All of us face challenges from time to time, and I’ve grabbed hold of an important principle that we should apply in those kinds of times. It’s the Anti-Deer-in-the-Headlights Principle.

When difficulty comes, sometimes we stop—frozen in our tracks—and the difficulty becomes DANGER!

When I was a kid we had a large field of alfalfa behind our house. The groundhogs loved it. From our back window I could see them crawling through the alfalfa and I’d sneak out into the field with my Dad’s single-shot .22 caliber rifle and crawl on my belly until I was in position. Then I’d whistle loudly and it would startle the groundhog. He’d stop. Then he’d raise on his hind legs to look for where the sound came from. BANG!

Imagine if you started to drive across the railroad tracks and your car stalled on the tracks. Would you just sit there wide-eyed? Or would you get out and get moving? Then why do we so often stop in the swamp when we get bogged down by stuff?

Forward momentum is of utmost importance. There’s a song on the radio that says “If you’re going through Hell, keep on going, don’t slow down, if you’re scared don’t show it, you might get out before the Devil even knows you’re there.” But not if you stop.

It’s a weird quirk of humanity that in times of trouble we stop, frozen in the headlights, dead on the tracks facing the oncoming train.

Next time you find yourself in difficulty, hit the gas! Don’t stop. Accelerate through the problem and let the forward momentum carry you to safely to the other side.

Do you ever “sleep nervous,” awakening in the middle of the night with important things you forgot to do, or need to be sure and remember to do the next day? Do you ever come to the end of the week feeling like you’ve worked hard, but haven’t really accomplished much? If you do, here’s a technique I use, that might be helpful to you.

Every Sunday night I sit down with a legal pad and spend a few minutes thinking about what I must accomplish in the next week for it to be successful. Once I’ve identified the week’s achievements, I figure out which one’s are the most important for Monday and write them under the MONDAY heading. Those are the things I do on Monday. The whole process takes less than 30 minutes.

On Tuesday I’ll take the next most important things and put them under the TUESDAY heading.

I think you see where this is headed.

I always work from the same pads. Some items flow from day to day, or week to week. But that’s OK. Something that got bumped last week because of an unavoidable delay, can get picked back up in the week to come. So these lists become a diary of accomplishments—-completed and remaining to be completed. They help to focus my week, and my day. By writing them down on Sunday night I sleep well because my mind can “let them go” knowing the items are “captured” and I’ll deal with them in the daylight.

Recently I’ve taken to emailing my key team members each morning with the day of the week and the word “priorities” in the subject line. On Monday they’ll get “Monday’s Priorities” and a quick note of what I am working on, what I am concerned about, what I need help with, etc. It helps them to stay on task with me, and helps all of us to be “pulling together in the same direction.”

These tools aren’t magic. They are just tools that increase my effectiveness. I used them daily. If they help you, great!

What kinds of tools do you use to be more effective? Would you be willing to share those with me?

Here’s an encouraging word for you from King Solomon of Israel—highly regarded as the wisest man who ever lived. He wrote “Death is the destiny of every man, the living should take this to heart.” (Ecclesiastes 7:2).

Solomon’s thought isn’t a negative warning (but some of us are conditioned to take it that way). Instead, its a word of encouragement.

It is true. You are going to die. Me to.

While “manana, manana” is a nice mantra for the beach in Mexico, it doesn’t make for abundant living. Solomon is reminding us that life will end, and that too many “mananas” will turn into “nada.”  We need to make the most of every day. Make hay while the sun shines. Strike while the iron is hot. Say it however you like, the point is: a life delayed is a life denied. Many of us have Someday Syndrome. Meanwhile, the clock ticks.

What are those things you are going to do with your life?

You’d better get started. Your destiny awaits.

NFL Referee Jim Tunney says: “If employees don’t understand their company’s goals and its game plan, these goals won’t be achieved,” he says. “Football doesn’t make this mistake. Its goals are always clearly defined. At the end of the field is a goal line. Why do we call it a goal line? Because 11 people on the offensive team huddle for a single purpose—to move the ball across it.”

What is the single purpose for the team you lead? How will they know when they’ve achieved the goal?

Maybe that’s why they aren’t achieving more. Just a thought.

(This is a little test of sorts that applies to the team I lead in Springfield. It will certainly give clarity on who reads the bosses’ blog—and really, if the leader of your team blogged fairly regularly wouldn’t you want to read that? I thought it might also be a useful idea to others seeking to make a difference in the world, so I decided I’d post it as a blog article for you, and a test for my team.)

Next Tuesday is the first Driveline meeting of 2011. (For those who aren’t on our local team, Driveline is the name of our monthly team training meeting. It comes from the fact that the driveline is what transfers the power (ideas, concepts, principles, truths, values) from the engine (that’s me) to the rear wheels (that’s where traction occurs—–no smart remarks about front wheel drive please—its where the work gets done; you might say “where the rubber meets the road.”).

In preparation for Driveline I’d like for you to pause and write down all of the things you “shipped” in 2010. Shipping is what Linchpins do, so I know you’ve shipped. I’d just like for you to capture what you’ve shipped and share it with us on Tuesday.

My guess is that when you see what you have shipped in black-and-white, ink-on-paper, it will provide great clarity and energy so you can ship more, better, faster, in 2011.