In a Row or Becoming a Wall?

There is a phenomenon that never ceases to amaze me. I have observed it many times with countless individuals, businesses, teachers, churches, non profits and may occur in any setting where individuals or groups have a vision. A vision for something grand and glorious. A vision that will have an amazing impact in their lives and the lives of others. Then what happens? "I am getting my ducks in a row" comes the response. Ah, yes. The planning to plan some more and get it all perfect so that the vision will for sure reach its magnificent best. That sounds like a respectable plan. And somehow it is not uncommon that becoming enamored with creating the plan becomes more powerful than putting the plan into play. The getting the ducks in a row runs the risk of building a wall with the ducks. Instead, grow towards getting the ducks to fly in a V formation so that they get where they are going exponentially faster, stronger and more effectively. Canadian Geese are the most famous for flying in a V formation. Scientist S. Sample notes, "the lead bird is creating a turbulance wave that actual assists the birds behind it. The further back you are in the formation, the less energy you need in the flight. Lead birds do rotate to keep exhaustion from happening." The Geese naturally make this formation. They do not push to make it happen, they share in the leading of the group, and they get where they are going with enough energy to complete the essence of their mission. Another bird group that forms a V when in flight are Swans. A very famous bird, the Swan is what the Ugly Duckling transformed into as he grew up. Swans are among the largest birds commonly seen and the 7 species occur on most continents (not in Africa or Antarctica.) The Swan also can take on an almost human characteristic of staying committed to a vision. They mate for life and carry their little ones on their back. It seems fitting that they would cooperatively fly in the V formation. Somehow I doubt they are concerned with getting in a row and making walls between them and their Swan families. Which leads us back to where we started. Are you taking your row of ducks and creating walls or are you taking your row of ducks and making a V formation? Are you paying attention to when you get tired, so you step back into the stream of another lead or do you push yourself to the point of exhaustion and put your vision back on the shelf because it "did not work"? Passion Activator: What can you learn from using the V formation? In what way can you apply it to your current business or life situation? If there is no immediate answer, ask yourself the questions above and let them float around (in a V formation, naturally) through your subconscious mind. When you least expect it, the idea will gracefully land and wait for you to take the position, for a while, of the lead duck.