Published In his book "The Man Who Listens to Horses," Monty Roberts tells the story of his early days starting his own horse ranch. Roberts really knew horses and had a special way of gentling them instead of the traditional and violent method of “breaking” them. (In case you aren't familiar with Roberts, he is one of the original "horse whisperers" who seem to perform miracles by taking a horse that has never been ridden to accepting a rider in 30 minutes without in any way causing stress or pain to the animal.)
Roberts' problem was that he didn't really understand the business of horses. In order to really learn that part of his profession, he apprenticed himself to a well-known, very successful horseman nearby in southern California. This was a huge sacrifice for many reasons. One, he already had a business that was barely breaking even and he would be dearly missed from it while he worked on the other man's ranch. Second, he had two small children. Third, he would not be paid. Finally, he would have to pay his mentor for the privilege of working for him. But he had a high commitment to being a great horse businessman so he accepted the apprenticeship, left his wife to run his business for a few months and lived on Metrecal and sweat for the duration.
Finally his apprenticeship was completed and his teacher gave him some of the toughest advice Roberts had ever heard. He told Roberts to return to their owners several of the horses that he was training back on his ranch because they both knew that it was a waste of the owners' money for Roberts to keep working with them.
What a huge pill to swallow! Roberts had just worked himself nearly sick, paid the man thousands of dollars for the privilege and the advice he was now getting essentially told him to turn off half the cash flow that was barely keeping his ranch alive as it was. The toughest part was that Roberts knew the man was right. They really weren't horses that he should be training, and the owners really were wasting their money. So he did the right thing and sent them back. You can imagine what a dark time that must have been for him!
A week or two later the phone rang. The voice on the other end said that he had heard that Roberts was an honest horseman, something that was very hard to find, and that he had some horses he wanted Roberts to train for him. Suddenly, he was back in business again, and doing the right thing. He had his cash flow back and then some; he was training the kinds of animals that he was supposed to be working with and his business prospered.
COACHING POINT
Sending those horses back was a huge act of integrity. It was also an act of faith.
Some clients need to be let go. Some sales should not be made. As long as you hold onto or go after something that you know in your heart is not right you are creating a struggle and struggling is a sure sign that you need to look to your heart and your values for guidance.
If you are having trouble finding what is causing the friction in your life and business, consider talking with a coach who has experience in helping people in these areas. Like Roberts, we all need someone to help us really see the truth and what needs to be done, even if we already know it.
Don't waste time trying to do it all alone!
Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. ~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
January 28, 2003
Doing the Right Thing
Today's Quote
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