Have the mindset of tortoise with the pace of the hare

Setting goals and keeping them can be difficult when you have several things happening in life. Staying productive and efficient is it’s own goal.

Recently, I experienced a business partnership that moved at the pace of the turtle and had the mindset of the hare. There was all thinking and theory, but no bull’s eye. There was an abstract conceptualization of what was desired of the business but no concrete initiative or goals.

It is my stance in business partnerships that I particpate in (not iniatiate) to allow the entreprenuer to make their own mistakes, lead the way, and set the pace. I rarely shift gears, get in the way; I am there to assist in my department of expertise: design communication. I don’t get into the dealings of the business, and rarely make suggestions as to what direction a business should go in. It’s never my place, and there is a general understanding that I’ve become involved strictly for my marketing, design, or content creation knowledge.

This stance has given me a good vantage point to assess what needs to be prioritized to move a business forward. I’ve gotten involved with startups and small businesses at various levels to see what works, and what is bound to flop. I’ve started my own endeavors a few times that I’ve learned what has value and what hinders the growth of a business.

One of the main things restricting growth is not setting clear goals — or not keeping your eye on those goals. It can become easy to move the goalpost, postpone goals, or ignore them altogether, especially when things are unclear at the onset of a business. But moving forward is key to clearing the weeds and painting a better picture.

So a course was fixed and the race started. The Hare darted almost out of sight at once, but soon stopped and, to show his contempt for the Tortoise, lay down to have a nap. The Tortoise plodded on and plodded on, and when the Hare awoke from his nap, he saw the Tortoise just near the finish line and could not run up in time to save the race.
— The Hare and the Tortoise

Moving Forward

Typically, the moral of the story is slow and steady wins the race. This is true in many cases. When patiently moving forward into a project or business, you can…