“I’m sitting in a quiet room at the Millcroft Inn, a peaceful little place hidden back among the pine trees about an hour out of Toronto. It’s just past noon, late July, and I’m listening to the desperate sounds of a life-or-death struggle going on a few feet away.

There’s a small fly burning out the last of its short life’s energies in a futile attempt to fly through the glass of the windowpane. The whining wings tell the poignant story of the fly’s strategy—try harder. 

But it’s not working. 

The frenzied effort offers no hope for survival. Ironically, the struggle is part of the trap. It is impossible for the fly to try hard enough to succeed at breaking through the glass. Nevertheless, this little insect has staked its life on reaching its goal through raw effort and determination. 

This fly is doomed. It will die there on the windowsill. 

Across the room, ten steps away, the door is open. Ten seconds of flying time and this small creature could reach the outside world it seeks. With only a fraction of the effort now being wasted, it could be free of this self-imposed trap. The breakthrough possibility is there. 

It would be so easy. Why doesn’t the fly try another approach, something dramatically different? How did it get so locked in on the idea that this particular route, and determined effort, offer the most promise for success? What logic is there in continuing, until death, to seek a breakthrough with “more of the same”? 

No doubt this approach makes sense to the fly. Regrettably, it’s an idea that will kill. 

“Trying harder” isn’t necessarily the solution to achieving more. It may not offer any real promise for getting what you want out of life. Sometimes, in fact, it’s a big part of the problem. 

If you stake your hopes for a breakthrough on trying harder than ever, you may kill your chances for success.”

- Price Pritchett, You²

At some point, we have all been that fly. We’ve all tried to achieve something different by doing more of the same. There may have been times in the past when that tactic fixed your problem. But, success is a lousy teacher. It tricks you into thinking that you’re better than you are.

Don’t default to solving new problems with old solutions, even if they worked in the past. Instead, seek to identify the

thought process behind the solution.

Sometimes more isn’t the answer. Sometimes we need something entirely different.

Like the fly, we usually default to this type of thinking when there isn’t a plan and we are subsequently forced to make last-minute decisions. It’s hard to make the right choices when there isn’t any sense of direction.

But unlike the fly, you can plan. You can also ask for help and seek counsel. Getting an outside perspective on your situation is one of the most valuable things you can do.

It’s my goal (over time) to provide you with more tools, show you the many ways of using those tools, and then show you which tools work best, depending on the project.