“You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.”

Winston Churchill

I recently heard the story of the British Rowing Team, who in 1998, after a 7th place finish in the World Rowing Championship, realized that if they wanted to break free from mediocrity, they would have to do something very different. Their answer was to use one clarifying question to bring a relentless focus on the goal they sought to achieve. Their question was, “will it make the boat go faster” and they used this query to frame every decision they made both individually and as a team. As a result, two years later, they successfully won the gold medal at the Sydney Olympics.  

What does this have to do with today’s quote? Great question. In today’s world, distractions are more accessible than ever. It is easy to find “barking dogs” to throw stones at and find oneself pulled further and further away from the things that matter. So before investing time and energy into ANYTHING, perhaps it would make sense to tune into the clarifying question that brings focus to your life and allows you to put down the stones and bring all your energy to bear on reaching your destination.   

What’s your “will it make the boat go faster” question?