“I am 59 and I just broke my first horse. I have never worked with horses and I knew nothing about the fundamentals like putting on a saddle on the horse’s back, putting a bridle on the horse’s head or putting a bit in a horse’s mouth.”
Cliff Eslick said this, as I was meeting him for the first time in person. His direct eye-contact, firm posture, radiating smile, Midwestern modesty and demeanor created an aura of authority and authenticity.
“Why?” I was soon intrigued.
“It was always on my bucket-list, but I never got to it. I happened to learn that someone named Charlie Green just bought a 2 year old Palomino Stallion and was going to work on it. Charlie lived a few miles from my place and he was 89 years old.
Cliff continued, “Inspiration settled in and at that moment I decided I was going to meet Charlie Green.”
Cliff went on to tell his 11 month journey. First, by convincing Charlie to allow him to train Harry, the stallion. Next, learning how to communicate with Harry using touch, voice, and body language. Building a trusting relationship was a choppy journey. There were moments when Cliff barely saved himself from breaking his bones. Often his attempts resulted in failures and frustration. But he persisted and kept observing, retrospecting, improvising, and adapting.
Finally, that day came, the climax to the dance! Cliff was riding Harry, and was so eager to share the news with his family. He even bought himself a cowboy hat as a reward.
It is more than three years ago when Cliff told me his story. I vividly remember his excitement and the energy – an inspiration that was very timely for me. I had begun a journey of creating a new practice and the organization at work. I was charting a new trajectory that will impact and change professional lives for many. A journey full of ambiguity and constant uncertainty that comes from underlying fear of failure. I asked myself: “If Charlie can buy a horse at 89 and if Cliff can break a horse at 59; what is it that I am afraid of?”. It was a game changing perspective that propelled me to successfully build new practice and the organization.
To me, Cliff’s story exemplifies two things:
First, as Steve Jobs had said – Stay hungry, Stay foolish. Don’t lock yourself in the box. Lookout for new or different things to learn and do.
Second – Be comfortable being uncomfortable(Peter McWiliams). Looking out to learn something new is one thing, but accomplishing it is a journey filled with ambiguity, uncertainty, and fear of failure. But that’s really what makes it rewarding.
Though the skills Cliff gained and the challenges he overcame were uncommon, in my opinion, the underlying building blocks of this process are applicable to any act of learning and doing new things.
Which are…
1) Inspiration is always in front of you:
If you have clarity and conviction inspiration is always in front of you. Clarity is about what you want and why, with a clear sense of priority. For a long time, learning how to train a horse was on Cliff’s list but then he made a clear priority call – I will do it before my 60thbirthday. That clarity led him to see his inspiration in Charlie and his conviction that if Charlie can buy a horse, I can definitely train one.
2) Resources are abundant:
Decisions creates the resources, not the other way around. Cliff’s decision led him to convince Charlie to allow him to train the horse and triggered him to find all available training materials online and find mentors. Additionally, Cliff didn’t need to spend a dime for neither the horse nor for the training resources.
3) Give due respect to the subject you are dealing with:
“All things are difficult before they are easy.” – Thomas Fuller. The skill that you are attempting will challenge you at some point. It will demand its respect in terms of your perseverance and innovation. You will be required to find your own way; the one which you will not find in books or from others. Cliff found it difficult to train the horse, risking many serious injuries. However, he realized in his zeal to show who the master is; he stopped “listening” to Harry, he took a step back, improvised, and discovered his own technique to win over Harry.
4) Reward yourself:
I admire Cliff’s philosophy of celebrating and rewarding himself for the success. It is important to take a moment and celebrate the success no matter how small or big it is. We often miss it. I even suggest don’t wait for the end, celebrate along the journey at each milestone.
5 ) You are an inspiration, too.
Isn’t Cliff’s story inspiring? You might not realize it, but no matter what task you attempt others observe it and take an inspiration out of it. Your effort, no matter what the result is, doesn’t go in vain. You are inspiring someone somewhere – you are changing the world for the better, one step at a time.
Next time you are uncomfortable and face fear of failure when stepping out of your comfort zone; ask yourself: “If Charlie can buy a horse at 89 and if Cliff can break a horse at 59; what is that I am afraid of?”
Leave a Reply