not really such a big deal. So what. The most important part was that together we picked ourselves and the bike up and got back on it to ride it home. (some day I might even laugh about this event)
Lesson #2. Stop and rest when you are tired. This applies to everything in life – including business. When we go too long and too hard – mistakes happen. If we are lucky, we can recover from our mistakes. However, mistakes made affect our confidence and pride – and until we get back up and ride it can also affect our performance and confidence.
The second fall or shall I say ‘bike dropping event’, I managed to accomplish all on my own! Determined to master the weight and awkwardness of the bike, I decided to ride it to work one day.
I was the only one home and so I took my time getting my chaps on, arranging all my things in the compartments and making sure I was prepared to ride safely. I began to back the bike out of the garage and my foot slipped on the cement. I looked at the shoes I had on and thought “I had better get my boots on – they have better grip”. So I decided to do this after I had backed the bike out of the garage. Then my foot slipped again. My gut told me to get my boots on now, but I ignored the intuitive prompting.
I backed the bike out onto the cement pad and then down the grade to the gravel laneway. I stopped the bike a little too quickly and the bike began to lean to the right. I knew then as it leaned that I was past the point of being able to right it and so I slowly lowered it to the ground.
“Ok” I thought. “No big deal”. But now what? As pointless as it seemed I decided to try my best to lift it back up. (there is a technique to lifting heavy bikes) As you can guess – it was pointless. The bike outweighed me by over 700 pounds.
With no one home, there was only one l thing I could do. Call a friend or ask a passing motorist ( a stranger ) for help.
I managed to flag down a young man who chuckled as he helped me lift the bike. “Wow” he said. “That is heavy”.
I thanked him, gathered what spunk I had left and started the bike and set off to work. Determined to regain my confidence, I reflected on what I could have done differently, and thought about how much I had learned from my bike. I added these to the list of “Everything I learned about business I learned from my honking huge motorcycle”.
Lesson # 3. Listen to your gut. I knew I should have changed into my boots after the first slip on the concrete. I might never have lost my balance with a pair of heavy soled boots.
Lesson # 4. Ask for help. Sometimes you will need to ask someone you do not know. There is no shame in asking for help. No one can do it all alone. And there is always someone who is happy to help.
Lesson #5. Nothing is ever too heavy. You just need to learn how to work with it. There are hundreds of people who ride bikes that are heavy – and hard to handle when still. And sometimes that means asking for help.
Lesson #6. Keep moving. In both cases, had the bike been moving, and not in the process of being stopped, it would have never fallen over. But fear in both cases made us stop too quickly – and the bike having some momentum had to go somewhere – so it went sideways.
How often in business, when we are fearful do we just STOP? When we are afraid – it is not time to stop. In fact momentum will carry us forward as long as we continue to steer straight. If we need to stop, it should never be a knee jerk reaction made out of fear – but a slow and steady stop – so that we remain in control.
We are in uncertain times. Some days the load seems too heavy and even unmanageable. Don’t be fearful. Just remember the following:
- Anyone can make a mistake. There is no shame in that. Only those who stand still will never fall.
- Stop and rest when you are tired or over worked.
- Listen to your gut. When you feel trouble coming on, listen to your gut feelings and act on them.
- Ask for help when you need it. (I mean really, how hard is it to ask for help)
- Nothing is ever too hard or too heavy – you just need to learn the right technique. (yes, you may have to ask for help)
- Keep moving. Momentum will carry you forward. If you become afraid and try to stop too quickly you will fall. If you do get right back up and keep moving forward.
copyright 2009 Mandie Crawford
People say I tell lots of stories. I do this because, for me – a lesson is better remembered (and sometimes learned) if there is a story or anecdote attached to it.
This brings me to a couple of motorcycle stories that upon reflection taught me some valuable lessons about my business.
Let me begin by saying that I have been terrified of dropping my motorcycle. At a whopping 857 pounds, I know that it is impossible for one person to pick up alone. I knew though that at one point the inevitability of losing control of such a large bike is a given.
For those of you who have not seen my bike, it is a big one – but more than big it is just plain too tall for me. I can ride and control it well, however I can only touch the ground with the balls of my feet – which makes maneuvering it in and out of small spaces like garages and parking spots a bit of a dance on my tip-toes! I have been so afraid of dropping the bike that I rarely ride it alone. Usually my husband drives and I ride behind. (it is set up for his height not mine)
About a month ago we were on an extended ride. At the end of a long and exhausting day we came off the highway and stopped for the red light on the top of a hill on an exit ramp. Tired legs and uneven pavement contributed to a ‘lean to the right’ where the weight of the motorcycle outweighed the strength of the driver and a smooth and comically slow movement resulted in the driver literally laying the bike down on its side. As the driver laid the bike gently down – I tried to get off the back seat which resulted in me hopping on one foot and trying to get my leg over the back rest.
After several hops up and down I realized I was also attached to the bike via my helmet cord that was attached to the receptacle on the other side of the bike. (It looks much like a curly telephone cord) I continued to hop backwards trying to release myself only to realize that now the back aerial was caught between my legs.
All I could think of was what it must look like! What a spectacle!
In the end after hopping several more times on one foot, I fell on my bum in the middle of the lane we occupied. In the meantime – the light had turned green and red again.
After a deep breath I got up off my bum, brushed off my pride and between the two of us we managed to lift the bike up, get back on and head home. We were lucky. There was no damage to the bike (it rolled on a roll bar) so there was no damage to anything except our confidence and pride.
For me this event was a defining moment – and I know I will never forget it. It took about a week to sort out how I felt about all of it. I realized that I had learned several great lessons from the event – so I thought I would pass them on to you.
Lesson #1. Anyone can make a mistake. I had been terrified of dropping the bike – so I rarely rode it alone. In the end, I realized that dropping the bike was not really such a big deal. So what. The most important part was that together we picked ourselves and the bike up and got back on it to ride it home. (some day I might even laugh about this event)
Lesson #2. Stop and rest when you are tired. This applies to everything in life – including business. When we go too long and too hard – mistakes happen. If we are lucky, we can recover from our mistakes. However, mistakes made affect our confidence and pride – and until we get back up and ride it can also affect our performance and confidence.
The second fall or shall I say ‘bike dropping event’, I managed to accomplish all on my own! Determined to master the weight and awkwardness of the bike, I decided to ride it to work one day.
I was the only one home and so I took my time getting my chaps on, arranging all my things in the compartments and making sure I was prepared to ride safely. I began to back the bike out of the garage and my foot slipped on the cement. I looked at the shoes I had on and thought “I had better get my boots on – they have better grip”. So I decided to do this after I had backed the bike out of the garage. Then my foot slipped again. My gut told me to get my boots on now, but I ignored the intuitive prompting.
I backed the bike out onto the cement pad and then down the grade to the gravel laneway. I stopped the bike a little too quickly and the bike began to lean to the right. I knew then as it leaned that I was past the point of being able to right it and so I slowly lowered it to the ground.
“Ok” I thought. “No big deal”. But now what? As pointless as it seemed I decided to try my best to lift it back up. (there is a technique to lifting heavy bikes) As you can guess – it was pointless. The bike outweighed me by over 700 pounds.
With no one home, there was only one l thing I could do. Call a friend or ask a passing motorist ( a stranger ) for help.
I managed to flag down a young man who chuckled as he helped me lift the bike. “Wow” he said. “That is heavy”.
I thanked him, gathered what spunk I had left and started the bike and set off to work. Determined to regain my confidence, I reflected on what I could have done differently, and thought about how much I had learned from my bike. I added these to the list of “Everything I learned about business I learned from my honking huge motorcycle”.
Lesson # 3. Listen to your gut. I knew I should have changed into my boots after the first slip on the concrete. I might never have lost my balance with a pair of heavy soled boots.
Lesson # 4. Ask for help. Sometimes you will need to ask someone you do not know. There is no shame in asking for help. No one can do it all alone. And there is always someone who is happy to help.
Lesson #5. Nothing is ever too heavy. You just need to learn how to work with it. There are hundreds of people who ride bikes that are heavy – and hard to handle when still. And sometimes that means asking for help.
Lesson #6. Keep moving. In both cases, had the bike been moving, and not in the process of being stopped, it would have never fallen over. But fear in both cases made us stop too quickly – and the bike having some momentum had to go somewhere – so it went sideways.
How often in business, when we are fearful do we just STOP? When we are afraid – it is not time to stop. In fact momentum will carry us forward as long as we continue to steer straight. If we need to stop, it should never be a knee jerk reaction made out of fear – but a slow and steady stop – so that we remain in control.
We are in uncertain times. Some days the load seems too heavy and even unmanageable. Don’t be fearful. Just remember the following:
