Always move forward

If you remember anything from your geometry class in school, it’s probably the fact that the shortest distance between any two points is a straight line. Moving forward along that straight line always represents the most efficient, productive, and profitable course of action, assuming that you have picked your destination point wisely.

Recently, I heard about the artwork in the design on an Australian coat-of-arms. There are two animals indigenous to Australia that appear on that coat-of-arms. They are the kangaroo and the emu. These two animals aren’t too much alike, but they do share one unique characteristic. Because of the length of their tails, kangaroos cannot back up. If they want to reverse course, they have to move forward and execute a U-turn. Because of the configuration and shape of their feet, emus cannot back up and must always move ahead. The wise person who designed this particular Australian coat-of-arms understood that we can learn a lot from emus and kangaroos.

As we pursue our passion and move toward success, there are days when the forward progress is evident to everyone around us. Then there are other days when the progress is not evident to the casual observer. This could mean that no progress was made, or it could mean that you are moving forward in ways that do not reveal themselves immediately.

General George Patton often reminded his officers that he never wanted to receive any messages from the front stating, “We are holding our position.” Patton believed that armies either moved forward or retreated. If you are currently stopped in one location, you must be making preparations and plans to move forward so that there is no time wasted or energy expended that does not result in progress.

If you have a goal, a dream, or a destiny in your life that you would like to reach, you should be making progress toward it today. That progress may involve taking significant strides toward those things you want to be, do, or have, or it may simply mean reading a book, meeting a person, improving your attitude, or any number of things that can put you in the right position to move forward immediately when the opportunity presents itself.

My late, great friend and colleague Dr. Stephen Covey taught a principle he called “sharpening the saw.” Dr. Covey told about lumberjacks working in the forest energetically using their saws to cut down trees. These lumberjacks were paid based on how many trees they cut down in a day, so they worked very hard and consistently; however, seasoned and successful lumberjacks come to learn that there is a time when the fastest way to cut a tree down is to stop sawing and take a moment to sharpen the saw.

When you consider your life’s work and your goals, you are the saw. There are times you will be rapidly moving toward your goal, and there are times when you are preparing yourself for the next big flurry of progress.

As you go through your day today, always be moving forward or preparing yourself for your next move.

Today’s the day!

Jim Stovall

About the author: Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network, as well as a published author of many books including The Ultimate Gift. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. He may be reached by email at Jim@JimStovall.com; on Twitter at www.twitter.com/stovallauthor; or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jimstovallauthor.