SHARPEN YOUR AX

“If the ax is dull,more strength is needed but wisdom is profitable to direct” Eccl 10:10

Have you ever tried to cut with a blunt kitchen knife? Were you ever hooked into cutting grass with a blunt cutlass? I have been in both situations before and the only wise thing to do in those situations was to sharpen the tools. If you do not sharpen the tool, you will have to use more strength. But why would you want to use more strength if you can just sharpen the cutting edge and then use less strength?

What are the advantages of using a tool with very sharp cutting edge?

1. You expend less energy. In cutting with a sharp tool, you do not have to use all your energy. The efficiency of the tool is at optimum.

2. You spend less time. Because the tool is sharp, it takes shorter time to cut. The time spent on a task using a tool with a dull edge can be used to accomplish more tasks with a sharp tool.

3. The job is neater. If you try cutting with a blunt kitchen knife, it will never cut neatly and smoothly. For you to get a neat job, you need to use a tool with a sharp edge.

4. Ultimately, you are perceived as a wise fellow. You will never be appreciated for a job not well done. If you can accomplish your tasks effectively and efficiently, you will be respected for it.

I want you to see yourself as a tool and whatever you do as the cutting task. How sharp are you as a tool? How much of success have you achieved in your assignments? If your answer is short of 100%, then you need to whet the edge of your cutting edge. Is your boss is always complaining about your work output? Are you always short of meeting your deadlines? Do you get frustrated midway into a task? Are u frequently identified as the weak link during team reviews? Are you dissatisfied with what you do? If your answer is “yes” to any of the above questions, then you need to hone your tool.

How do you sharpen (hone) your tool?

1. Identify the need for sharpening. It is said that the first day a mad man identifies himself as mad, then he has began to recover from insanity. The same way for everyone. If you identify your need for sharpening, then your journey to improvement has begun.

2. Make yourself ready for the sharpening. It will require effort, it will require time, it will require finance and it will require you. But i can bet, it will be worth it. The dividend will be more than the investment. You will thank yourself for doing it.

3. Go all out to learn. This is where the honing is done. No one is above learning. Learning exposes you to change. It processes you into a better product. Learning must ultimately lead to change. You must not be the same again after an episode of learning. There are several ways to learn. Here are a few tips:

a. Go back to school. Does that sound harsh? No, i don`t think so. You may have to get a higher degree. That means, you will learn more deeply than you have. You may have to take a switch. I mean take another course that would enhance you.

b. Read. I mean read books along the path of your career which you want to enhance. Almost everything you want to learn are scattered in different books. Finding those books and reading them will increase you. Read and internalise the things you find in those books. Nobody brings knowledge into the world at birth. You have to amass it. Start on a serious race to improve yourself by reading. Buy books. If you can`t buy books, hook to a library. You must know someone who has a book that you need. Borrow it. But believe me, if you buy books for yourself, you are making eternal investments into yourself. Infact, you can buy second hand books if you can`t buy new. It will be well worth it.

c. Attend Seminars, Conferences, Workshops and Training sessions. These programmes afford you to be able to listen to people who are more knowledgeable than you explain a few more secrets that you need. They afford you the opportunity to meet and interact with sharp, upwardly mobile minds.

d. Apprentice yourself to a master. This is not meant to put you down. I mean look for someone who knows more than you, connect with that fellow and ask questions. Draw from his well of knowledge and experience. Listen to him, watch him and learn from him.

Put these few tips to use and let us watch you become a more productive person. Be wise. Sharpen the tool so that less strength will be needed and eventually you get to keep your strength to use for other things. The English man says a word is enough for the wise, but the Yoruba man says just half a word is enough for the wise,for when it gets inside him it becomes whole. So choose to be numbered among the wise.