Week 20: Are you thinking like a bull or a farmer?

what you think is what just happened

last week was the toughest week of our startup.

we had two deals from competing companies.

both leaders are respectable but because of certain legal reasons we had to say no to one of the companies.

the hardest part of a startup or early-stage business is making long-term decisions even though you need short-term gain (cash).

we knew the right thing to do as clearly as one can possibly see.

but the payroll for the company is even more daunting to watch and sometimes when we are in our “flesh thinking” - we can convince ourselves to make the wrong choice.

but… thankfully…

so we said NO to a customer that signed the contract and was ready to pay.

while it might seem not so smart now, i think we built better, stronger and longer horizon charater internally and with the customer - who now i call our future customer.

we grew emotionally as a team.

my co-founder said to me this in the text that night that to me is the highlight of my entire entrepreneur career and i am going to keep this screenshot forever.

now - let me be clear.

we lost money.

but we gained trust, credibility, love, took our partnership to a whole new level.

we became farmers… more on that below.

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on a personal note:

it was lovely to see our 12-year-old son excited to go to church and worship God with all his heart.

even others noticed it and told us about it.

so as proud parents we surprised him by going to see his Sunday practice tennis match.

well - guess what - he had a horrible evening.

he was incredibly inconsistent and he asked me later what went wrong.

i told him that he was a bull and not a farmer.

meaning he was working so hard like a bull on a farm - he was moving, going for everything and but just missing the point.

literally and figuratively.

as a farmer, i told him, he can use his legs and hands as a bull - for strength - but he needs to know and grow to think about what he is doing.

how to overcome and not give up.

while i told him too that it’s not easy and the best in the world never have all the best days.

try again and next time - be a farmer and use the bulls and not become one.

guess what - next match he played, he said - Papa - i was a farmer today :)

that’s all he had to say and the conversation was over with a big smile and both of our faces.

in business and life, we need to think long-term like a farmer, work daily for the harvest, and use all the resources in a way that lays the foundation for years to come.

the mistake most people make is this:

they use people and love things.

we need to love people and use things.

leaderpoint: become a farmer and know how to use your bulls.