Shooting for Leverage

My daughter Grace got a .22 for Christmas and has been target shooting with it every weekend. This past week I installed a scope on the gun so she could see her shot placement better at longer distances. As we were sighting it in, I noticed that the scope was moving in the mounts, so we had to stop and remount the scope. The wrench that was supplied with the mounts was smaller than usual, and did not provide enough leverage to properly tighten down the rings. I found one of my other wrenches that was just a bit longer, and was able to get enough torque to properly fasten the scope to the gun so it did not move when shooting. It did the trick, and Grace was back in business nailing the bullseye.

Today I wanted to talk about leverage. Normally we think of leverage as a way to gain mechanical advantage in order to move something. It can be achieved with a long lever or with multiple pulleys. There are the 3 other types of leverage that I think are super useful when it comes to gaining an advantage to accomplish something you are shooting for.

Time is the first thing that we can leverage. When we talk about time and productivity a lot of people think that multitasking is the way you get a lot done. Time studies show that this is actually the most inefficient way to be productive. Henry Ford demonstrated this with his assembly line. He gave workers specific tasks that they repeated all day long. They became more and more efficient at their individual tasks and caused a boom in production for the Ford Motor Company. We can borrow this in our own lives by doing a time study. Mark down all the tasks that you are doing in a day, productive and non-productive, and review it to see where you are wasting time, working on trivial things, working on necessities, and working on meaningful things like your goals or things of high value. You may find that you are busy but not necessarily productive. I call this working the pump handle but not filling the buck with water. This exercise is only good if you are willing to change how you allocate your time.

The next lever that can be applied to get leverage is money. This is where we can use money as a tool to get further ahead on our own. A friend of mine once thought that he could save a bunch of money by firing his CPA and doing his own taxes for his business. He learned the hard way this was a big mistake. He lost his house and had his wages garnered for several years by the IRS because of not paying enough in taxes. Hiring professionals to do things the right way is a form of leverage. Paying for services or products that enable you to go further than you can on your own leverages your time and your talents. Instead of looking at spending money and seeing the loss of money from your pocket, see if it could actually be considered and investment in your productivity, your happiness, your health, your wealth, or your future. Likewise, if you are spending money on things that are taking away from your health, happiness and productivity you need to flip that.

The last lever has to do with relationships. There has been a lot of talk lately on the idea of relationship capital. In other words, relationships can be looked at like a form of currency because they hold value. I love to share relationships that I have with others so they can help each other out. When someone has a problem that they need help with, and I “know a guy,” it helps both of them if they can get connected. When we are facing a challenge of any kind, more than likely there is someone out there that has the answers that we need. The old adage that “there is nothing new under the sun,” gives me the confidence that someone out there has “been there and done that,” I just need to find them and either hire them, or pick their brain. Where we end up wasting time and money is when we think we can go it alone and figure it out for ourselves. My pride/ego has definitely held me back on this one in the past. If you are like me and refuse to ask for directions when you are lost, you know what I am talking about. Relationships can take us much further and faster if we allow them and seek them out. Most people are willing to help or share their knowledge if you just ask.

I am looking forward to hearing about how you used time, money and relationships as tools to provide leverage for improved health, happiness, and success in this new year!