It’s 3AM & you’re in a tent under Gray’s Arch in the Daniel Boone National Forest (KY) – Just discovered there are 18 inches of snow on the ground. Why do my toes hurt? Oh, that’s right, you’re the tallest – You had to sleep in the middle which put your feet in the corner of the tent…..and now realizing your toes are stuck to your sleeping bag which is stuck to the edge of the tent which is a sheet of ice.

But wait a sec, we were jumping off 50 foot faces, repelling, and hiking in 75 degree weather 12 hours ago. Doesn’t matter. Freak snow storm. What’s your plan?!

There’s no Internet, there’s no Facebook, there’s no cell phones, no text messaging no GPS. Actually that Motorola SkyPager you thought was so cool to bring on the trip is worthless. That’s right not going to help you.

You’re not going to be hiking. You’re not going to be repelling. Fun is over. 

Everything around me told me it was time for a new plan. No time to reason. Time to act.

Boots on, out the tent you go. Believe me, this wasn’t a matter of 16-year-old naïveté. My three best friends on the trip – one now an attorney. The other two, now brain surgeons. I was rolling with mental studs.

But all the brainpower in the world didn’t matter – Obvious circumstances. We needed to trust ourselves. Trust our intuition. Two (Kurt & Brian) break for a roadway to get to a phone somehow. The other two (Drew & I) break to the trailhead. Will regroup before sundown. Leap of faith. Go.

How different is it oftentimes in business though? A complete inverse? Not quite, and often the circumstances for action aren’t completely obvious.

But, we spend time gathering as teams to discern. We sketch out potential outcomes. We organize to judge vendor effectiveness. But, far too often, we end up in decision-making paralysis. Even when we are appropriately outfitted for the new partnership, we often don’t take action despite ample time invested and everything around you telling you it’s time to move.

In my business, I meet with so many that year-after-year are surrounded by circumstances that tell them they could do better. There’s a better way. That’s time for a new trial. New path.

So, when everything around you tells you it’s time to break camp – Trust yourself. Trust your intuition.