In the past week, I have shared this story with a few clients while consulting on the phone. The lessons shared are so valuable that I felt I should share those lessons here. Take, them, use them and apply them.
It was October of 2000. The very last time I had ever gone bowhunting. It was mid October, just before black powder season opened and I took the trip out to my grandparent’s farm to go hunting. I could not have picked a more miserable morning to go out in the field. It was pouring rain. I walked out to my blind and waited, in the rain.
Needless to say, it didn’t take long for me to be soaked through, miserable and cold. I got up and walked back to the farmhouse to warm up and dry off.
The rain had stopped after lunch and I ventured out. My clothes now toasty warm as they just came out of the dryer. With the grass as wet as it was, I felt that this afternoon would be a good time to spot and stalk rather than sit in a stand. So I drove out to the far end of the pasture and began my afternoon.
It was a glorious afternoon to be out in the woods. It was unusually warm for October, and although the rain had ended, thunder occasionally rumbled in the distance. The game was moving this afternoon. In total I saw over 27 deer, all out of range of my bow. So I kept trudging. Squirrels were scolding me for trespassing. Grouse were drumming away. Everything was still, quiet and serene.
It was an amazing afternoon for me. I was heading back to where I parked my truck and saw two deer in a field. I started my stalk. Patiently and quietly I made my way towards them. Taking a very small step each time theirs heads were down. When they looked up at me, I would freeze. My plan was to be a bush that was getting bigger and closer every time they looked at me.
I had closed the distance to where I Was withing fifty yards of these deer. My best stalk ever. It was at this point I had ended this hunt. I had to. The light was diminishing and I knew I had maybe fifteen minutes of daylight left before it got dark. Even if I had got close enough to make a successful shot, I would have a hard time recovering the deer in the dark. So I turned around and walked away.
I got back to the overgrown pasture that was between me and where I had parked my truck. I just had to follow the atv trail through the pasture, a short walk through some bush until I get to the fence line where I had parked. I followed the trail through the pasture into the trees. That atv trail narrowed down to a deer path which soon became a squirrel track up a tree.
I took the wrong path.
I had about five minutes until it would completely dark, so I decided against backtracking. Instead, I figured I Was very close to where I parked my truck. I just had to bushwhack East for a couple hundred feet and I Would be out of the woods.
So I started walking East to get back to my truck.
Now in Manitoba, we have short scrub willows that grow in thick impenetrable thickets we refer to as jungle scrub. Unless you have a machete to hack your way through you are going to go around. So when I hit my first patch of jungle scrub, I walked around it, corrected my course and continued heading East. Then I hit another, detoured around it and corrected my course. After detouring around my fifth patch of scrub I realized that I was getting disoriented. I needed to get back on track. I needed to find East.
I made one mistake on this trip. I didn’t bring my compass. I grew up exploring these woods with my cousins. I felt I knew this area like the back of my hand. I arrogantly believed in my sense of direction. The reality was I was lost and it was now dark.
I thought to myself, “Paul don’t panic. Use your head”.
I looked at the trees around me, believing that moss grows on the North side of trees. It does. It also grows where the trees are wet. So that bit of wood lore did not help my find North. Knowing I was near the edge of the woods, I looked up. I figured that the trees at the edge of the bush would be the larger ones as they would have less competition for light (Truthfully I have no idea if this is accurate or not). I found those larger trees and locked onto them like a cruise missile.
I started walking towards those taller trees. Now I did come across some more scrub willow patches, but they were nothing more than minor detours as I remained laser focused on my goal of reaching those trees.
As I continued moving towards those larger trees, I could see the brush thinning out, and I knew I was getting close to the edge. I would be at my truck in mere moments. It was at this point that my eyes began playing tricks on me.
My grandparent’s farm was located at the end of two roads. There is nothing South of their property except hills and communication towers with the red warning lights to keep low flying planes from flying into them. I was expecting to see them as I approached the edge of the bush. Instead, I saw yard lights in the distance. Yard lights that should not have been there, as there are no farmyards South of my grandparent’s farm.
When I did break through out of the bush, I discovered that I had walked a large, right handed circle, coming out roughly a hundred yards West from where I had started. I realized then that I wasn’t heading East as I had believed, but North. Those yard lights I saw were there because they were supposed to be there.
I got myself on the right trail back to my truck, as I approached the fence line, I startled four deer that were feeding by my truck. Their hooves spraying me with mud.
If you followed this hunting story this far, you most likely picked up on the business lessons, but I Am going to share them with you anyways.
When you are pursuing a vague goal like was when I initially entered the bush (I will just cut through and head East) the obstacles (jungle brush( will easily knock you off course until you are hopelessly lost.
Secondly, conventional wisdom is not always right (moss grows wherever the tree is wet and not just on the North side) so you sometimes have to think outside the box to come up with a solution. Although I will be the first to admit I got lucky following the larger trees.
Often times your perception is not your reality. Remember I truly believed I qas still traveling East and not North. Even when the evidence of the yard lights North of my grandparent’s farm became visible, I stubbornly held onto my belief. Sometimes when faced with the truth, you must let go of your beliefs.
Finally, when you are totally focused on your goals, obstacles are nothing more than minor detours. Sure you are going to have detours along the way. The path to success is rarely a straight line. As long as you remain focused on your outcome, you will reach it.
Apply these lessons to your life starting now. Get oriented to your new path and accomplish your goals.
