Most of us are familiar with the story of the little bird that waited too long to fly south for the winter. If not, I tell it again in the next paragraph. It is a funny story about one of life lessons that is very real. These life lessons happen all of the time to us and sometimes we need that reminder of the little bird and how to handle this important life lesson.  So the story goes…

A little bird waited too long to fly south for the winter and was caught in very wintery conditions. Soon it was so cold and wet that its wings froze and it fell to the ground in a pasture. Lying on the ground and unable to move, the little bird thought it was going to die. Suddenly a cow walked by and defecated on the bird. The bird thought it couldn’t be any worse. However, the warmth of the “waste” from the cow began to warm the bird and thaw its wings and the bird realized it’s was going to live. The little bird became so excited it began to sing and chirp for joy that its life was going to be spared. However, a very cold and hungry fox was walking by and heard the singing and went to investigate. The fox began to dig the little bird out of the “waste” pile and then ate him. The moral of the story is— not everyone that “dumps” on you is your enemy. Not everyone who helps you out of a “pile” is your friend. And whenever you find yourself in a “pile”, always keep your mouth shut.

This story is very true. We all make mistakes with our business and wait too long to make a critical decision that makes us fall flat. Then, just when we think it could not be worse, we get dumped on. However, Albert Einstein once said, “in the middle of chaos lies opportunity”. If we step back and look hard, we see it is not a “pile” but an opportunity to prosper in a new way. This is the gift of the entrepreneur, the gift of vision. Being able to overcome those obstacles and see the opportunity born from them. The last part is the most important. When you are down, keep your mouth shut. Your competition is always waiting for an opportunity to crush you in your moment of weakness. So what if things are tough, so are you.  Put your head down and fight through the issue and take advantage of this new opportunity. Never let them see you sweat, just keep on smiling. There are always going to be cows and foxes in our business environment, never confuse your enemies and your friends.  For entrepreneurs life and business is one and the same.This is one life lessons to remember and where success is achieved!

“Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better.” —Jim Rohn

Image by Simon Howden at www.freedigitalphotos.net

yourfriend4life.com

Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger and team leader with over 27 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.