Lessons from a Dirt Bike
Everything I learned about business, I learned on the back of a dirt bike. I know, it sounds weird but stick with me.
Here we go, lessons from a dirt bike -
If you look right down in front of you on the track, you’ll crash the bike. To stay on, you have to get really good at looking ahead and anticipating what might be coming. If you’re seeing the rocks right in front of you you’re already too late to avoid them.
If you think too much, you’ll psyche yourself out. Riding a dirt bike is part skill, part feel, and 80% risk. Just climb the gosh dang hill already.
It doesn’t make sense, this vehicle that somehow can keep its balance. Business often doesn’t make sense either. The things you thought wouldn’t work, blow expectations out the water. The things you thought were guaranteed success, leave you frustrated and questioning everything.
Every time I would crash and burn on a dirt bike my dad would run over and say “Shut the gas off!”. It was so kind and compassionate when his second question was, “you ok?”. Like I was going to tell him after that. But in business when everything goes haywire, we often have to look around and take stock of where you’re at and see if anything needs to be immediately shut off. “Are those expenses necessary?” “Can we cut that?” He was right, shutting the gas off was the most important first step. If I didn’t turn it off, the engine flooded and I would never get out of there, which would be important if I had, you know, a few broken ribs.
You have to get creative. If you get stuck in a sand dune you have to find a way out. What you’ll want to do is wave a white flag and cry for a helicopter escort out of there, but alas, you can’t. Get yourself unstuck.
If you aren’t crashing, you aren’t trying anything new. If you don’t have at least one “HOLY CRAP THAT WAS CLOSE” moments then you must’ve stayed in a cul-de-sac. In business, you have to try new things, which means at one point or another you will crash and burn.
Some days you’ll be brave. Some days you’ll be cautious. But everyday you’re on a dirt bike, you’ll be on your way somewhere.
It’s the same with business. Just keep moving.
