There was a giant, uprooted tree behind my dad’s boat dock. With some maneuvering, he could still pull his boat out and get around it but it was still a thorn in his side.
Labor Day Weekend became the perfect storm. We had the manpower and the motivation, but not the right tools for the job. After an hour of sawing at this beast, it got to where we could no longer saw through because the ends were pinching together.
In a bit of redneck inspired ingenuity, we decided to tie a tow rope to the tree and drag it off with the jet ski. I hopped on the front of the set ski, my brother on the back, and my uncle hooked the tow rope on. I slowly accelerated and then the craziest thing happened. It actually worked!
I had not planned on it actually working. After driving out to the middle of the lake, we were puffing our chests out proudly when it hit us. How are we going to get this brand new tow rope off of this tree? The weight of the tree was pulling the rope so tight we couldn’t untie it from the jet ski and the tree was so far under the water we couldn’t untie it on that end either.
We did not have a knife and we were sitting in the middle of the lake hoping someone would miraculously stop by with a knife. That didn’t seem likely, so I became cave man MacGyver.
I swam to shore where I saw a pile of rocks. I sharpened one rock against another one, then swam back. After some vigorous sawing (again), the rope was finally cut and we were free of that burdensome tree.
There are a few lessons here that I think are valuable:
Have a plan (preferably one that works)
Do you have a workout plan? A plan will save you time, money, and effort. When I worked in gyms, it was very common to see people wandering around from machine to machine, selecting random numbers for weights and reps, and resting as long or as short as they felt. Figure out your goals, get a plan to match those goals, and then stick to it.
Get the right tools for the job
One chainsaw and that crazy ordeal with the tree would have been over in a short amount of time. With exercise, exercise equipment can help but you need other tools as well. Proper nutrition is the most important tool. When you add in additional tools like: the right amount of sleep, stress management, getting fresh air and sunshine, and avoiding toxins you can maximize your results.
Don’t give up because it gets hard
Changing your lifestyle is hard! Even with a plan and the right tools, you are going to face hard times. There will be times when you don’t feel like exercising and eating right or doing anything healthy. Don’t give up just because it gets tough! Expect the hard times to come and fight through them, your long term health and happiness are worth it.
