Have you ever been doing something so long you just do it because that's what you do?
It's like you just walk through the motions in life, trying each new thing that comes along, never really finding... traction. Your engine is running, but your tires are just spinning. You aren't going anywhere.
It's like you are busier and busier but you accomplish less and less.
What you need to do is find your inner Hedgehog!
Once upon a time, there was a hedgehog and a fox. The hedgehog was not smarter than the fox, faster than the fox, more talented than the fox or craftier than the fox. But the hedgehog did have one thing he was good at. It was that one thing that saved his life over and over and eventually led him to outlast and out perform the fox.Read on to find out what you can learn from Little H, the Hedgehog, about success and simplicity.
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| Attribution: Hedgehog II by Kalle Gustafsson; With Ken Coleman Quote Added "You find your sweet spot by finding the intersection of your greatest strength and your greatest passion." |
The Story Of Two Competitors: A Fox and A Hedgehog
There once was a little Hedgehog who's name was Little H. One day the Hedgehog wandered along the path to find his next meal. Out from in front of him, seemingly out of no-where, a fox jumps into the path. Foxes' teeth are glaring at him.
Fox obviously intends to make Little H his next meal.
Little H curls up into a ball, and pokes out his spines. The fox lunges and gets poked by one of Little H's spines and yelps! Fox runs away.
The next day Little H is roaming along the path and the Fox jumps out from behind Little H. Little H rolls into a ball and Fox lunges, get's poked, and runs away.
Over the next few days Fox tried to take Little H through various surprise attacks, different angles, different times of day, he tries sneaking up on him slowly. No matter what Fox tried, Little H rolled into a spiky ball.
Fox learned after the first few times that once he got into that ball he would not want to pursue. Little H continued to plod along and Fox eventually gave up in search for an easier meal.
Little H had learned to stay in his sweet spot and he found great success.
*(Story Adapted/Paraphrased from: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't (Affiliate Link), Jim Collins
Have You Found Your Sweet Spot?
Sometimes it seems like you are trying out so many ideas that you never gain traction on any of them. I have been experiencing that some with the soft launch of this blog (and my other online pursuits). That's part of the reason I gave myself all of 2014 to just write, experiment, and write... to find my voice.
In his video Ken Coleman referred to "The Sweet Spot".
"You find your sweet spot by finding the intersection of your greatest strength and your greatest passion." Tweet That
That reminded me of Jim Collins classic work: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't (Affiliate Link). In this book, Jim talks about "The Hedgehog Concept".
The idea is that the hedgehog does
just one thing, and he does that thing REALLY well. The Fox can try to adapt, change, try new things, all to subvert his competition, try out 100 new tricks and cheats and hacks, but in the end it's the Hedgehog that wins, not the Fox.(* While searching for my blog photo for this post, I even saw someone who had totally missed the point of the analogy and reversed the lesson.)
Why? Why does Hedgehog Win?
The Hedgehog wins because he does one thing, and he does it really well. I think that's what Ken Coleman is unpacking for us here in a different way. When you find that one thing you are most gifted to do in the area you are most passionate about, you find real resonance in life!Just like the glass in this video (Click Here) when you find the frequency you ought to be operating at the confines of your life will shatter and you will be caged no more.
Jim Collins uses this concept to show how and why businesses who found their key guiding principle find better success.
On his website Jim explains: "The Hedgehog Concept"
As individuals then for our own lives we must find our greatest strength and greatest passion.
"You’ll know that you’re getting closer to your Hedgehog Concept when you align three intersecting circles that represent three pivotal questions:Answer those three questions honestly, facing the brutal facts without blinking, and you’ll begin to see your Hedgehog Concept emerge."
- What can we be the best in the world at? (And equally important—what can we not be the best at?)
- What is the economic denominator that best drives our economic engine (profit or cash flow per “x”)?
- And what are our core people deeply passionate about?
As I do I will get closer to the "Why am I here on earth?" type answers and I'll find that true note that resonates throughout my whole life.
So too, you must discover that thing that makes you who you are.
What does it mean to be "Best In The World?"
It means that you are doing what you are uniquely gifted to do. Nobody does it quite the way you do it. It doesn't mean that you are better at it than everyone else in the world. It means of all the things you do, this is what you are best at! Best in YOUR world.
I like what Michael Hyatt said about this. Why should you write a book? He said that there may be 1,000's of other people who have already written about your topic. But only you have your experiences and your voice. There may be people who will resonate with you and not with those others, or will find you and wouldn't have found them.
You need to write that book, publish that art, work on that job, do that thing because only you do it the way you do it.
Sometimes in sales they call this your: "Unique Value Proposition". What makes you better or different?
Lesson to Learn:
I like what Michael Hyatt said about this. Why should you write a book? He said that there may be 1,000's of other people who have already written about your topic. But only you have your experiences and your voice. There may be people who will resonate with you and not with those others, or will find you and wouldn't have found them.
You need to write that book, publish that art, work on that job, do that thing because only you do it the way you do it.
Sometimes in sales they call this your: "Unique Value Proposition". What makes you better or different?
Lesson to Learn:
Find your greatest passion and your greatest strength and focus on that for the rest of your life. Hone it, get closer and closer to it, get better at it, define it better. That is one key to amazing results!
This Weeks Resource:
- Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't (Affiliate Link)
- What is the one thing that either you know you are most skilled at?
- What is the one thing that you are most passionate about?
- Where do you think those might intersect?
See Also:
Darrell Wolfe, Topos Consultant
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